Elisha Cooper’s most recent book -- ridiculous/hilarious/terrible/cool -- is the result of time spent shadowing eight upperclassmen at Chicago’s Walter Payton College Prep during the 2005/2006 school year. Thankfully this compact little book never gets gimmicky, since Cooper has constructed a well-flowing, factual account of what transpired over the year, allowing the students’ stories to organically drive the plot. His dedication to the project shines throughout; it is clear that he didn't limit his observations......

What better way to celebrate Banned Books Week, now in its 27th year, than by beginning the Twilight series? It may not be on last year’s list of frequent offenders, but it’s a teenage vampire romance -- written by a Mormon soccer mom -- sure to find itself on future lists. Chicago Banned Books Week-related festivities began on Saturday, complete with a banned books reading session at Pioneer Plaza, but don’t fret: There are plenty......

Newberry Library’s free fall exhibition, “Artifacts of Childhood: 700 Years of Children's Books,” meant to showcase and explore the relevance of children’s literature, will be the library’s first exhibition in two decades to focus solely on this theme. 65 of Newberry’s most “important and beautiful” children’s books will be displayed, including 500-year-old Italian and French first illustrated editions of Aesop's Fables and a rare 1865 first edition of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Oh......

Oprah is gearing up for her next book club pick, which she'll announce September 19. This gives us plenty of time to get our hopes up. Here are some of our suggestions for OBC picks: Margaret: The Origin of Species, by Charles Darwin. Science literacy! It works if you work it. Ali: Sissy Nation: How America Became a Culture of Wimps and Stoopits, by John Strausbaugh. Disclaimer, my godfather wrote it, but it's good. Ana:......

History buffs, Devil In The White City fans, and those in search of an atypical Sunday date, you can now take a virtual tour of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition at the only remaining pavilion, The Museum of Science and Industry. The 90-minute tour, called "Blueprints to Our Past" is offered on select Sundays throughout the rest of the year, but you must order tickets in advance and groups are limited to twenty. Museum heads......

Tomorrow night at the Fulton Lounge, local Field Testers will be sharing their books-in-place reviews from Coudal Partners' annual litstravaganza. Lori Andrews, James Finn Garner, Kevin Guilfoile, Andrew Huff, Wendy McClure, Jonathan Messinger, Nathan Rabin, and Claire Zulkey will all be sharing their contributions. Sadly, I can't make it, but my field test is here. The fun starts at 7pm and is free. And if you like bitter drinks, Fulton Lounge's negroni is amazing.......

If you're hankering for a little bit of controversy and a lot of culture tonight, Sir Salman Rushdie will be reading from his new novel, The Enchantress of Florence. Enchantress is a sort of Arabian Nights, set when a European traveler captures the court of Emperor Akbar, lord of the Mughal Empire, with a story about a beautiful and mysterious woman's travel to far off Florence. Even if Enchantress doesn't sound like your cup of......

Lily Koppel, 22 and fresh out of Barnard, was already late for work when she rushed out of her New York apartment in 2003. She stopped when she saw several vintage steamer trunks piled on top of the building’s red dumpster. So, like any good reporter, she and her ballet flats dove in, literally, pulling out a beaded flapper dress, an old coat from Bergdorf's, saddle shoes that fit her like Cinderella's shoes, and at......

If you've been longing to hear a writer talk about ghosts, cadavers, and sex, today is your lucky day. Author Mary Roach is blessing the Chicago area with her expertise in all three arenas. Roach first grabbed our attention with her excellent book Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, in which she explored what happens with our bodies after we shuffle off our mortal coils. Medical school, cadaver farms, organ donations; she covered it......

We had the good fortune recently to speak with Barry Gifford, one of our favorite contemporary authors. His newest book is Memories from a Sinking Ship, a "fictional memoir" about growing up in mid-fifties Chicago (and Key West and New Orleans). Roy is a youngster shuttled from place to place, alternating between his beautiful, vivacious mother and his estranged, gangster father. For a sizeable chunk of the book he lives at 6312 N. Rockwell,......

Funny Ha-Ha is a guaranteed good time. Tonight's edition at The Hideout features a host of writers, but seems to be "headlined" by Eric Zorn. We love Zorn, but find it kind of funny his credit is "Chicago Tribune Columnist & Blogger" while Claire Zulkey's is "Blogger & TV Critic for The Onion & Los Angeles Times." Yeah, yeah, yeah, Zulkey rose to fame due to her blog, but even so, once she scored the......

We've always wanted to have a Russian Writers Party, wherein everyone has a typewriter, a shot glass, and a bottle of vodka. We still think it's a good idea, but have decided it's best left unrealized. Unlike our ill-conceived notion of mixing books and booze, the folks at Reading Under the Influence (RUI) got it right. Hosted every first Wednesday of the month, a group of writers and drinkers get together to read short pieces......

Hope everyone enjoyed the weekend. We were so busy between scouring the Printer’s Row Book Fair and lounging at the Chicago Blues Fest that we almost forgot to pick just one book for this month, in fact, we couldn’t and had to let fate, otherwise known as the Post Office, decide. You guys had some pretty awesome suggestions and we almost thought there would be a throw down over whose author was more prestigious......

After a personnel shift and lots of soul searching, the Chicagoist Department for the Advancement of Literature has decided to revamp and reinstate Convince Us, a little more like a book club, or thanks to our handy office thesaurus, a tome society, because then it sounds mysterious (and yes, ridiculous). We love reader participation, and know that you are as well read as us (considering you’re reading our work here, we think you have......

Eggs. Seriously, haven't they caused us enough trouble? One day (in the 80s) they're good for you. The next day (in the 90s) they're bad, and also represented your brain. Then we find they were good all along. The egg's latest offense? Causing an entire state national embarrassment. Okay, okay, so we guess it wasn't really the egg's fault, persay, but the egg advocates. The Egg Board in Park Ridge started it all by......

It's that time of year again! Chicagoist would like to add several more people to our staff to fill in some gaps in coverage and make the site even better. If you're interested in writing about food, music, books & literature or general Chicago topics, let us know. Also, we're looking to add 2-3 more interviewers (for real this time!) so if you're good at grilling people and writing about it, please apply. Specific positions......

It's that time of year again! Chicagoist would like to add several more people to our staff to fill in some gaps in coverage and make the site even better. If you're interested in writing about food, music, books & literature or general Chicago topics, let us know. Also, we're looking to add 2-3 more interviewers (for real this time!) so if you're good at grilling people and writing about it, please apply. Specific positions......

It's that time of year again! Chicagoist would like to add several more people to our staff to fill in some gaps in coverage and make the site even better. If you're interested in writing about food, music, books & literature or general Chicago topics, let us know. Also, we're looking to add 2-3 more interviewers (for real this time!) so if you're good at grilling people and writing about it, please apply. Specific positions......

We love to see people on the El all reading the same book. It’s a great conversation starter and it’s even more fun when it’s part of the Chicago Public Library’s One Book, One Chicago program. On February 15, CPL announced the tenth book in the program, "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" by Alexander Solzhenitsyn. What’s extra cool about this pick is that we will partner up with readers in our sister......

This year, Valentine’s Day is going to be such a pain. Now that your standby teddy bear holding a heart is officially out, you’re going to have to come up with something a little more original and sophisticated to do. Roses and chocolate are so boring. Instead, opt for something a little bizarre, a little more erotic. Get an early start this Wednesday with Hot & Bothered: An Evening in Bed. This reading at the......

We knew you liked us and wanted to work with us, but we didn't have any idea you liked us this much! So far, in a week, we've gotten in over 100 applications to join the Chicagoist ranks. Quite a compliment! [blush!] Thanks, guys! The problem is that there are a few beats where we didn't get that many applicants. These are Sports, General and Books & Literature. If you were thinking about applying to......

It's the new year and Chicagoist has been busy making some resolutions. Along with promising to lose ten pounds from our ass and drink a little less (at least around our parents), Chicagoist wants to expand its content. In addition to talking about what's going on in the news, we want to spend 2006 telling you more about the best things in Chicago. And we want your help! Specific positions are listed below. If you're......

We here at Chicagoist just get all tickled inside, if a little bit conflicted, when we get to tell you about multiple great literary events happening in the same evening. Tomorrow night gives the local literatista (why yes, we do love making up words!) not one but two opportunities for some non-traditional literary edification--both lubricated with a little bit of beer and and a lot of the sweet, sweet pleasure of philanthropy. Hit Martyr's at......

James McManus - Author, Teacher, Poker Player...

It's been a while since since our last call for contributors and Chicagoist is getting antsy to ramp up staff and improve the site even more. Areas that we really want to concentrate on are Interviews, Food and Drink, and Arts and Entertainment. Specific positions are listed below. If you're interested in any of them, meet the qualifications, and would like to join the Chicagoist team, email chicagoistapply(at)gmail(dot)com with the position in the subject line.......