Column: Mixologist Melissa Weaver dreams of a tavern to call her own
Though the word “mixologist” was not coined until the mid-1800s and didn’t move into common usage until this century, we have seen some “interesting” bartending experiments.
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Column: Will there be more birthdays for the Uptown Theatre? A new book looks at its history
“The Uptown: Chicago’s Endangered Movie Palace” captures the building’s amazing history, but also serves as a call to action, an argument for salvation.
Column: Writer James Tehrani’s first book is ‘Alfalfa — The Rascal You Knew, the Character You Never Knew’
James Tehrani may know more about Carl Switzer/Alfalfa than anyone on the planet and the proof peppers the pages of his entertaining biography.
Column: Forty years of book and author memories at Lit Fest
I have attended every one of these summer tributes to the written word. I'll be back at this 40th anniversary edition with a few author presentations.
Column: Bill Kurtis writes of the adventures of his ‘Whirlwind’ life as a TV news anchorman
It’s understandable if you know Bill Kurtis only as an anchorman. Read his new autobiography for more, in bookstores in September.
Column: New book ‘Something Big’ revisits the Brown’s Chicken massacre
The mass murder in suburban Palatine in 1993 continues to affect lives today. Author Patrick Wohl looks back at that horror and how its story was told.
Column: Abbott Kahler’s ‘Eden Undone’ tells the story of how a nightmare was created on a lonely island
This nonfiction story, subtitled "A True Story of Sex, Murder, and Utopia at the Dawn of World War II," is also the subject of the new Ron Howard film "Eden."
Column: Remembering Jim Dooley of The Dooley Brothers, the man and his music
Jim and his musical family had performed in Chicago for many years. They were once called “the longest continuously running band in the Chicago area after the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.”
Column: Remembering astronaut Jim Lovell, one of a rare kind
It is a long way from Lake Forest to the moon — 240,000 miles, give or take — and Jim Lovell made that trip twice, seeing things that few people...
Column: A new podcast seeks to put you in ‘Hamlet’s’ head
Jeremy McCarter of the Make-Believe Association has created a podcast version of Shakespeare's play that puts you inside his thoughts, and him in yours.