One Book, One Chicago has announced their spring 2012 selection: Gold Boy, Emerald Girl by the young and excrutiatingly talented Yiyun Li. This is Li's third book and she returns to the medium of the short stories, some of which are close to novella length. The collection has racked up reviews from the A.V. Club, NPR, and The New Yorker who also selected Li for one of their 20 Under 40 authors. All of the stories are set in modern China and provide keen insight to culture that swarms about it. We'll be looking to OBOC next week, as they have announced several celebratory events for Li's achievements. Also stay tuned to their tumblr site for extra news, videos, and related events.
One Book, One Chicago Selects Yiyun Li's Gold Boy, Emerald Girl For Spring 2012
CPL's City of the Big Readers Survey
The Chicago Public Library is asking Chicagoans to answer a few questions about their reading habits so the library can better develop their programming to better match what patrons want.
What Will The Next One Book, One Chicago Book Be?
The One Book One Chicago program is turning 10 this year, and to generate some buzz and intrigue about the next selection, Chicago Public Library is running a “Who Am I?” campaign. They’ve placed clues all around town. These posters and buttons have this dude on him. They’re asking people to report back where they’ve seen him by posting on Flickr. And they’re asking for your guesses as to who he might be. You can tweet your guess with the hashtag #1b1c and follow @1book1chicago to see what other people might be guessing.
Chicago Literary CliffsNotes
Catch up with the places to read and be seen on the literary scene with our rundown of local events centered around all things written.
Our Back-to-Indoors Reading List
If we know Chicago as well as we think we do, chilly weather will sweep the city shortly. For a lot of us, that means more time spend indoors. And for some of us, that means books + blankets + glasses of Bordeaux. Here’s a list of what’s on our list to read this fall.
One Book, One Chicago Selection Announced
Yesterday Chicago Public Library announced "Brooklyn," by Colm Tóibín as its selection for Chicago's citywide book club. The book is set in the 1950s and follows its protagonist Eilis on her emigration from Ireland, where she has family, a sense of being, and a comfortable predetermined life, to her settlement in Brooklyn, where she knows no one. Just as she begins to build a new life on American soil, she's called back to Ireland. She is pressured to stay in Ireland and take up her old life again, and Eilis must decide where her home really lies.

