Paper Only for Stephen King’s Latest

Stephen King’s newest novel Joyland is being released in print form only. He told the Wall Street Journal: “I have no plans for a digital version. Maybe at some point, but in the meantime,  let people stir their sticks and go to an actual bookstore rather than a digital one.” Although considered an e-book pioneer (his 2000 story Riding the Bullet was released exclusively as an e-book) this decision is making many book retailers very happy. Joyland,  published by independent publisher Hard Case Crime will be in bookstores June 4. For more details, check out this article from The Christian Science Monitor.

Laura

E.L.Doctorow Wins Gold

The 2013 gold medals for the arts given by the American Academy of Arts and Letters have been awarded to novelist E.L.Doctorow and sculptor Mark di Suvero. The medals have been awarded each year since 1909 to two American citizens, in two categories of the arts, for an entire body of work. Fiction winners in the past include Philip Roth, Saul Bellow, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Eudora Welty, and John Updike. Past sculpture winners have included Marin Puryear, Richard Serra, and Louise Bourgeois. Bob Dylan was inducted as an honorary member. Read the short NYT article here, and check the library catalog for works by Doctorow and Mark di Suvero.

Laura

What EPL is Reading

How to Kill a Vampire (Series)

Fans’ outrage over the end of the Sookie Stackhouse series is chronicled by the Wall Street Journal.  Despite her best attempts at a satisfying finale, author Charlaine Harris was so overwhelmed by taunting emails and death threats she was frightened into canceling her Dead Ever After book tour.

Self-Portrait of an Artist

Flavorwire curates this impressive collection of 20 visual self-portraits by famous authors. Ranging from scribbles to studied oil paintings, the digital show includes works by Sylvia Plath, Jack Kerouac, Flannery O’Connor, Mark Twain, Margaret Atwood, and Kurt Vonnegut (above).

Country Noir

The emerging genre of Midwestern noir is featured in this American Prospect article.  Exemplified by the work of Donald Ray Pollock and Frank Bill, these violent, unsentimental books turn the tables on “don’t-bother-locking-the-doors nostalgia” for rural America.

Literary Legos

Book Riot showcases eight incredible Lego projects based on books.  Included are scenes from Moby-Dick, Don Quixote, The Shining as well as a mind-blowing, 400,000 brick reconstruction of Hogwarts from the Harry Potter series.

Children’s titles reconsidered

In a just-for-laughs endeavor, a clever contributor to smosh.com offered his suggestions on titles for some classic children’s picture books. In his post 20 New Titles for Children’s Books (Based Entirely on Their Covers)!, Francesco Marcuilliano commented, “If you can’t judge a book by its cover then just pretend it’s a different book.”

Barbara L.

Moms love libraries. A lot.

Today’s Chicago Tribune featured a story in the Health & Family section on how much moms love libraries. Reporter Ted Gregory cited the not surprising results of the Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project study: “Mothers are outliers in their enthusiasm for libraries and their use of libraries for their own purposes, like visiting the library, checking out books, using library websites and connecting to libraries with mobile devices.” The research confirms the anecdotal knowledge that many hold to be true, but its real import is in it’s role in assuring continuing support for struggling institutions like public libraries as they weather the budget cuts and threats to funding of the current economy. When asked to comment on her love of the library, Maryanne Szweda, mother of four home-school kids in Aurora said, “It’s the best thing you can have for a community.” Read the full article here.

Barbara L.

Chicago Honors David McCullough

Author and historian David McCullough has been awarded the 2013 Newberry Library Award. Established in 1987, the award honors those who make “outstanding contributions to the humanties, particularly in fields of endeavor related to the Newberry’s collection.” A two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, Mr. McCullough has also won the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian award.  He will be speaking tonight at the Harvest Bible Chapel on N. Dearborn with a reception at the Newberry Library afterwards. More than 400 people will be attending the sold-out event. Don’t feel too bad about not being able to attend– tickets started at $1,000 per person! You can read the rest of the Sun-Times article here. And check out the EPL catalog for books by this acclaimed author.

Laura

The Pritzker Military Library: a not-so-well-known treasure

Today’s Chicago Tribune ran a feature article in the A&E section on the wonderful collection of books and other historical materials held in the Pritzker Military Library. Rivaling the best libraries at U. S. military bases around the globe, the Pritzker also mounts special exhibitions, offers docent-led tours, and has a speaker series popular with the general public. Two current exhibits are “She’s a WOW: Women’s Service Organizations in World War II,” and a collection of propaganda posters from World War I, featuring such iconic images as Uncle Sam, the Doughboy, the Spirit of Columbia and Chandler Christy’s famous “Christy Girl” in a sailor’s suit, declaring “Gee, I Wish I Were a Man. I’d Join the Navy.” The library is located in Chicago at 104 S. Michigan Ave. For more information visit their website.

In the photo above, four Chicago boys reenact Joe Rosenthal’s iconic image of the flag raising at Iwo Jima. Photo gift of John Zukowsky, on display at the Pritzker Military Library in Chicago.

Barbara L.