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Blogging Around: Musings, Amusements, Links, and Other DiversionsAnother holiday gift, equally simple and elegant, equally filled with the right kind of inspirationDecember 27, 2011
A holiday gift, simple and elegant, filled with the right kind of inspirationDecember 27, 2011 
A t-shirt with sage advice, a mantra I tell myself and my students every single day.
Two views on public libraries, plus where we are in 2011November 23, 2011
The loud and aggressive push back in Chicago against Mayor Emanuel's proposed cuts to the public libraries managed to deflect the most severe budget slashes. The news still is not happy; people will lose jobs, resulting in reduced services and branch hours. Yet, to paraphrase the poet, library patrons did not go gently into that night. Instead, they raged and raged some more. (more…)
Help Save Chicago Public LibrariesOctober 22, 2011
The Chicago Public Library system is facing drastic (and draconian) cuts in Mayor Emanuel's new budget. As it now stands, if this budget goes through the part-time library personnel who reshelve books will be cut, leaving this important task to full-timers. Jobs for additional full-time employees would also be eliminated, further straining the limits of an already understaffed workforce. This means library staff members will have limited time for patrons, including (more…)
Gregg Olsen and EnvyOctober 6, 2011 
Gregg Olsen and me at Barnes & Noble, Skokie, IL. One of us is 6'4" and one is 5'4". Not including hair in either case.
Amazon and the new electronic librarySeptember 23, 2011
I'm not sure how I feel about this as both writer and reader. Obviously libraries are my life's blood on both fronts. Yet there's something terribly impersonable about Kindles and e-books creeping into the shelf space. Part of the joy of libraries is wandering through the stacks, discovering old books that have been waiting (more…)
Slaughterhouse-Five: saved from the censors once moreSeptember 21, 2011
One person had a Missouri high school ban Kurt Vonnegut's classic novel Slaughterhouse-Five. Of course he had no kids in the school but the board quickly caved and pulled the novel from the shelves. After being called out for national embarrassment, the school reinstated the book, making Slaughterhouse-Five available to (more…)
Writing in the post-Borders eraSeptember 21, 2011
The end of Borders represents part of the enormous changes now facing book writers, book readers, and book lovers. Writer Diana Abu-Jaber offers unique insights in this Huffington Post essay. (more…)
Three Questions Most Often Asked of WritersSeptember 19, 2011
Fiction writer Warren Adler on three questions most often asked of writers:
1. How do you write? 2. When do you write? 3. Where do you get your ideas? (more…) Good evening ladies & gentlemen: Walter WinchellSeptember 18, 2011
After spending two days pouring through Walter Winchell's papers, I can hear the man's staccato delivery ringing in my head. Here's the real thing.
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