Have you read any good Chicago books lately?

Do you have a good Chicago book you've read lately? Or a great Chicago book that you read at any time?

I just finished Chicago From the Sky: A Region Transformed by Lawrence Okrent. Okrent took pictures from the air between 1985 and 2010, and compares "then & now", pointing out the urban development & architectural changes. His commentary is what makes the book--really opens your eyes & mind to looking at buildings & green space. It's mostly downtown photos, but it's amazing how much has changed in the last 25 years. I borrowed this from the library, but may actually purchase a copy, I enjoyed the photos that much.

There was a LibraryThing Early Reviewer book called Oldest Chicago that should have cropped up for discussion in this group by now. I liked it pretty well.

In fiction, some of my Chicago friends are enjoying Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden books, which are sort of Sam Spade (or maybe Eddie Valiant) urban fantasy material--not really to my taste, but they offer lots of local color in the Chicago setting from what I understand.

Not a recent read, but a very interesting book on the World's Fair, is A parisienne in Chicago : impressions of the World's Columbian Exposition.

On my "to be read" pile is John J. Glessner's The Story of a House.

Try Sara Paretsky's V.I Warshawski series, if you like detective novels. And if you are into young adult books, Blue Balliett's Chasing Vermeer and its progeny are fun reads. (I particularly liked Chasing Vermeer as bits of it are set in one of my favorite used bookstores!)

I just got done with Carl Smith's The Plan of Chicago ... I'd initially picked this up at the Chicago History Museum for my 5th-grader to use for research on her Social Studies Fair presentation on the "Burnham Plan", but snagged it for me when she was done!

 

I just got done with Carl Smith's The Plan of Chicago which I'd initially picked up at the Chicago History Museum as a reference for my 5th-grader to use in her Social Studies Fair project on "The Burnham Plan" ... but it looked so interesting that after she was done with that, I snagged it for my collection!

 

I read The Plan of Chicago in 2009 and also heard Carl Smith speak. Chasing Vermeer sounds good and the book about Glessner house sounds interesting, too. I've got a couple Sara Paretsky books on my bookshelf, but haven't sat down to read--it's about time.

Great suggestions! Keep 'em coming!

I quite liked Therefore, Repent! by Munroe & Salgood: a graphic novel set in post-rapture Chicago. Chicago isn't the focus but it's not a randomly-selected setting. A fun read, a quick read, and I didn't learn about Chicago so much as had fun identifying sites & scenes.

The sequel was set in Detroit, but I've not gotten to it yet.

OH! I forgot one, probably because it's been quite a while since I read it: Neil Gaiman's A Walking Tour of the Shambles: http://www.librarything.com/work/5667/descriptions

I recently finished Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser. About two-thirds of the novel takes place in Chicago and there are fascinating descriptions of several famous streets, places, and landmarks in the late 19th century.

One of those books (Sister Carrie) I've always meant to read. Will need to put that on my list....

Sister Carrie is worth a read. To quote my own review, "The writing is mediocre, but if you like a little heavy-handed, late-19th century social critique (I kinda do, admittedly), I recommend it."

I've just finished (cough) An Unfinished Season, my first novel from Ward Just. Based upon this period piece set in 1950s Chicago (and briefly, Cyprus), not my last. One gem from the experience: Skokie was known for its peat bogs?!

A beautiful novel, I think it will become a favourite portrait of Chicago.

Has anyone else read Love and Shame and Love: a Novel by Peter Orner? I'm sort of conflicted about it--loved the Chicago setting, references, history, but I felt very distant from the characters.

I really loved the new narrative nonfiction book from Gary Krist, City of Scoundrels: The 12 Days of Disaster That Gave Birth to Modern Chicago.

#14 Sounds like a good one to put on my wishlist! Krist was a guest tonight with Phil Ponce on Chicago Tonight--the book sounds fascinating!

I went to Gary Krist's talk on his new book at the Waukegan Public Library on Wed night. Sounds excellent. I'm hoping to get to it, soon.

That 12-day stretch in 1919 was certainly a tumultuous time in Chicago. One thing after another...

>17 dinga1949:

Would you say Chicago is another "character" in the novel? I can imagine it might, but also can imagine the other locations and friends / acquaintances on the protagonist's itinerary are more in the foreground than Chicago and its culture. Am curious to hear how you would portray the city's role in your story.

Has anyone else here read After Visiting Friends by Michael Hainey? I have mixed feelings about it--a page-turner to be sure, but he takes some weird turns and seems to pad the book a lot. I knew many of the places he mentioned in Chicago, and my brother went to high school with Hainey's older brother, Chris. I wish he had stuck to the story more.

Just finished Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth by Chris Ware. It's flawed but beautiful. Highly recommend it.

>19 kac522:

Saw that in ER and requested it, but didn't win. Isn't it based on his father going missing?

>21 elenchus: Hainey's father, who had been an editor at the Chicago Sun-Times, died in 1970. Hainey was 6 years old at the time, and it was a subject that was not discussed at home. He goes about investigating the death, checking newspapers, the hospital, medical examiner, interviewing old colleagues, family and friends to get to the "truth." Those sections of the book are fast-paced and well-done; it's the detours he takes that bog down the book. And some people really find his writing style irritating. I can take it in small doses, but it often feels affected. But you can read the book in a day or two.

Chicago River Bridges by Chicagoan Patrick T. McBriarty. This is coffee table quality, but it should be read! A beautifully illustrated, well-written, history of the bridges on the Chicago River. And published by University of Illinois Press.

Paul Durica and Bill Savage have edited a new edition of Chicago by day and night : the pleasure seeker's guide to the Paris of America, a fascinating guidebook originally published for people attending the 1893 Columbian Exposition.

There's a pretty good website for the Durica / Savage book, and a separate feature on the WTTW site, too.

Official site > http://chicagobydayandnight.com/
WTTW feature > http://chicagotonight.wttw.com/2013/06/17/chicago-day-and-night

Good info on a book I hadn't heard of - thanks!

Totally apropos of nothing, both Bill Savage and Patrick McBriarty are avid bicyclists.

I'm a regular bike commuter, which I consider different from an avid bicyclist, but I still wonder: does Bill or Patrick regularly use any of Chicago's many bike lanes?

I love that we have them, but in my experience routes that have them are more dangerous than those without. Except for a lovely new stretch on Berteau which has become a new Greenway.

I am a bike commuter, too, but this is probably not the thread in which to have this discussion. :-)

Late to the party, but You Were Never In Chicago is one of the most fascinating books I have ever read about the city.

Another book I like to pull out now and then is Lost Chicago which is filled with photos of architecture that no longer exists.

Another Early Reviewer book on Chicago recently was the new edition of Graveyards of Chicago. I often give ER books away after reading and reviewing them, but this one's a keeper.

I have the earlier edition of Graveyards of Chicago, also a keeper. Need to pull it out again, now the weather's more conducive to an exploration visit.

Last week I picked up Vivian Maier: Self-Portraits by John Maloof at my library. Some stunning photographs, and just eery how she uses shadows and reflections.

And if you're not familiar with Maier's work and John Maloof's collection, you can learn more about it here: http://www.vivianmaier.com/

Ooh, I saw the first Vivian Maier exhibit and the film. I would love to get a book of her works. They are great.

It is not a Chicago book but midwestern and a Chicago Author. It does reference the Chicago Fire thought. One Came Home by Amy Timberlake is a fantastic young adult novel. Way above much of the usual YA fare. It feels a bit like True Grit actually with a fierce young girl setting out to find her missing sister after the passenger pigeon flocks have been nesting. It was great.