FYI

Author Elizabeth Berg will discuss her book "Dream When You're Feeling Blue" as part of The Big Read at 7 p.m. May 8 at Ashton Place, 341 75th St., Willowbrook. Registration begins April 16 and will be by phone only by calling Downers Grove Public Library at (630) 960-1200. To register, you must have a library card from one of the Big Read libraries, and only four tickets per patron are allowed. There's a limit of 1,000 registrants and no walk-ins will be allowed.

Here's a look at other ways to participate in The Big Read …

Small group book discussions:

• 12:30 p.m. March 12: Westmont Public Library, 428 N. Cass Ave. Info: (630) 969-5625.

• 2:30 p.m. March 12: Indian Prairie Public Library, 401 Plainfield Road, Darien. Info: (630) 887-8760.

• 7:30 p.m. March 31: Downers Grove Public Library, 1050 Curtiss St. Info: (630) 960-1200.

• 7:30 p.m. April 2: Thomas Ford Memorial Library, 800 Chestnut, Western Springs. Info: (708) 246-0520.

• 10 a.m. April 10: LaGrange Public Library, 10 W. Cossitt Ave. Info: (708) 352-0576.

• 2 p.m. April 15: LaGrange Park Public Library, 555 N. LaGrange Road. Info: (708) 352-0100.

• 1:30 p.m. April 17: Hinsdale Public Library, 20 E. Maple. Info: (630) 986-1976.

• 7 p.m. April 22: Woodridge Public Library, 3 Plaza Drive. Info: (630) 964-7899.

• 7 p.m. May 1: Lisle Library, 777 Front St. Info: (630) 971-1701.

A selection of other programs:

• 2 p.m. March 2 at Westmont Public Library and 2 p.m. April 19 at Woodridge Public Library: Actress Pamela Welcome portrays Linnea Taylor, who worked in a factory during World War II. Taylor's story offers a glimpse of what life was like for people of color during the war.

• 7 p.m. March 6 at Downers Grove Public Library: R.J. Lindsey portrays President Franklin D. Roosevelt relating his experiences leading up to and during World War II.

• 1 p.m. March 8 at LaGrange Park Public Library: Author Greg Stout presents a look a the history of passenger trains, particularly those that called Chicago home.

• 7 p.m. March 11 at Indian Prairie Public Library and 7 p.m. April 15 at Downers Grove Public Library: Those Were the Days Radio Players re-enact an old-time radio show "broadcast."

• 7 p.m. March 13 at Downers Grove Public Library and 7 p.m. April 28 at LaGrange Public Library: The Chicago Architecture Foundation offers a history of Chicago's famous tall buildings, both before and after World War II.

• 2 p.m. March 15 at LaGrange Public Library and 7 p.m. April 21 at Westmont Public Library: Art historian Jeff Mishur discusses the work of Norman Rockwell.

• 2 p.m. March 16 at Woodridge Public Library: Jack Hogan and The Skylarks Unlimited perform musical memories from the 1930s through the 1970s.

• 7 p.m. March 27 at Westmont Public Library and 7 p.m. April 8 at LaGrange Public Library: World War II Navy veteran David Baruch discusses his escape from the USS Franklin when it was attacked by the Japanese on March 19, 1945.

• 2 and 7 p.m. April 9 at the Tivoli Theatre, 5021 Highland Ave., Downers Grove: Showings of the 1946 movie "The Best Years of Our Lives" about three World War II veterans who return home to small-town America to discover they and their families have been irreparably changed. Tickets: $4.

• 7 p.m. April 10, 3 p.m. April 17 and 7 p.m. April 24 at the Lisle Library: Swing dance lessons with Carl Linder and Karrie Willis.

• 2 p.m. April 27 at Lisle Library: Bill O'Connell and The Chicago Skyliners perform music from the Big Band era.

• 7 p.m. April 29 at Clarendon Hills Public Library and 7 p.m. April 30 at Woodridge Public Library: Ruth Thomas brings more than 20 dresses from the 1930s and 1940s to discuss fashion trends of the time.