Books That Are Better For (or Than!) Sex
“50 Shades of Grey” may be a bestseller, but it’s not necessarily the best.
Hilarious Collection of Camp Letters
Diane Falanga of Wilmette is following up on the success of her first volume of kids’ camp letters with the brand new: “P.S. I Still Hate It Here: More Kids’ Letters From Camp.” (Abrams Image, 2012) In her foreword Diane writes: As with the first volume, this second book is a collection of actual camp […]
May Book List
May is about moms—we’ve got great reads that celebrate the spirit of motherhood (and make excellent gifts, too!)
March (Literary) Madness
While friends and family are focusing on college basketball, you can curl up with a great read or two this month. Here are our books editor’s favorites. The Tiger’s Wife By Téa Obreht Hailed as a potential Pulitzer winner this year, Obreht’s debut novel is like reading the story behind a mysterious painting hanging in […]
The Book Stall in Winnetka Celebrates 30 years with Roberta Rubin
It’s the 75th anniversary of the original Chestnut Court Book Shop, and the 30th anniversary of Roberta Rubin as owner of The Book Stall. Make it Better wishes her 30 more bright years filled with author readings, lunches and alerting North Shore readers to the best new books. To celebrate, The Book Stall is offering […]
A New Year Means a New Book List
Repeat after me: “This year, I resolve to read at least one book every month.” You can do it—here are 10 suggestions to get you started: 1. A Visit From the Goon Squad (Jennifer Egan) Reading last year’s Pulitzer Prize winner for fiction scores you hipster points, but be warned—friends tell me they’ve either loved […]
What’s Your Happiness Score? (And How To Improve It)
How happy are you?
Author Franny Billingsley on Being a Finalist for the National Book Award
For Highland Park’s Franny Billingsley, being named to the National Book Awards shortlist is the culmination of decades of writing. Billingsley is one of 5 finalists for this year’s award for young people’s literature, for her novel “Chime.” The awards will be announced at a ceremony in New York on November 16. Even before the […]
Is Resilience More Important than Happiness?
From my perch in the tree of life, nurturing resilience is more important than nurturing happiness. Resilience is that ineffable quality that allows a person to be knocked down by life and come back stronger than ever. Resilient athletes, artists, patients, entrepreneurs, lovers and others inspire me. Raising resilient children drives me. Feeling resilience after […]
Off the Menu: Deserves to be on Your Menu
A cookbook to consider adding to your kitchen is Marissa Guggiana’s new “Off the Menu: Staff Meals from America’s Top Restaurants.” The dishes featured aren’t the food the restaurant serves its patrons, instead, it’s the food made for the wait and kitchen staff, and served as the “family meal,” usually just before dinner service begins. […]
