Since its publication in 2003, Erik Larson's The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic and Madness at the Fair That Changed America may just win the prize as the book most often seen in the hands of CTA riders. Its the 1893 Chicago World's Fair setting, visionary Daniel Burnham, and a charming serial killer have proven an irresistible mix to more than just commuters, propelling the book from regional phenomenon to bestseller status. more ›

Last week Oprah gave us a five-point instructional checklist on how to live our best life, and on Monday she gave us a pop quiz to make sure we’d paid attention. First thing’s first, we all know Oprah’s madder than Faith Hill after losing her Grammy for once again falling off the wagon and putting on weight, and clearly, misery loves company. Oprah invited a handful of former weight loss success stories who have recently bulked up again to, as she did, face the truth and get back on track. Her featured guest was Erik Chopin, who lost 214 pounds and won his season of The Biggest Loser. He once told the Oprah camp he wasn’t able to appear on a recent show due to a busy work schedule, but in truth, he was afraid to show the world he’d regained more than half of what he’d lost. But Erik, as well as with various chubbed up Skypers, forgave themselves and began anew, and Oprah sent them running along towards a better year. Oprah also peeked in on our sex lives, and viewers raved about Dr. Laura Berman’s foreplay map, which can of course be downloaded at Oprah.com, although we think hands-on learning may be the more appropriate approach. more ›

We know this is blasphemous and all, but we've gotten a little tired of hearing about global warming lately. Each passing day bombards us with another article about switching incandescent lightbulbs for the ones laced with mercury that can be disposed of as easily as, say, batteries, another "green issue" of Jane or Bop or whatever and another quote about the dire situation from a presidential candidate, we're terribly sorry, probably don't even recycle. That's... more ›

Oscar nominations are out, and for the second year in a row, there were few surprises save for one notable exception. Confounding the experts and flying in the face of several critics’ awards, Dreamgirls did not pick up nominations for either best picture or best director. The film was a victim of an underdog victory by Clint Eastwood’s film Letters from Iwo Jima. It may also have been a pre-emptive strike on the kind of... more ›