Maybe we're reading too much into this, but we couldn't help but notice that James Frey has left Chicago off his upcoming book tour. Frey will be touring and reading in support of his new novel, Bright Shiny Morning. (Wait. Can it really be considered his "first" novel if...screw it, we're not going to reopen that can of worms.) Maybe he just couldn't fit us in. Maybe Ann Arbor is a bigger literature magnet than we ever realized. Or maybe he's going to add Chicago at a later date. Whatever the case, it still struck us that Chicago is the largest major city on this route that he left off the list. Of course, there is one possible explanation. In a recent interview with Vanity Fair to promote his new book, Frey and embattled publisher Nan Telese claim the Big O "duped" him into appearing on That Episode by luring him under false pretenses. Thing is, we actually liked Frey's books, true or not. And someone should have informed Oprah that this was not the first time a nonfiction writer has gotten in trouble for lying in their work. Whatever the reason, we'll just consider ourselves lucky that Frey-Oprah has not escalated to Tupac-Biggie proportions. Yet. more ›

But the real Oprah story this week is getting overshadowed by some skanky-looking Miley Cyrus photos. more ›

Move over James Frey – McDonald’s says it's planning to fight back against fictional information about the company being sold as fact. Books such as “Fast Food Nation” and “Chew On This” have gone so far as to claim that the fast food giant’s products are unhealthy (gasp!) and poor quality (shock!), and the company has had enough. more ›

Biographies adapted for the stage are rarely subject to the same scrutiny as literary bios or memoirs. It’s hard to imagine any playwright getting the James Frey treatment, discredited on national television and the blogosphere for bending the truth. And why should they? We go to the theater to understand the world but also to enjoy ourselves and find some degree of escape. To visit (or revisit) a fascinating life set to song can be a joy, and starting this week three theaters give us this opportunity. more ›

We’re sure everyone is tired of hearing about James Frey, but it looks like there’s one more seat open on the truthiness bandwagon and we’re going back eighty years to fill it. more ›

English writer Julian Barnes will read from his novel, Arthur and George, which is based on actual events in the life of Sherlock Holmes creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. (Okay, so it’s fiction about a real guy. That’s still fiction, okay?) Chicagoist has heard stories about Doyle that rival those of his character, Holmes, and can’t wait to get our hands on this mystery novel. more ›

James Frey discovered the glare of the Oprah’s Book Club spotlight isn’t always wine and roses. But Elie Wiesel and his haunting memoir Night, which Oprah selected for the next Book Club reading, isn’t likely to see the same fate. Wiesel's chilling account of life in a Nazi concentration camp and subsequent aftermath has stood up to 50 years of scrutiny. And anyone who suggests the Nobel Peace Prize winner embellished his story risks becoming... more ›

This week on Chicagoist, it was all about vice: preventing it, wallowing in it, or legislating it. more ›

When Chicagoist had our first real job as assistant manager of a Crown Books, we quickly learned the power of suggestion…by Oprah. This was before she actually had a book club or anything. All an author had to do was to was go on her show and whatever book they were talking about was sold out by the end of the program. Soon, the women got wise and would call within the first five minutes. Books we hadn’t touched in months were flying off the shelves. When she decided to sell her own cookbook, we had to beat the housewives away with a stick. more ›

Oprah's decided to throw a bone to authors who are like.. uh.. alive. For the past 2 years her popular book club has only featured classic books, but now she's returning to the present, announcing yesterday that her book club will now feature all books, including contemporary works. She made this announcement as she told the world her latest book club pick - James Frey's "A Million Little Pieces," which is a memoir of his substance abuse. This book is both current, being published only a couple years ago, and it's also a work of nonfiction. more ›