Solace in a Book

This Sunday 11/24: Chicago Book Expo

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I just made my payment to exhibit this Sunday at the Chicago Book Expo and I encourage you all to come, not necessarily to buy Solace in So Many Words (though I won't discourage that) but to see all the great events planned.  Plus the venue is cool; it's a site from Chicago's Hollywood Days. Here are the facts: When: Sunday, November 24, from 11-5 Where: St. Augustine College,  1345 W. Argyle, Chicago, which was once the site of Charlie Chaplin's historic Essanay … [Read more...]

Stoking my love for Chicago

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I love Chicago but I don't love the politics, the gun violence, the segregation and probably a few other things if I thought about it some more. But this past weekend I forgot about the negatives and rediscovered my love for Chicago. That's because it was Chicago Architecture Foundation's Open House Chicago. This free city-wide event has been around for three years now, and each year, I find something more to love about Chicago.  Plus, the event is so well run and all the … [Read more...]

Much I don’t about Franzen

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I give up.  I spent the past few days trying to write a blog that was witty and timely. I wanted it to be smart like an essay by Roxane Gay. I hoped to get my thoughts together about the fuss over “Jonathan Franzen: What’s Wrong With the Modern World,” which appeared in The Guardian on Friday, September 13.  The piece named names (Jennifer Weiner, Salman Rushdie, Jeff Bezos) and was as juicy as a reality TV show, with responses by Jennifer Weiner and Nathan … [Read more...]

Benefits of membership: The Writers

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Writing is known to be a solitary profession. For the most part the writer has to be alone. But when it comes to critiquing your work and revising it, the voice in your head isn't always right. That's when it is particularly useful to have another's opinion, especially if this other person is a serious writer too. Then once you have a finished work and you have it published or an opportunity to read it, once again, it's nice to have other writers you can count on to be your … [Read more...]