Chicago Sun-Times

Author Q&A: Henry Kisor on his fourth Steve Martinez mystery

Thu, 02 May 2013 09:18:56 -0500

Former Sun-Times literary editor is back in bookstores with the fourth installment in his Steve Martinez mysteries, which take place in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, a place near and dear to the author’s heart.

Review: ‘Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal,’ by Mary Roach

Thu, 02 May 2013 09:19:27 -0500

We love food. We savor it, digest it, absorb the best and pass the rest. That journey between the tip of your tongue and the seat of your pants might seem like a humdrum subject for a science book. But Mary Roach — an author who has written smart but irreverent books about sex, corpses and space travel — manages to make it not only fun, but also funny, in “Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal.”

Book notes

Thu, 02 May 2013 09:19:17 -0500

What’s happening in the publishing world

Best sellers 04.28.13

Thu, 02 May 2013 09:19:08 -0500

Publisher’s Weekly’s top 10s for the week of April 28.

Literary listings

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 23:00:00 -0500

Local book signings and literary events, April 26-May 11.

‘Exorcist’ director revisits old demons

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 03:00:42 -0500

A self-made professional reaches the top only to be brought down by conflicting desires and his own hubris. Amid the wreckage, he reconsiders what’s important and begins anew, success attainable once again but not at all certain. That sounds like the outline of a movie directed by William Friedkin (“The French Connection,” “The Exorcist”). It’s also the theme of a page-turning memoir in which Friedkin revisits his victories and defeats while taking the blame for dropping the brass ring.

Review: ‘The Interestings’ by Meg Wolitzer

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 03:00:52 -0500

A little talent is a dangerous thing. Meg Wolitzer examines the implications of that sad truth in her latest work, “The Interestings,” a sprawling, marvelously inventive novel that tracks the friendships over nearly four decades of six teenagers who meet in the summer of 1974 at an arts camp in Massachusetts.

‘Pope Francis’ book coming

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 03:01:03 -0500

A book of interviews with the future Pope Francis will be coming out in English at the end of April.

Best sellers 04.21.13

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 22:10:27 -0500

Publisher’s Weekly’s top 10s for the week of April 21.

Literary listings

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 20:26:01 -0500

Local book signings and literary events, April 19-May 4.

Author Q&A with Carol Burnett

Sun, 14 Apr 2013 19:52:00 -0500

Comedy legend Carol Burnett is back on the road doing the media and talk-show circuit these days, promoting her book “Carrie and Me: A Mother-Daughter Love Story” (Simon & Schuster, $24.99), a memoir about her eldest daughter, who died of cancer at 38.

Literary listings

Sun, 14 Apr 2013 19:50:01 -0500

Local book signings and literary events, April 15-29.

ESPN sports guy unleashes his feminine side in debut novel

Sun, 07 Apr 2013 02:43:29 -0500

ESPN radio host Mike Greenberg makes his living on guy talk, but who knew he had a gift for girl gab, too? The best-selling author creates three authentic female voices in his first novel, “All You Could Ask For,” about women learning life lessons through a devastating experience.

Strout scores again with ‘Burgess Boys’

Sun, 07 Apr 2013 02:43:19 -0500

“The Burgess Boys” is Elizabeth Strout’s first book since her 2009 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, “Olive Kitteridge,” and her extraordinary narrative gifts are evident again. “Olive Kitteridge” is built on the scaffolding of separate short stories that, to lesser or greater degrees, involve the title character. “The Burgess Boys” follows a more traditional, more sweeping novelistic track.

Literary listings

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 22:12:00 -0500

Local book signings and literary events, April 5-20.