Location: chicago, IL

GREG BORZO Chicago Cable Cars In the late 1880s, Chicago became home to the largest cable car network in the world, and soon a nationwide cable car building boom would ensue. Chicago writer Borzo guides readers through a stretch of Chicago cable car history that most people never knew existed--even though they have been walking past, riding over and even dining in remnants of it for years.

Location: Street: Luncheon, University Club of Chicago , Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)

Dreaming in French tells the effect of the Parisian experience on the lives of three American icons – Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, Susan Sontag, and Angela Davis. Their time abroad was not long but served to shape their intellectual and cultural makeup and ultimately their callings in life.

Location: Street: Blackstone Library—Downstairs Auditorium Additional: 4904 S. Lake Park Avenue City: Chicago, Province: Illinois Postal Code: 60615 Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)

DALE KUSHNER The Conditions of Love Madison, Wisconsin writer—and former Ragdale fellow—talks about her debut novel, the story of a girl’s journey from childhood to adulthood as she reckons with her parents' abandonment, her need to break from society's limitations, and her desire for spiritual and erotic love.

Location: Street: 811 Elm Street City: Winnetka, Province: Illinois Postal Code: 60093-2236 Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)

We have a loaded reading series as we're joined by Terese Svoboda (Tin God), Rob Roberge (The Cost of Living), Sheri Joseph (Where You Can Find Me) and Ru Freeman (A disobedient girl). Join us, try one of our red or white wines, and listen to some phenomenal writers share their work!

Location: Street: 4736-38 N Lincoln Ave City: Chicago, Province: Illinois Postal Code: 60625 Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)

Film screening: A Question of Habit: Images of Women Religious in U.S. Popular Culture Bren Murphy, the film's director, producer, and writer

Narrated by Susan Sarandon, this film examines depictions of Catholic nuns and sisters in contemporary U.S. culture and contrasts these popular images with the lives of actual women religious, both historical and current. More than thirty women religious, cultural critics, historians, and artists were interviewed, including Sr. Helen Prejean (Dead Man Walking), Tom Fontana (Oz, Homicide), and Robert Orsi (Madonna of 115th Street). The winner of four prestigious awards, this film has been screened throughout the United States and Europe and been aired by PBS. Running time is 57 min. A discussion will follow the film.

Location: Street: 5233 N. Clark St. City: Chicago, Province: Illinois Postal Code: 60640-2122 Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)

Come see Stephen Rodrick share his memoir The Magical Stranger: A Son's Journey Into His Father's Life against the intimate backdrop of the The Boarding House.

The Magical Stranger is a moving and powerful story of love and sacrifice, fathers and sons, heroism and duty, soldiers and the families they leave behind, in which a writer--the son of an accomplished Navy pilot killed on duty--uses his own experience to illuminate the triumphs and tragedies of a life in military service.

**This is a ticketed event. More information coming soon!

Location: Street: The Boarding House Additional: 720 N. Wells City: Chicago, Province: Illinois Postal Code: 60654 Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)

People who are more active are less likely to have problems with their memory and thinking as they get older. Come learn about the changing brain and healthy aging from Phyllis Patnaude of the Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center. You will hear some tips on how to keep your memory sharp and find out about new research studies. Light refreshments will be served. Please RSVP to the library Reference Desk at 708-366-5205. This program is part of Celebrating Seniors Week. (LTFL_riverforest)… (more)

Join us for a book discussion of State of Wonder by Ann Patchett. A researcher at a pharmaceutical company, Marina Singh journeys into the heart of the Amazonian delta to check on a field team that has been silent for two years--a dangerous assignment that forces Marina to confront the ghosts of her past.
Discussion materials are available on the book display located near the south entrance. Learn more about this book discussion group. (added from Eventkeeper)… (more)

Join Lois Leveen, the Newberry’s 2013 Arthur and Lila Weinberg Fellow, for a discussion of the research behind The Secrets of Mary Bowser, her novel based on the true story of a former slave who became a Union spy in the Confederate White House.

Dr. Leveen will provides insight into the lives of free and enslaved blacks in urban, industrialized Richmond; into the thriving black community in antebellum Philadelphia; and into how blacks and whites worked together in the pro-Union underground that operated in Richmond during the war. The author will also explore what it means to teach—and learn— African American history through fiction. What happens when ordinary people do extraordinary things?

Award-winning author Lois Leveen earned degrees in history and literature from Harvard, the University of Southern California, and UCLA, and taught at UCLA and at Reed College. She is a regular contributor to Disunion, the New York Times coverage of the sesquicentennial of the Civil War. (lilithcat)… (more)

In 1917 a bomb exploded in a Milwaukee police station, killing nine officers and a civilian. Those responsible never were apprehended, but police, press, and public all assumed that the perpetrators were Italian. Days later, eleven alleged Italian anarchists went to trial on unrelated charges involving a fracas that had occurred two months before. Against the backdrop of World War I, and amidst a prevailing hatred and fear of radical immigrants, the Italians had an unfair trial. The specter of the larger, uncharged crime of the bombing haunted the proceedings and assured convictions of all eleven. Although Clarence Darrow led an appeal that gained freedom for most of the convicted, the celebrated lawyer's methods themselves were deeply suspect. The entire case left a dark, if hidden, stain on American justice. Largely overlooked for almost a century, the compelling story of this case emerges vividly in this meticulously researched book by Dean A. Strang. In its focus on a moment when patriotism, nativism, and terror swept the nation, Worse than the devil exposes broad concerns that persist even today as the United States continues to struggle with administering criminal justice to newcomers and outsiders.

Location: Street: Seminary Co-op Bookstore Additional: 5751 S. Woodlawn Avenue City: Chicago, Province: Illinois Postal Code: 60637-1507 Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)

Drew Magary returns to the Book Cellar to sign copies of his book Someone Could Get Hurt, a sharp, funny, and heartfelt memoir about fatherhood and the ups and downs of raising a family in modern America. The "GQ" correspondent and "Deadspin" columnist's stories about trying to raise a family have attracted millions of readers online. And now he's finally bringing that unique voice to a memoir.

Location: Street: 4736-38 N Lincoln Ave City: Chicago, Province: Illinois Postal Code: 60625 Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)

Rock-Bottom Blessings: Discovering God's Abundance When All Seems Lost

What does it mean to live an abundant life? Can we actually be blessed in the midst of serious disappointments and setbacks? In Rock-Bottom Blessings, Karen Beattie makes the case that true abundance is found in the transformation that happens when we experience God’s presence during periods of grief, loss, and disappointment. Beattie begins to see life’s challenges as gifts to be accepted like all other gifts: with reverence and gratitude. Karen Beattie has been a writer for more than 20 years and has been published in numerous publications, including Christianity Today and Midwest Living.

Location: Street: 5233 N. Clark St. City: Chicago, Province: Illinois Postal Code: 60640-2122 Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)

PHIL JACKSON Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success Former Bulls coach Jackson talks about his memoir, full of revelations about fascinating personalities and their drive to win; about motivation and competition at the highest levels; and about what it takes to bring out the best in ourselves and others.

Location: Street: Luncheon, The Union League Club City: Chicago, Province: Illinois Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)