Archive for April 2007
Flight
Sherman Alexie wrote The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven and The Toughest Indian in the World. He adapted parts of the first book into the screenplay for the 1998 feature film Smoke Signals. Flight is Alexie’s first novel in a decade. Using wit and eulogy, satire and sentimentality Alexie tells the story […]
One More Time
Mike Royko wrote a newspaper column in Chicago for thirty-four years. He started at the Daily News, then moved to the Sun-Times when the Daily News shut its doors. In 1984 he left the Sun-Times for the rival Chicago Tribune when the Sun-Times sold to Rupert Murdoch, claiming, “No self-respecting fish would be wrapped in […]
A Chicago Tavern
Rick Kogan works as the host of WGN radio’s “Sunday Papers with Rick Kogan” and a senior writer and “Sidewalks” columnist at the Chicago Tribune. Years ago I counted myself a regular at the Billy Goat tavern on Washington– not the original, but filled with some shared history. But I know only the myths and […]
Near Perfect
Last night’s game between the Chicago White Sox and the Texas Rangers was a treat. It showed teamwork. It showed skill. It showed drive and determination. It was a joy to watch. Last night’s game was also the first game in major league history to feature all of the following events. Each of these is […]
Go Tell It on the Mountain
The Chicago Public Library picked Go Tell It on the Mountain, the first novel by James Baldwin, as the Spring 2007 selection for One Book, One Chicago. I have tried to read each season’s selection since the program was inaugurated in 2001. Some selections have been familiar, many unfamiliar. Go Tell It on the […]
Laughter in the Dark
One of Vladimir Nabokov’s earlier works, Laughter in the Dark tells the story of a respectable, middle-aged man who abandons his wife for a lover half his age. This affection results in a mutually parasitic relationship. The themes Nabokov would revive in many of his later works, and most notably in Lolita. This novel […]
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon
Opening Day has come and gone this week. The Chicago White Sox have lost their first two games of the season. While I listened to game three against the Cleveland Indians, yesterday, it occurred to me that I had finished my last book and needed another. Bottom of the ninth, game tied 3-3. Mark […]
