Literature
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‘Lightbreakers’ is a moving, inventive novel about physics, time and love
Dec 02, 2025 2:52 pm - The term “scientific fiction,” a subtle adjustment to science fiction, is often used to describe weighty literary novels about cutting-edge technologies and big ideas, and it’s an apt way to describe Aja Gabel’s riveting second novel, “Lightbreakers.”
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Along for the ride: Judson in Elgin named Bicycle Friendly UniversityDec 01, 2025 9:49 am - With holidays approaching, my annual book reviews offer suggestions for biking gift lists, your own or others. First, however, positive bicycling news: League of American Bicyclists recently awarded official Bicycle Friendly University status to three Illinois institutions on Nov. 13, including Elgin’s Judson University.
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The 10 best thrillers of 2025
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At 81, Joy Williams is as good as she’s ever been
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Scrooge revisited: MCC professors to present a new take on ‘A Christmas Carol’Nov 19, 2025 9:43 am - McHenry County College invites the community to get in the holiday spirit with a thought-provoking twist on a timeless classic. “A Christmas Carol Revisited: Scrooge’s Reclamation” will take place at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 5, in the college’s Black Box Theatre, with festive pre-show music beginning at 6:30 p.m.
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Patti Smith is more candid than ever in her book ‘Bread of Angels’
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Illinois’ new Poet Laureate to speak to St. Charles Writers GroupNov 14, 2025 11:07 pm - On Nov. 22, the St. Charles Writers Group is hosting Illinois Poet Laureate Mark Turcotte as the guest speaker. A member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Anishinaabe, he spent his early years on North Dakota's Turtle Mountain Chippewa Reservation and migrant camps across the western U.S.
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From gowns to pantsuits, Michelle Obama explains her iconic fashion picks in ‘The Look’
Nov 13, 2025 11:52 am - On any day during her eight years as first lady of the United States, Michelle Obama said she could go from giving a speech to meeting with a counterpart from another country to digging in her vegetable garden with groups of schoolchildren. And her clothes had to be ready for that, which she details in her new book, “The Look.”
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Elmhurst’s GreenMan Theatre puts out call for plays for its sixth annual ‘8 to the Bar’ festivalNov 11, 2025 3:42 pm - GreenMan Theatre Troupe has selected “Lights! Camera! Action!” as the prompt for its sixth annual play festival of eight 10-minute plays — “8 to the Bar” — to be performed July 2026 in Villa Park, Ill.
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Writer David Szalay wins prestigious Booker Prize for fiction with his earthy novel ‘Flesh’