Sure hope you check out Chicago's most favoritest and goodest literary reading series. Tune in around 9:30 AM to hear me chatting about it on 848 on WBEZ!
The Gregory Maguire Interview
Jan. 20, 2012Today I chat with the author of the novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, a very compelling and provocative retelling of the story of the green-faced villain from The Wizard of Oz. And yes, that book was turned into a pretty popular musical. Wicked is just one in a series by Maguire, which also included Son of a Witch, A Lion Among Men and the recently-published final volume in the series, Out of Oz. He is also the author of many other novels and children’s books and is the co-founder and co-director of the nonprofit educational program Children's Literature New England. You can find out much more about him here.
Steve Delahoyde really hates this Jaguar commercial
Jan. 18, 2012You may remember Steve Delahoyde from his sound-off last year on the Netflix rate hike. Or you may know him for his funny short films, the likes of which he will be showing at Monday's Funny Ha-Ha. Today though I'm letting him go off on a Jaguar commercial that filled him with so much rage that he ended up writing a fairly lengthy discourse on how much he can't stand it. He does work in the advertising realm, so he knows of which he speaks, but really, I just think he was crabby when he sent this to me.
Outside of the Super Bowl or some live televised event that can't be missed, not many of us watch commercials anymore. That's unfortunate because, when done well, they can be instances of filmmaking at its best. Something beautifully shot, touching, well-cast and that tells a great story or a solid joke in under thirty or sixty seconds is pure art (considerations of bad consumerism and all that blather aside). I have, and likely always will be, more a fan of the short form beauty of a well-crafted commercial than I ever will be of any feature film. Unfortunately, because of our DVR and never having enough time, I don't get to watch spots very often. But when I do, like during a game, I get angry when I have to sit through a bad one.
List: Prizes from the Jewel-Osco Wish Big Win Big Holiday Giveaway I have been one ticket away from winning for an annoyingly long time
Jan. 17, 2012
$500 Jewel-Osco Gift Card prize
$5,000 cash prize
$250 Gift Card Mall â„¢ Gift Card Prize
$20 Jewel-Osco Gift Card Prize
$100 Jewel-Osco Gift Card Prize
$650 iPad Prize
$100 Digital Camera Prize
$2 Cash Prize
The Sarah Dessen Interview
Jan. 13, 2012
If you’re a fan of the young adult genre (and if you are, you don’t need me to tell you that there’s more to it than vampires and werewolves), you’re probably heard the name of today’s interviewee. She’s the author of 10 novels (many of them New York Times bestsellers) which have won numerous awards and accolades. Just a few examples: Just Listen was a Booksense Top Ten Pic, An ALA Best Book for Young Adults and in YALSA Teen’s Top Ten; This Lullaby was an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, a Borders Group Original Voices Finalist, and a Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist and Someone Like You was An ALA Best Book for Young Adults, A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, a barnesandnoble.com Best Teen Novel of the Year, Winner of the South Carolina Young Adult Book Award and was adapted into the movie How to Deal.
The one that got away
Jan. 12, 2012By the end of high school, I was ready to graduate and get the hell out of Dodge. I didn’t even have that hard a time of it during those years, compared to some kids, but the stress of figuring out who I was, what I really wanted to do, who my friends were, where I wanted to go to college and the ways I knocked myself out to get in had taken its toll. I was tired of seeing the same people in the same halls every day and was ready for a fresh start, not only with new friends but maybe even with a new persona.
Senior year ended more with a whimper than with a bang. Senioritis made classes seem interminable, prom was an overlong letdown after a stressful buildup, and the last day of school will be remembered not for hugs and yearbook signings but for a screaming match I had with a guy who had terminated our friendship. For graduation day, I cut off a big chunk of my long hair and wore a Georgetown t-shirt and gym shoes under my gown, almost to spite school: I wouldn’t pay it homage with a pretty dress and hairdo.
There was one way though that my high school career could be salvaged, however, and that was by the Senior Awards ceremony.
Ancestors of Barack Obama’s Presidential Power Suit
Jan. 10, 2012
Abraham Lincoln’s Invisible Mustache of Machismo
Franklin Roosevelt’s Rocket-Powered Wheelchair
John Adam’s Tiny Ruffly Bit of Legacy-Lace
James A. Garfield’s Fury Beard
William McKinley’s Vest of Strength
Woodrow Wilson’s Pince-Nez of Prowess
George Washington’s Shoe-Buckle of Glory
Ronald Reagon’s Most-Virile Wing-Tip
Lyndon Johnson’s Dynamo Hankie
The Jen Lancaster Interview
Jan. 6, 2012
I met today’s interviewee while doing the fun reading series Witty Women Writers at the Book Cellar. She’s is a former investor relations firm vice president turned insanely popular New York Times bestselling author who lives in the Chicagoland area. She’s beloved for her witty memoirs Bitter is the New Black; Bright Lights, Big Ass; Such A Pretty Fat; Pretty in Plaid; My Fair Lazy and her most recent book, a foray into fiction, If You Were Here. You can read much more from and about her here on her blog, Jennsylvania. (P.S.: In case you can't tell, we conducted this interview before the holidays, but I wanted to save it for when everyone was back and paying full attention to their computers.)
I know you love coming up with the titles for your books (and others.) What are some that haven’t gotten used that are personal favorites?