I began my foray into the world of library websites last spring when I signed up for LibraryThing. It was fun picking out the covers and editions of books I actually own, since my online library resembles my actual library, which is in boxes in the basement of my mom’s house in the suburbs.

On Tuesday, I received invitations to join two new sites, Goodreads and the unfortunately named Shelfari. My best friend, who had been aghast when I joined LibraryThing, posts somethign

What do you think: Should this person be encouraged to give Chicago’s lit community a try? He or she at least needs to know there’s more than PoFo and TOC (but why the ‘yikes’?) to recommend us Porkopolis chaps.

Title: A signing of Obama: From Promise to Power
Date: Wednesday, August 29
Time: 7:30pm, FREE
Location and Address: Borders, 1700 Maple, Evanston
Participants: David Mendell signs books (no reading)

I suppose the time has come to mention MediaBistro’s Chicago courses. The only one I’m particularly interested in-Travel Writing-is insanely expensive, but there are other, short online courses like “How to Write an Arts & Culture Review” and “The Secrets of First Person Writing” that are under $100. Also, this is off-topic, but has anyone ever attended one of their networking parties and actually met other publishing people? I always see a bunch of incestuous marketing yuks, and the same 2 friends who always leave early with me to get Mexican food.

Check out today’s Chicagoist interview with Jonathan Messinger, Time Out books editor, publisher, reading-series organizer, and writer. It talks all about his soon-to-be-published book of short stories, the Dollar Store reading series, and Featherproof Books, which he runs along with partner Zach Dodson. Highlight: when Messinger downplays his accomplishments by saying that his is “the lamest destiny in the world.”

With so many newspapers cutting down on their book-sections (and with the Tribune’s book-section increasingly comprised of primarily Stephen King and Harry Potter mentions), it’s heartening to see the Sun Times not only maintaining their Books section and listings but branching out “beyond best-sellers” with their newish blog “Book Room.”

That, coupled with this tidbit is giving me a serious case of the warm fuzzies for ol’ Sun Times. If only Roeper would go away…

Title: An Evening With Some Of The Finest Writers From The Golden 1970’s-Era National Lampoon
Date: Monday, August 27
Time: 8-10pm
Location and Address: The Hideout (1354 W. Wabansia)
Participants: Anne Beatts, Brian McConnachie, Chris Miller, Josh Karp

I feel it deeply in my heart that you won’t want to miss this Drag City event. (Drag City programs readings? I know: crazy, huh?) Check out this lineup: Chris Miller (1/3 of the screenwriting team for Animal House, which was based on his frat at Dartmouth); Ann Beatts (one of SNL’s original writers, creator of TV hit Square Pegs, “the only female editor at National Lampoon and someone who has been accurately described at The Jane Austen of American humor”); and Brian McConnachie (who wrote in the 70s and 80s for National Lampoon, SNL, and SCTV and created the parody mag Guns and Magazines).

In short, these people are the opposite of schmucks, in fact, they’re comedy royalty, and we’re guaranteeing that a raucous time will be had by all. Not “literary” enough for you? C’mon, it’s August; get off your high horse and try not to spit out your beer while these folks are making your sides split with laughter.

You can learn a little about Anne Beatts by watching this reel of her Saturday Night Live penned sketches.

Chris Miller

Brian McConnachie

...and to brush up on general Lampoon history check this site.

Grace Paley–beloved short-story writer, poet, activist, New York-simple-life-chronicler and all-around spirit-rousin’ woman, has died at age 84 of breast cancer.

”None of it happened, and yet every word of it is true,” she once said of her fiction. ”It’s truth embedded in the lie.”
…

Paley’s fiction set an easy, informal tone, but was developed out of weeks and months of careful refinement, all sentences read aloud before being committed to paper. Many stories were not so much ‘’stories” as conversations overheard, with fitting titles such as ”Listening” and ”Talking.”

Like longtime neighbors, Paley’s characters become familiar faces, especially the compassionate Faith Darwin. It was typical of Paley that she did not look upon Faith as an alter ego but as someone who might have been a ”good, close pal.”

More at Maud Newton.

The esteemed E.L. Doctorow is this year’s lifetime acheiver. Gary Paulsen, author of–count ‘em–175 books for kids and adults (including several Newberry Honor titles), takes the Young Adult Literary Prize. (He also seems to have lived a most interesting life; he’s twice run the Iditarod!) The Heartland Prize for Non-Fiction goes to Orville Vernon Burton for The Age of Lincoln, and the Heartland Prize for Fiction goes to Robert Olmstead for Coal Black Horse, a novel that, were it equipped with eyes, would be staring at me beseechingly from across the room right now. (Tis one of my many “have, haven’t read, and would like to’s.”) All of the above authors minus Paulsen will receive their awards at the Chicago Humanities Festival on Nov. 4; more info on the brillant ones here.

Date: August 22
Time: 7:30pm
Location: Danny’s Tavern (Damen and Dickens)
Participants: Contributors from The City Visible: Chicago Poetry for the Next Millennium, with Robyn Schiff, Chuck Stebelton, Jennifer Karmin, and Mark Tardi.

People have been congregating at Danny’s to hear poetry and fiction for six whole years. To celebrate, some of the contributors of The City Visible: Chicago Poetry for the Next Millennium” are reading tonight. Many of them are regulars and this recent anthology is starting to serve as a who’s who of young Chicago poets. The book has gotten very nice mentions.