Literature
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Elmhurst AAUW begins collection for annual book saleMay 22, 2025 11:12 pm - The AAUW Elmhurst Branch will begin collecting donations on Monday, June 9, of used books, CDs, LPs, and DVDs for its annual Used Book Sale. Collection barrels for dona...
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Award-winning author Lee Hawkins signing books Sunday in Vernon HillsMay 21, 2025 10:59 am - Award-winning journalist and author Lee Hawkins will appear for a book talk and signing featuring his memoir “I Am Nobody’s Slave: How Uncovering My Family’s History Set ...
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Downers Grove family installs Little Free Library to celebrate grandparents’ 90th birthdays
May 21, 2025 10:47 am - To celebrate their grandparents' 90th birthdays and passion for reading, a Downers Grove family worked with the park district to set up a Little Free Library, aiming to build community and expand book access.
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Book Review: Ocean Vuong takes existentialism to deeply intimate level in ‘The Emperor of Gladness’
May 19, 2025 3:26 pm - Ocean Vuong’s new novel follows Hai, 19, as he takes care of Grazina, 81, and works in a fast-casual restaurant to help support them. Told in moments, “The Emperor of Gladness” takes existentialism to a deeply intimate level.
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Kids author Mo Willems and The Pigeon stare down the future in a new book
May 16, 2025 10:41 am - Author Mo Willems has sold millions of books and won many awards, but the accolade that means most to him is when a parent says their child read aloud for the first time from one of his books. His latest book, “Will the Pigeon Graduate?,” addresses Pigeon’s fear of failure.
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Book Review: Ron Chernow’s ‘Mark Twain’ gives readers an honest assessment of beloved author’s life
May 13, 2025 3:16 pm - Pulitzer Prize-winning author Ron Chernow is known for writing massive biographies of the country’s most enduring figures. So it comes as no surprise that his biography of author and humorist Mark Twain clocks in at more than 1,000 pages.
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Retired teachers to explore ‘The Anxious Generation’ in Book Between BitesMay 12, 2025 5:30 pm - On Thursday, May 15, retired Batavia teachers Kathy Hubbard and Linda Sullivan will close out Books Between Bites’ 36th season with a talk on the 2024 book, “The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness” by social psychologist Jonathan Haidt.
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Book Review: Allison Larkin’s latest is a heartfelt story of small-town America, set in her hometown
May 12, 2025 9:19 am - A heartfelt presentation of small-town American life and the joys and struggles that go with it, “Home of the American Circus” centers on Freya who, at 30, must move back home and deal with the house her parents left her.
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Book Review: Nate Bargatze tries to bring his comedy from screen to page with ‘Big Dumb Eyes’
May 07, 2025 12:41 pm - It’s a rite of passage for all comedians: Work like crazy on the stand-up circuit, hit it big, record live specials for a streaming platform, and then write a book that can never quite measure up to your live act. Consider “Big Dumb Eyes: Stories From a Simpler Mind” by Nate Bargatze.
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Book Review: David Attenborough takes readers to ‘Earth’s Last Wilderness’ in ‘Ocean’
May 06, 2025 10:03 am - British biologist Sir David Attenborough will celebrate his 99th birthday two days after the publication of his latest book, “Ocean: Earth’s Last Wilderness.” And I’m willing to bet he’d appreciate it if every nation would sign on to the U.N. High Seas Treaty and stop exploiting the ocean for short-term gains.