This Week's Staff Favorites: Volume 12

Slats Grobnik and Some Other Friends by Mike Royko:

I just finished Slats Grobnik and Some Other Friends by Mike Royko and I loved it. Royko wrote columns for the short-lived Chicago Daily News, the Chicago Sun-Times until Rupert Murdoch bought it, and finally for the Chicago Tribune. He was always the straight-shooting voice of the working class -- calling out politicians and voters alike. The fictional Slats Grobnik is Royko’s neighborhood Huck Finn and, through him, he lampoons city life. This collection of columns is laugh-out-loud funny. For a more serious read, we also have Boss: Richard J. Daley of Chicago.  If Royko were alive, I might consider reading the Tribune.

-Mike, Reference

Celeste and Jesse Forever:

Since it’s Valentine’s Day weekend, I’ve learned to embrace the cheesy rom-coms with the endings that are so predictable. But this time I embraced more of an untraditional rom-com that recently came out: Celeste and Jesse Forever. It’s the story about two people who were best friends growing up, got married, and through a series of unfortunately bad decisions get a divorce. The key is that Jesse and Celeste want to stay best friends but yet move on with their own lives, which proves to be very difficult.

There’s some raunchy comedy and drug references sprinkled in, but it takes a realistic point of view of a relationship. Jesse learns to grow up and Celeste acknowledges that she may not always be right. Plus, the soundtrack is amazing; Lily Allen, Freddie Scott, and a nifty tune by Sunny Levine (“No Other Plans”) capture the essence of the darker side of romance. If you don’t see it for the great cinematography or soundtrack, at least borrow it so you can see Chris Pine’s hilarious outtakes as a drunken vagrant - that in itself is definitely worth seeing! Celeste and Jesse Forever is available through SWAN.

-Judy, Reference

The Fall of the House of Dixie by Bruce Levine:

This is social history at its finest. The Fall of the House of Dixie uses meticulous research and incisive quotes from a variety of sources--including soldiers, slaves, abolitionists, impoverished whites, and the Confederate aristocracy--to provide an astonishing autopsy of life in the nineteenth century South before and after the Civil War. Levine, a professor at the University of Illinois, presents complex ideas and loaded topics with remarkable clarity. He's a wonderful interviewee as well, as exemplified by his appearance on NPR's Fresh Air. This book is owned by Acorn, and can be requested through SWAN or by contacting the Library.

-Megan, Reference