The Book Cellar

"Beginning and ending with phone sex, and detouring into subjects like AIDS and cancer, it’s safe to say you won’t see Songs of Insurgency (Vagabond Press, $12) popping up on your mother’s book club calendar.

In his 23 sharp, poignant shorts, Chicago writer Spencer Dew lays out a terrifying ... (more)post–September 11 world filled with loneliness, isolation, sexual alienation and a lot of phone sex. Dew, a Kentucky native and Ph.D. candidate at the University of Chicago, where he’s writing his dissertation on the work of experimental writer Kathy Acker, takes a shockingly honest look at our current culture through individual experiences. His book hits like a sock to the gut—a feeling similar to that evoked by Acker’s best-known novel, Blood and Guts in High School."

---By Alicia Eler, TimeOut Chicago

Amnesty International presents an evening of poetry. Join poet Marc Falkoff as he discusses his book, Poems from Guantanamo: The Detainees Speak.

Join author and Chicago Tribune reporter Richard C. Longworth as he discusses his book, Caught in the Middle: America’s Heartland in the Age of Globalism.

Join urban fantasy author Anton Strout as he discusses his new book Dead to Me. Find out more at his website ( AntonStrout.com).

The Desi Lit book group hosts a discussion with V.V. Ganeshananthan, author of Love Marriage.

Celebrate National Poetry Month by joining Erika Wurth as she presents a collection of her poetry.

Join Chicago-area publication RAGAD as they celebrate the release of their sixth issue with readings and performances Ben Tanzer, Amy Guth, and Jill Summers. Editor Nick Ostdick will read and host.

RAGAD is an online and print literary magazine that is published quarterly featuring two stories ... (more)per print installment. Our online magazine is updated monthly, also featuring two or three stories per with a more experimental form to them. Our print installments are distributed in the the Chicagoland area, the Milwaukee metro area, and select cities across the country--check back for actual locations soon.

We publish short fiction of 2500 words or less from new writers and established names, as well as anyone in between. Check our submission guidelines for info on getting your great work to us. We run on volunteer power, and if anyone would like to help us out as far as distribution, promotion, or just hanging out with us goes, please drop us a line. And submit now, for you'll be hooked on RAGAD before you know it.

---from http://www.ragadzine.com/index.htm

Elizabeth Berg, author of Dream When You’re Feeling Blue, stops by to discuss and read from her new book The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted: And Other Small Acts of Liberation.

Author Carl Honore discusses his book Under Pressure: Rescuing Our Children From the Culture of Hyper-Parenting.

For information and tickets: www.bookcellarinc.com

Spend Cinco De Mayo with us and a fabulous trio of authors. Nina Revoyr, Elizabeth Crane, and Joe Meno will read and discuss their titles The Age of Dreaming, You Must Be This Happy To Enter and Tender As Hellfire.

Join us for a wine and cheese reception with Patricia Wells as she signs her book We've Always Had Paris...and Provence: A Scrapbook of Our Life In France.

Tim W. Brown, author of Walking Man, and Paul McComas, author of Planet of the Dates, stop by to discuss and read from their new books.

Elizabeth Hand, author of Generation Loss, and Matthew Sharpe, author of Jamestown, come to the store to read and share a discussion about their books.

Come join the Roosevelt University creative writing students as they celebrate the end of the school year by presenting their work.

This month’s works include Opening Day: The Story of Jackie Robinson’s First Season by Jonathan Eig, Deconstructing Tyrone by Natalie Moore, Views From the Home Office Window: On Motherhood, Family, and Life by Ellen Blum Barish.

Join fantasy authors Jennifer Stevenson, Gregory Frost, and Nnedi Okorafor Mbachu as they read from their works.Their books are a must for any fantasy collection.

The founder and editor of The Believer, Ed Park is coming to sign his first novel Personal Days.

It’s Local Author Night! Stop by for book readings and signings of Scratch The Seasonal Menus and Perfect Pairings by Connie Fairbanks, Dear American Airlines by Jonathan Miles, The Funniest One In The Room: The Lives and Legends of Del Close by Howard Johnson, and Undoing I Do by Anastasia Royal.

Karen Abbott will be signing her book Sin in the Second City.

Join us for a night with Johan Bruyneel, author of We Might as Well Win: On the Road to Success with the Mastermind Behind a Record-Setting Eight Tour de France Victories, a view of Lance Armstrong’s coach.

Author Robert Kurson will be reading from his books Crashing Through: A True Story of a Blind Boy Who Became The Man Who Dared To See and Shadow Diver’s.

Join us for a poetry reading with Susanna Lang from her new book Even Now

Shimer College hosts a GREAT BOOKS TRIVIA NIGHT!

Come test your wits with other fans of great books.

Start time: Thursday, July 10, 2008 At 08:30 PM
Url: http://www.shimer.edu

Rick Lax shares his humorous memoir, Lawyer Boy: A Case Study on Growing Up.

Then, it's time for a magic show (by the author)! Voila!

Url: http://ricklax.com/

Ann O’Farrell, writer of Norah’s Children and her newest novel, Michael , joins Book Cellar in this free event open to the public

Join The Book Cellar in welcoming Charles Strouse, composer of brodway hits Annie, Bye Bye Birdie, Applause and others, to an evening of music, books and wine.

Strouse will play some show tunes in celebration of his new memoir, Put On A Happy Face. A reading and book signing will follow.

Novels and Comics and Zines, Oh My! Story in Graphics Night with Josh Elder, Chris Burnham, Tim Broderick, and Jeffrey Brown.

Check out their websites!
http://www.joshelder.com/
http://www.chrisburnham.com/
http://www.margomitchell.com/thc/jb.h...
http://www.timbroderick.net/

Join us for an evening sioree with editors of Daily Candy Lexicon: Words That Don't Exist But Should.

The experts on all things cool and of-the-moment offer a glossary of the cleverest words most people have never heard--a round-up of the latest in hip expressions.

You’ll laugh. (Hopefully.) ... (more)You’ll cry. (Okay, probably not.) But your life will definitely be sweeter because of it.

Frances DePontes Peebles comes to The Book Cellar to share her new novel, The Seamsterss.

Join us in celebrating local authors
JoAnn Fastoff, JD Gordon, and June Sawyers
as they read from their novels.

Join Anna Winger as she talks about her novel, This Must Be the Place.

The FIXX READING SERIES at The Book Cellar presents:

Mini-reads from authors of Featherproof's mini-book collection featuring
Lindsay Hunter,
Caroline Picard,
and
Scott Stealey.

http://preview.tinyurl.com/5kxfbr

Join Book Cellar in welcoming contributors to
Submerged: Tales from the Basin
in a celebratory reading and launch party!

Submerged: Tales from the Basin is an anthology of literature, memoir, and art created by more than thirty women to benefit those who survived Hurricane Katrina.

The title ... (more)refers to a fear many of us had as young children, of having our heads submerged under water while our mothers washed our hair.

The stories, essays, poems, and art of Submerged are an exploration of each contributor's relationship with her hair, in most cases emotional, often humorous, and consistently generated from youth.

The Book Cellar welcomes Josh Barkan, author of Blind Speed.

Barkan will read from his novel, answer questions, and sign copies.

Come out to The Book Cellar for wine, dinner, and what is sure to be an entertaining evening with Josh Barkan!

Josh Barkan was awarded a literature fellowship from ... (more)the National Endowment for the Arts in 2006. He has taught writing at Harvard, New York University, and Boston University and is the author of the short-story collection Before Hiroshima. A graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and Yale, he lives in New York City.

(NOTE: 20% of book sales from the Rosenfelt event will go to benefit The Red Door Animal Shelter, a no-kill shelter committed to helping animals in need. Have a look: Red Door Animal Shelter.)

Join David Rosenfelt, the popular author of six Andy Carpenter mysteries, including the recent hit "Play ... (more)Dead," as he delivers his first stand alone: Don't Tell A Soul. Rosenfelt will give a talk and signing of his book at this evening's event.

David Rosenfelt is the Edgar and Shamus Award--nominated author of six novels featuring lawyer Andy Carpenter, most recently Play Dead. He and his wife live in California with their thirty-seven golden retrievers.

http://www.davidrosenfelt.com/

Doug Cummings reads his murder mystery set in Falcon Ridge, Every Secret Crime.

Keir Graff reads from his novel about what one man must do when following his faith means breaking the law, One Nation Under God.

and

Michael Harvey will be reading his latest mystery novel set in Chicago, The Fifth ... (more)Floor.

The Book Cellar welcomes
Christine Blevins as she reads her novel about superstitions in the old country, Midwife of the Blue Ridge.

Join us for an evening of storytelling and book signing.

SYNOPSIS: As the lone survivor of an attack on her village, the woman called Dark Maggie was thought to ... (more)be cursed--and unfit for marriage. Venturing to the colonies as an indentured servant, she hopes to escape the superstitions of the old country and find a home of her own.

http://www.christineblevins.com/

SYNOPSIS: Jarrar's sparkling debut about an audacious Muslim girl growing up in Kuwait, Egypt and Texas is intimate, perceptive and very, very funny. Nidali Ammar is born in Boston to a Greek-Egyptian mother and a Palestinian father, and moves to Kuwait at a very young age, staying there until she's ... (more)13, when Iraq invades. A younger brother is born in Kuwait, rounding out a family of complex citizenships. During the occupation, the family flees to Alexandria in a wacky caravan, bribing soldiers along the way with whiskey and silk ties. But they don't stay long in Egypt, and after the war, Nidali's father finds work in Texas. At first, Nidali is disappointed to learn that feeling rootless doesn't make her an outsider in the States, and soon it turns out the precocious and endearing Arab chick isn't very different from other American girls, a reality that only her father may find difficult to acc...

Join The Book Cellar in welcoming Porter Shreve as he shares his new novel, When the White House was Ours.

Url: http://www.portershreve.com/

Book Cellar celebrates this group of Witty Women Writers tonight!

Come enjoy dinner and wine and a great group of ladies as they share their stories!

The Lineup:
Amy Guth
Stacey Ballis

Keep checking back--more witty women to come!

Join The Book Cellar as we celebrate contributors of the parenting book Sleep Is For The Weak . They will be sharing stories that range in style from snort-Diet-Coke-out-the-nose funny to poignant and bittersweet, and signing the anthology.

The Book Cellar features an evening with local authors.

Scott Smith will read from Like Dizzy Gillespie's Cheeks

Joyce Koreman will read On Another Note … Mary’s Story

Join The Book Cellar in welcoming John McNally, author of America's Report Card and The Book of Ralph.

John will be reading from his new book, Ghosts of Chicago.

Stop in, sip some wine, and listen to some great stories!

John Belushi, Walter Payton, Richard J. Daley, and Nelson Algren are some ... (more)of the Chicagoans who inhabit and haunt this new collection of stories from a lauded American writer.

In this first story collection since the award-inning Troublemakers, many of the stories deftly resurrect deceased Chicagoans or artifacts of Chicago pop culture, creating an impressionistic portrait of the city.

Ursula Bielski visits The Book Cellar to share creepy tales of ghostlore and hauntings.

She'll be reading from her books Chicago Haunts and More Chicago Haunts.

Come if you dare!

Internationally known stand-up comedian and joke writer Jeremy Greenberg comes to The Book Cellar to share his new book, Relative Discomfort.

If your family more closely resembles the Simpsons as opposed to the Tanner, Keaton, or Huxtable clans, then chances are this book is for you. International ... (more)headlining comedian Jeremy Greenberg writes from the premise that although we love our families, many of us don't particularly love spending time with those who share our dysfunctional DNA.

John Green, author of renowned young adult novels Looking for Alaska and Abundance of Katherines, will be at Book Cellar reading his newest novel, Paper Towns.

John Green is a writer living in Indianapolis, Indiana (by way of New York and Chicago) with his outrageously wonderful wife, Sarah. John's ... (more)first novel, Looking for Alaska, was published in 2005. It won the Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in Young Adult literature, was a finalist for the L.A. Times Book Prize, and received many other accolades, which are discussed at some length on his website. The movie rights to Looking for Alaska were acquired by Paramount, and Josh Schwartz (creator of The O. C. and a very nice guy) is currently working on the screenplay. It has also been translated into 13 languages.

http://www.sparksflyup.com/2007/09/pa...

http://www.sparksflyup.com/

Sean Chercover comes to The Book Cellar to share his thrilling new novel, Trigger City.

He will be reading and signing at The Book Cellar.

Introduced in the acclaimed "Big City, Bad Blood," P.I. Ray Dudgeon is back in a dangerous investigation where the search for truth can lead to his own death.

The FIXX READING SERIES at The Book Cellar presents:

Robert Duffer, author of A Place to Call Home, Tim Hall, author of Full of It, and Ben Tanzer, who wrote Most Likely You'll Go Your Way and I'll Go Mine.

Don Heinrich will share his book on Illinois German Heritage this afternoon.

http://donheinrichtolzmann.net/books....

Michael Greenberg reads from Hurry Down Sunshine, his new memoir about coming
to terms with his 15-year-old daughter’s sudden mental illness.

Greenberg, a columnist for London's Times Literary Supplement, was living in Greenwich Village in 1996 when his 15-year-old daughter, Sally, suddenly became ... (more)manic, importuning strangers and ranting in the streets about her newfound cosmic wisdom. She was a danger to herself and others, so her father and stepmother had her committed to a psychiatric facility.

Win McCormack joins us at The Book Cellar with a reading and signing of his exhaustively researched You Don't Know Me: A Citizen's Guide to Republican Family Values.

"Editor-in-chief of Tin House magazine, McCormack catalogues over 100 cases of sexual misconduct and criminality committed by Republican ... (more)officials and supporters in an entertaining effort to expose the hypocrisy of America's self-professed "family values" party.

http://www.youdontknowmebook.com/

Chicago-based writer and teacher Carol LaChapelle reads and discusses her latest book, Finding Your Voice, Telling Your Stories: 167 Ways to Tell Your Life Stories, recently released by Marion Street Books.

Ms. LaChapelle has hosted writing and journal writing workshops for a variety of adult audiences, ... (more)including therapists, educators, clergy, support groups, and book groups.

http://www.carollachapelle.com/

Author Randa Jarrar joins us at The Book Cellar to share her funny, charming, and heartbreaking book, A Map of Home.

SYNOPSIS: Nidali, the rebellious daughter of an Egyptian-Greek mother and a Palestinian father, narrates her story from her childhood in Kuwait, her early teenage years in Egypt (to ... (more)where she and her family fled the 1990 Iraqi invasion), to her family's last flight to Texas. Nidali mixes humor with a loving and vibrant celebration of an eccentric middle-class family in the Arab world, and this perspective keeps her buoyant through the hardships she encounters: the humiliation of going through a checkpoint on a visit to her father's home on the West Bank; the fights with her father, who wants her to become a famous professor and stay away from boys; the end of her childhood as Iraq invades Kuwait on her thirteenth birthday; and the scare she gives her family when she runs away from home.

Come to The Book Cellar to check out The Best Christmas Decorations in Chicago, a fun holiday guidebook by local Mary Edsey. A unique holiday guidebook filled with outdoor decorating ideas! The Best Christmas Decorations in Chicagoland takes visitors on a holiday tour of the midwest city abundant with ... (more)yuletide cheer. This fun-filled book guides readers to over 200 sites from the exclusive shops of Michigan Avenue sparkling with white lights to the dazzling frontyards of creative homeowners. http://www.christmashouses.com/index....

Join us for a rock-solid night of great writers! Joe Meno reads his latest collection of stories, Demons in the Spring. Chris Connelly reads from his memoir as a singer for the Revolting Cocks, Concrete Bulletproof Invisible and Fried: My Life as a Revolting Cock. Stephanie Kuehnert reads her new novel ... (more)about growing up punk, I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone. Jolene Siana reads from her published teenage letters to Ogre, the singer from Skinny Puppy, Go Ask Ogre: Letters from a Deathrock Cutter.

The TALLGRASS WRITERS GUILD will be at The Book Cellar presenting a themed reading, HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS, consisting of submissions from the Guild Authors. If you are interested in the Tallgrass Writers Guild, find out more at their website, http://www.outriderpress.com/guildinf...

Come to the Book Cellar for a LAUNCH PARTY to celebrate the publication of the new nonfiction photo book, Who We Were: A Snapshot History of America. Richard Cahan, Michael Williams, and Nicholas Osborn will be here sharing their book and signing copies. Since the first snapshots were taken in 1888, ... (more)Americans have used simple, inexpensive cameras to record their life stories. In the process, they have left behind millions of snapshots that document the story of America. Now, for the first time, these personal photographs have been gathered together to tell the nation's history. From sod houses in South Dakota to the skyscrapers of New York City, these personal photographs form the first people's photo history of America. The snapshots capture nearly a century of American life-telling our story through our own eyes. The Wright Brothers, the World Wars, Woodstock. They are all here, creating a crazy quilt of steamships and biplanes, migrants and flappers, seal clubbers and suffragettes. This is who we were and who we are.

Denice Joyce and Nancy Watkins come to The Book Cellar to share their hilarious collection of photos of kids who are screaming while seated on Santa's lap. SCARED OF SANTA: SCENES OF TERROR IN TOYLAND He's huge and hairy and hulking. He dresses in strange furry clothing. He sneaks into people's homes ... (more)at night. Who wouldn't be afraid of . . . Santa Claus?!? Nothing says Christmas quite like innocent children shrieking with terror as a stranger dressed in red drags them kicking and screaming onto his lap. Now this time-honored rite of passage is celebrated with a hilarious collection of more than two hundred and fifty priceless photos of kids' traumatic trips to Santa's workshop. Scared of Santa offers a cornucopia of photographic funnies--from sixty-year-old family heirlooms to last year's howlers--along with delightful commentary on those unforgettable childhood visits to scary ol' Saint Nick. A great stocking suffer!

Come to the Book Cellar and enjoy A Cook's Journey: Slow Food In The Heartland by Chef Kurt Michael Friese

Come find out how hungry America really is with Joel Berg comes to Book Cellar to share his social/political book All You Can Eat: How Hungry is America? With the biting wit of "Super Size Me" and the passion of a lifelong activist, Berg draws attention to the growing number of people who are forced ... (more)to wait in lines at food pantries across the nation. The author challenges the new president to confront the result of U.S. poverty--hunger--and offers a simple and affordable plan to end it for good.

Discover what goes on while you're sleeping in the City That Never Sleeps. Russell Leigh Sharman, PHD, and Cheryl Harris Sharman, MA come to The Book Cellar to share their new book, Nightshift NYC. New York is the city that never sleeps. This luminous book peels back the cover of darkness over the city ... (more)as it hums along in the night, revealing a hidden world populated by the thousands of women and men who work and live the nightshift. Written with beauty and grace, "Nightshift NYC "weaves together cultural critique, vivid reportage, and arresting photographs to trace the inverted logic of the city at night. Russell Leigh Sharman and Cheryl Harris Sharman spent a year interviewing and shadowing fry cooks and coffee jockeys, train conductors, cab hacks, and dozens of others who keep the city running when the sun goes down. Investigating familiar places such diners and delis, they explore some less familiar ones as well--taking us on a walking tour of homelessness in Manhattan, onto a fishing boat out of Brooklyn, and into other little-known corners of the night. Traveling past the threshold of voyeurism into the lives of real people, they depict a social space entirely apart--one that is highly structured and inherently subversive. Together, these stories open a compelling view on contemporary urban life and, along the way, reveal the soul of the city itself.

Don't miss this month's Local Author Night, now a Book Cellar institution! Tonight's readers include: James Kennedy, author of the young adult novel The Order of Odd-Fish, Laura Benedict, author of the tense mystery Calling Mr. Lonely Hearts, Bryan W. Alaspa, author of the terrifying mystery Rig, Joe ... (more)Kilgore, author of the modern cautionary tale The Blunder, and Travis Thrasher, author of the spine-tingling novel, Isolation. Should be a terrifyingly good time!

Come celebrate the release of Kyle Beachy's debut novel, Slide. "Part love letter to the American Midwest, part ghost story, and part heartbreaking tale of one young man's struggle to find forgiveness as well as himself, this is a book that you won't want to miss." --Cristina Henriquez, author of Come ... (more)Together, Fall Apart.

The Book Cellar celebrates Chicago's talented writers at this evening's LOCAL AUTHOR NIGHT! The Lineup: Brendan Short reads from Dream City Sam Reaves reads from his Mean Town Blues and Jeff Roesgen reads his edition of 33 1/3, Rum Sodomy & the Lash Join us for what's sure to be a great time!

Author John Gallingan visits The Book Cellar to read and sign the newest book in his Fly Fishing Mystery series, The Clinch Knot.

Join us in welcoming author Jesse Ball and his new novel, The Way Through Doors. He will be reading and signing at this evening's event. With his debut novel, Samedi the Deafness, Jesse Ball emerged as one of our most extraordinary new writers. Now, Ball returns with this haunting tale of love and storytelling, ... (more)hope and identity. When Selah Morse sees a young woman get hit by a speeding taxicab, he rushes her to the hospital. The girl has lost her memory; she is delirious and has no identification, so Selah poses as her boyfriend. She is released into his care, but the doctor charges him to keep her awake, and to help her remember her past. Through the long night, he tells her stories, inventing and inventing, trying to get closer to what might be true, and hoping she will recognize herself in one of his tales. Offering up moments of pure insight and unexpected, exuberant humor, The Way Through Doors demonstrates Jesse Ball's great artistry and gift for and narrative.

Join the DESI LIT BOOK GROUP as they tackle White Tiger by Aravind Adiga.

Join THE BOOK CELLAR BOOK CLUB, as we discuss award-winner Kate Atkinson's new novel, Case Histories, a breathtaking story of families divided, love lost and found, and the mysteries of fate.

Join Chicago author Patrick Somerville and his friends from Featherproof Books for the release of Sommerville's debut novel, The Cradle (Little Brown). Reading alongside Sommerville will be Jonathan Messinger, co-founder of Featherproof Books and author of Hiding Out, his acclaimed collection of short ... (more)stories, and Featherproof minibook author Colleen O'Brien. Have a glass of wine and stay for what Kirkus calls "Fresh turf for American fiction from a talented writer." Somerville's vivid new book is a story of family and the connections across time that define our lives in secret and surprising ways. Patrick Somerville grew up in Green Bay, Wisconsin, went to college at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and later earned his MFA in creative writing from CornellUniversity. He has taught creative writing and English at CornellUniversity, Auburn State Correctional Facility, and The Graham School in Chicago. His first book of short stories, "Trouble "(Vintage, 2006), was named 2006's Best Book by a Chicago Author by "Time Out Chicago," His writing has appeared or is forthcoming in "One Story," "Epoch," "GQ," "The Beloit Fiction Journal," and "Best American Nonrequired Reading."

Everyone's Irish in March, so pick up a steaming Irish coffee from our Cafe and discover your Chicago Irish roots with two very special Chicago Irish Authors. Sharon Shea Bossard will discuss and sign her new book, Finding Your Chicago Irish, where Bossard steers readers beyond the shamrocks and green ... (more)beer and into the heart and soul of Irish Chicago with her entertaining and comprehensive guide. Mike Houlihan will also discuss his book, Hooliganism, an anthology of Mike Houlihan's best columns from The Irish American News, with additional material from the Chicago Tribune Magazine, and Chicago Public Radio.

Grab a copy of the SIERRA CLUB BOOK CLUB's choice for March, Charles Mann's 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, and join the group for a riveting discussion.

The GAPERS BLOCK BOOK GROUP meets tonight to discuss John McNally's Book of Ralph.

The Book Cellar celebrates Chicago's talented writers at this evening's LOCAL AUTHOR NIGHT! The Lineup: Stephen Asma reads from Buddha for Beginners Mark Paulson reads from 911 and Home and Carly Wells reads from Winter Games

Join Chicago writer Rebecca Rine-Stone as she reads from her hilarious debut book of creative nonficiton, Sunbathing in a Body Cast.

Join the Amnesty International Book Club as they discuss Innocents Lost by Jimmie Briggs.

Join Kelly Donlea for a discussion of her new book, 70 Meals, One Trip to the Store, and learn how to shop smart to make many more meals with fewer trips to the store. Also--warm up with a free sample of the author's killer tomato soup!!

Join the CAASE BOOK GROUP in March for a discussion of David Batstone's Not For Sale: The Return of the Global Slave Trade--and How We Can Fight It.

Join us for a reading by the local chapter of Iraq Veterans Against the War, as they present their books Warrior Writers: Re-Making Sense and Winter Soldier, Iraq and Afghanistan: Eyewitness Accounts of the Occupation.

Join the DESI LIT BOOK CLUBto discuss Q & A by Vikas Swarup. Pick up your copy at The Book Cellar today! The DesiLit book club meets monthly to bring together individuals who enjoy reading and discussing books written by South Asian authors and/or about the South Asian experience. To view the complete ... (more)list of titles discussed by DesiLit, visit http://www.desilit.org/chicago.html and scroll to the bottom for information about the DesiLit book club.

Join San Francisco chef Laura Stec as she discusses her new book, Cool Cuisine: Taking the Bite Out of Global Warming. Cool Cuisine is a smorgasbord of scientific fact and culinary art where the reader learns new ways to look at the climate crisis. It presents the full cycle on how our agrochemical food ... (more)system affects global warming and how global warming affects the food system. It inspires personal life changes with in-depth research, easy recipes, ideas for your next book group "read and eat" tasting party, and simple tips on how to cook a global-cooling cuisine. The book is organized into three sections: the first gives background to the global-warming problem, the second highlights solutions, and the third is a "culinary how-to," teaching simple techniques and tips. Laura Stec is a San Francisco Bay area chef who enjoys teaching about the artistry, health, and energetics of cooking. She runs her own personal chef/catering business--Laura Stec--Innovative Cuisine--and is Culinary Health Educator for Kaiser Permanente Medical Group.

Celebrate National Poetry Month with poetry readings by the winners of the Illinois Arts Council Artists Fellowship Awards for Poetry. Readers include: Patrick Culliton, Simone Muench, Catherine Theis, Tony Trigilio, Elizabeth Klise von Zerneck, and more!

Appetite Theatre and The Book Cellar present an APPETIZING READING SERIES, where you can check out the plays Appetite Theater is considering for their upcoming season! This afternoon features The Far East, an adventure tale set in modern Saudi Arabia, by Alex Lewin. About the reading: Finalist in the ... (more)2008 Kendeda Competition. An American archaeologist teams up with an Arab activist to unearth the "Mother of Books," the oldest scripture, from its resting place in the desert between Mecca and Medina. But their controversial mission affects a number of other characters, including a secretly gay Arab radical, a British spy and the ghost of a precocious 13-year-old boy. Appetite Theatre's Mission: Appetite Theatre feeds your soul. We blend the human elements of feast and story telling, of drink and socializing, in order to remind people of the basic value these activities impart on our experience. Thought provoking, contemporary theatre presented by emerging talents is the foundation of the Appetite experience.

The GAPERS BLOCK BOOK GROUP meets tonight to discuss Joshua Ferris' hilarious novel about a dysfunctional office, Then We Came to the End. Pick up your copy at The Book Cellar today!

The Book Cellar celebrates Chicago's talented writers at this evening's LOCAL AUTHOR NIGHT! The Lineup: Cristina Henriquez reads from her new novel, The World in Half, a follow-up to her acclaimed debut, Come Together, Fall Apart.

Join Chesa Boudin as he signs copies of his book, Gringo: A Coming of Age in Latin America.

Celebrate National Poetry Month with readings by local poets including: Richard Fox, Robert McDonald, Kate Dougherty, and Nicole Wilson.

Join editors from the Great Books Foundation to celebrate the release of their new book, The Great Books Foundation Short Story Omnibus (The Great Books Foundation, March 2009), edited by Daniel Born, Judith McCue and Donald Whitfield. Not only does this anthology include stories from familiar classic ... (more)and contemporary authors such as Edgar Allan Poe, Ernest Hemingway, John Updike and Margaret Atwood, but it also features nine pieces of sudden fiction and three graphic selections, each accompanied by discussion questions and a short author biography. For more information on the book, please visit: Web Linkwww.greatbooks.org/omnibus.

Fahrenheit 451, the seminal classic work by Illinois native Ray Bradbury, examines themes of book burning, censorship and the threat to critical thought and inquiry. These issues continue to resonate more than 50 years after the book's original publication. The Book Cellar of Lincoln Square is partnering ... (more)with Columbia College Chicago Library for an evening discussion of Bradbury's classic novel to encourage and promote reading and conversation within the community. The event is part of Columbia College Chicago's series of events celebrating Fahrenheit 451. The Columbia College Chicago Library is recipient of funding from The BIG READ. The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services designed to revitalize the role of literature in American culture and bring the transformative power of literature into the lives of its citizens. The Big Read brings together partners across the country to encourage citizens to read for pleasure and enlightenment. More information about The Big Read is available at: Web Linkhttp://www.NEAbigread.org.

Calling all teachers and parents! Join us for a very special evening celebrating children's authors. Discover new books, mingle with other parents and teachers, and recieve special discounts on merchandise all evening. The lineup: Mary Jo Reinhart, writer, and Paula Nathan, illustrator, of Grinelda the ... (more)Mad Hatter. Renanah Lehner and Gina Bazer, cowriters of Now Hiring: White House Dog. Sean Callahan will read A Wild Father's Day.

Join Chicago native Catherine O'Connell as she reads from her new mystery, Well Read and Dead, featuring the return of blue-blooded fashionista Pauline Cook. Back in Chicago after a disastrous European love affair, socialite Pauline Cook finds her finances nearly depleted, her co-op a shambles, and her ... (more)best friend mysteriously missing—vanished along with Pauline's cat. Though Whitney Armstrong's husband offers a substantial reward for the return of his lost wife, Pauline can't help suspecting that his grief is merely an act. But it's a shocking suggestion by a member of Whitney's book club that really gets Pauline moving—halfway around the world, in fact, to Thailand . . . in spite of a psychic's warning of terrible danger.

Writer and syndicated columnist Lenore Skenazy presents her book Free-Range Kids: Giving Our Children the Freedom We Had Without Going Nuts with Worry. When Lenore Skenazy wrote a newspaper column about letting her nine-year-old ride the subway alone in New York City, little did she realize that the ... (more)response would spark a national movement. Her outspoken, commonsense approach to parenting galvanized a huge wave of supporters--and a counterstorm of protest from others who dubbed her "America's Worst Mom."

Come to The Book Cellar to celebrate the paperback release of bestselling author Simon Winchester's newest book, The Man Who Loved China: The Fantastic Story of the Eccentric Scientist Who Unlocked the Mysteries of the Middle Kingdom. The book tells the extraordinary story of Joseph Needham, the brilliant ... (more)Cambridge scientist who unlocked the most closely held secrets of China, long the world's most technologically advanced country.

The Desi Lit Book Club meets to discuss The Karma of Brown Folk, by Vijay Prashad.

The Book Cellar Book Club meets to discuss The Defining Moment: FDR's Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope, by Jonathan Alter. Glasses of wine are half-off, and all are welcome!

The lovely Elizabeth Berg returns to The Book Cellar to share her latest book, Home Safe, the story of a a writer who has recently lost her husband, as well as her ability to write. Now she fears losing her daughter. The book looks at the nature of creativity, mother/daughter relationships, and the surprising ... (more)places one can find love and meaning. Don't miss it!

The Gapers Block Book Club meets to talk about Nella Larsen's Passing. The landmark novel about the cultural meaning of race, first published in 1929, is a remarkably candid exploration of shifting racial and sexual boundaries which tells the story of an two African-American woman who must confront lies ... (more)and secret fears.

The Sierra Club Book Group meets to discuss Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life.

Larry Tagg presents his new book, The Unpopular Mr. Lincoln: The Story of America's Most Reviled President. Today, Abraham Lincoln is a beloved American icon, widely considered to be our best president. It was not always so. The Unpopular Mr. Lincoln is the first study of its kind to concentrate on what ... (more)Lincoln's contemporaries actually thought of him during his lifetime. Be forewarned: your preconceived notions are about to be shattered.

Appetite Theatre and The Book Cellar present an APPETIZING READING SERIES. Come check out plays Appetite Theatre is considering for the upcoming season! This month's play is The Jinx, a French fable being adapted by one of Appetite's company members for a staged project in July 2009. Don't miss it! Appetite ... (more)Theatre's Mission: Appetite Theatre feeds your soul. We blend the human elements of feast and story telling, of drink and socializing, in order to remind people of the basic value these activities impart on our experience. Thought provoking, contemporary theatre presented by emerging talents is the foundation of the Appetite experience.

Come on out for the final stop of the Live Nude Girl in the Devil's TerritoryTour. Kyle Minor reads from his story collection, In the Devil's Territory. Kathleen Rooney reads from her memoir Live Nude Girl. Zach Plague reads from his novel Borning Boring Boring Boring Boring. and Gina Frangello is the ... (more)featured reader.

Join us for a very thrilling Local Author Night, featuring Gillian Flynn, author of the crime thriller Dark Places, Lenny Kleinfeld, author of the thrilling page-turner Shooters and Chasers, and Jamie Freveletti, author of the thrilling adventure story Running from the Devil.

(COST: $55/person, includes a copy of the book. Sign up at The Chopping Block at 773-293-8490) The Book Cellar is excited to partner with The Chopping Block for this very special event. Celebrated chef, cookbook author, and Food Network host Gale Gand will be sharing her new book, Gale Gand's Brunch!: ... (more)100 Fantastic Recipes for the Weekend's Best Meal. Join us at The Chopping Block (4747 N. Lincoln Ave., located on the same block as The Book Cellar) for a book signing with Gale. Come watch her demonstrate her favorite recipes, sample dishes from her new book, and enjoy brunch beverages, such as mimosas.