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Up And Coming
Open Books Presents The Hidden Mitten's First Annual Spring Sock Hop
May 8
South Side StoryBus Tour 1
May 10
Book Sort At The Warehouse
May 17
South Side StoryBus Tour 2
May 17
Glenview StoryBus Tour
May 19
Schiller Reading Garden Planting Project
May 22
South Side StoryBus Tour 3
May 24
Chicago Reader Book Swap
May 28
Corliss Novelists Gala Event
May 30
Printers Row Book Fair
June 7-8
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Open Mic:
Lou Bank
Lou Bank is the Director of Programming for the amazing Kohl McCormick StoryBus. He's got lots of stories of his own, but we restricted ourselves to asking him...
How would you spend your last 24 hours if you knew the world would end in the morning?
Trying to stop the world from ending.
What was your dream job when you were 5?
I don't think I realized what jobs were when I was 5. Maybe superhero? But later I worked for Marvel Comics for years, in the marketing department. And while there, I also got to be Spider-Man--I wore the costume for charity events, like when we sent Jerry's Kids off to camp. So, you know, I kinda got to live my dream job!
If you could have dinner with 3 people (real or fictional), who would you invite and what would you eat?
Burke and his Family of Choice, from Andrew Vachss' novels. And we'd eat at Mama's Restaurant.
What was your favorite childhood toy or game?
The Mego superhero action figures. (Not dolls--action figures.) Spider-Man, the Hulk, and the Human Torch.
If you had one superpower, what would it be?
The power to grant myself as many superpowers as I wanted.
What secret obsession do you have that no one knew about before this interview?
When I get emails with numbered questions or comments in them, I *have* to answer them. (No, really, I do. I can't turn my back on a numbered question.)
What makes you laugh uncontrollably?
My wife. My beautiful, intelligent, hilarious wife.
What book are you reading right now?
Just finished ANOTHER LIFE by Andrew Vachss, just about to start LEATHER MAIDEN by Joe R. Lansdale. Both are coming out soon.
What is your favorite ice cream flavor?
Tandoori Ice Cream! Only available at Chez Bank.
What is playing on your iPod/record player these days?
Alejandro Escovedo and Peter Mulvey.
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Eat For Literacy!
Berry Chill, a wildly awesome (featured TWICE recently in TimeOut) and popular new fro-yo spot in River North, has added Open Books to its list of charities to support! This means that by eating a delicious and nutritious frozen treat, you're giving back to Open Books!
Run fast (or take a train! or bike! or somersault!) to Berry Chill, get a Culture Club card, and begin eating brain-freeze-inducing quantities of frozen yogurt. Your intestinal bacteria will thank you, and Open Books will thank you, too!
Berry Chill says, 'Doing Good Never Tasted So Good.' We couldn't agree more.
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Help Open Books Staff The Chicago Reader Book Swap!
You have books you don't need. You need books you don't have. So come to the Chicago Reader Book Swap and get changing! Take books! Give books! Drink beer! Pick up the Reader! Everything's free except the beer!
WHAT: The Chicago Reader Book Swap
WHEN:
Wednesday
May 28
6-9 pm
WHERE:
Cobra Lounge
235 N. Ashland
TIME SLOTS:
4:30 - 5:30 Setup
6 - 9 Event
9:30 - 10:30 Cleanup
Any combination of the above
HELP WITH: Organizing books, welcoming people, and generally creating a fun and fabulous evening for hundreds of fellow book loversRSVP TO: Becca Keaty
bkeaty@open-books.org
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Schiller Gardening Project
On a recent creative writing field trip with the children of Schiller Elementary in Cabrini Green, we asked the fifth grade class to write a letter to the future President expressing their hopes and dreams for their neighborhood. Many students mentioned how much they would love to see plants and flowers around their school.
Open Books is ready to take this seed, plant it, and make their dream for a prettier neighborhood a reality. Our goal is to build the children of Schiller School a garden where they can relax and read.
Got a green thumb? We are looking for volunteers with gardening and horticultural expertise along with donations of plants and flowers! Let's put the "Green" back in Cabrini Green.
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Help Bike The Drive!
What could be better than spending a Chicago summer day on gorgeous Lake Shore Drive helping with the Bike The Drive event? Doing it to help raise money for literacy! Open Books is looking for a team of volunteers to assist as course marshals. You'll get a t-shirt, goody bag, complimentary breakfast, entry to raffle, and an invitation to Chicagoland Bicycle Federation's annual volunteer party -- and, for your help at the event, Open Books will get $200 to put toward our literacy programs.
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Now that the nice weather has finally arrived, Open Books is getting out into the sunshine to spread the love of reading and writing far and wide. Highlights this month include a South Chicago StoryBus Road Trip, a Gala Author and Book Signing Event, the creation of a Reading Garden and a Sock Hop Social! The weather's fine and there are loads of opportunities to join us for volunteering and a good time!
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Open Books Chosen as an Official Nonprofit Sponsor of the 2008 Printers Row Book Fair
Love the Chicago Tribune's Printers Row Book Fair? So do we! And that is why we are SO excited to announce our sponsorship and involvement with this must-attend summer literary festival on Saturday and Sunday, June 7th and 8th.
At the fair, Open Books will have a mini-store tent to spread awareness about our literacy mission and recruit volunteers to help us with our many programs. We will sell books, of course, and other great Open Books merchandise. Our literacy team will lead two prose and poetry writing workshops, and some of our amazing students will share the power of words with fairgoers as they read from their written works on the Poetry Stage. Open Books is also coordinating a book drive program where we team up with exhibitors to collect any unsold books after the fair. And that's not all! Open Books NEEDS YOUR help! We will be organizing a crew of volunteers for the weekend to help make Printers Row Book Fair a success.
Be a part of the Open Books VIP Volunteer Crew, receive a free T-shirt, and have a blast with us in the sunshine, all in the name of literacy! Sign up now at:http://www.open-books.org/printersrow |
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Come join Kohl McCormick and Open Books at the StoryBus, coming soon to South Side Chicago neighborhoods in May. The StoryBus is an interactive children's museum on wheels! Kids of all ages will hop aboard, play with hands-on exhibits and games, and be transported into a world that makes literature come alive.
Been looking for your chance to volunteer on the weekends? It's here! We are looking for fun volunteers to help staff the events. Jobs include reading with kids, painting faces, and handing out books to excited families on these dates:
Saturday, May 10 (daytime, South Side)
Saturday, May 17 (daytime, South Side)
Monday, May 19 (afternoon, Glenview)
Saturday, May 24 (daytime, South Side)
To help, just RSVP to Matt mjohnson@open-books.organd tell him which dates you're available for. We can't wait to see you on the Bus!
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Corliss High School Novelists Gala Author Event
After months of hard work writing and editing, the time has come to celebrate with ten Corliss High School Novelists with a gala reception, held at the highly regarded 57th Street Books in Hyde Park. Now is your chance to meet these fine young authors in person, buy an autographed copy of their work, and hear their words come alive as some of them take the microphone and share with us their stories. Enjoy refreshments, browse in one of the nicest bookstores in Chicago, and show your support for our young writers from Corliss High! WHEN:
Friday, May 30, 2008
6 pm - 8 pm WHERE:
57th Street Books
1301 E. 57th St.
Chicago, IL 60637 |
Open Books Presents
The Hidden Mitten's First Annual Spring Sock Hop
Open Books Literacy Director -- and Hidden Mitten bassist -- Erin Walter wanted to shake her winter blahs and expand her musical horizons, so she asked for advice from some of her favorite players in the Chicago scene. The resulting lineup will leave all of us thrilled, enchanted, sweating, and sockless! A jazzy mini-marching band, a red-tuxedo-wearing prom party band, a touring singer/songwriter with string instruments, accordion, and pots and pans, a post-punk/new wave "next big thing" band, and (of course) your friendly sock hop curators in The Hidden Mitten will be on hand to rock for reading at the Empty Bottle on May 8. Open Books will run an optional "shoe check," award prizes for coolest socks and best old-school dance moves, and pass out flyers, bookmarks, and other literacy-related goodies, while the Chicago Independent Radio Project (CHIRP) will be on hand with the latest news on their exciting efforts to bring quality community radio to Chicago and the world.
WHEN:
This Thursday, May 88pm SHARPWHERE:
The Empty Bottle1035 N. Western
21+ EVENT$8 Cover
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Book Sorting And Pickups
Packing
up and hitting the road in the name of literacy, Open Books has
expanded its fabulous book pickup program. We are going to be out in
the community every Wednesday picking up all of your amazing books.
If you would like to join the pickup party as a volunteer or even donate some books to the cause,
please contact Dustin:dwalsh@open-books.org
Are
you an organizer? Do you like to pack things into boxes and make
labels? Open Books needs your help sorting 200,000 books at our warehouse location! Bring your whole family, your kids and have a day
of adventure at the warehouse.
Contact Dustin for more information: dwalsh@open-books.org
SPECIAL CALL:
Help Us At The Little City Book Sale!
On June 16, we'll visit the Little City Book Sale at Old Orchard in Skokie to pick up 16,000 donated books! If you're free that day and have some muscle to contribute, please contact Dustin:dwalsh@open-books.org
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Out Of The Box: Three Fabulous Finds
In the process of sorting thousands upon thousands of books, there are always a few that stand out. Here are our three favorites for the month.
1. Carbon Sequestration In Soils Of Latin America
 Given how much fun it is to go to Open Books events, we no longer go to other kinds of cocktail parties where we might be cornered by inappropriate people. Nor, in the course of an average day, do we find ourselves stuck on many blind first dates. But if either of these situations should occur in the future, we will be truly thankful that this book came into our lives. "So," the other party might say, leering, "what do you do?" "Carbon sequestration," we will reply, in a bored monotone, "in soils of Latin America." And as we watch the would-be pursuer stumble off in confusion, we will give ourselves a little secret toast.
2. Applique Designer Collection
 Summer is nearly here, and then will come fall, and then will come the couture shows. We will probably have to miss them. But how consoling it will be, as we hear faraway rumors of the buzz from Paris and London, to have this fine collection at hand. There are aprons with ducks on them. There is a stencil of a phonograph record (we hope we are not ruining the suspense by revealing that it is in fact a circle with a smaller circle cut out of the middle). And there is an item which we know would be all the rage of runways everywhere were it only to achieve widespread publicity: a stencil of a misshapen foot with a break just below the knee. Take that, designer labels. What is good is right here.
3. The Systematic Approach To Long Hair Graphics
 Open Books is, of course, about education. And until we found this book, our education about the possibilities of hair was lacking at best. We did not know how to make a 3-Dimensional Woven Hair Hat. The intricacies of the 40 Strand Braid Over Under Diamond Weave were well beyond our comprehension. But now we are all set. We have a Systematic Approach to follow. And should we grow tired of waiting the fifteen years it would take our hair to reach the length required for the Padded Hair Hat With Plume, we can content ourselves with the Graphics and move on.
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