Christopher Borrelli

Zayd Ayers Dohrn, a playwright and Northwestern University professor, stands near the Haymarket Memorial in the West Loop on April 9, 2026. Dohrn, the son of Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn, the longtime Hyde Parkers and leaders of the militant activist group Weather Underground, used to take him to the Haymarket Memorial to illustrate the history of activism. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)

Author confronts the domestic terrorists who led Weather Underground, AKA Mom and Dad

May 15, 2026 at 10:40 a.m.

“Dangerous, Dirty, Violent & Young” is Zayd Ayers Dohrn's remarkable memoir confronting his parents, Bernardine Dohrn and Bill Ayers of the Weather Underground.

Author Shelby Van Pelt is photographed in her home office in Wheaton, April 23, 2026. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)

Shelby Van Pelt wrote the octopus book ‘Bright Creatures,’ and it keeps pulling her back

May 5, 2026 at 11:21 a.m.

The author has a new challenge now that “Remarkably Bright Creatures" is a Netflix movie starring Sally Field: Escaping its popularity long enough to write a second novel.

A vendor helps an attendee prep the letter press.

Make a note: Stationery is booming as we seek out more analog experiences

April 4, 2026 at 10:10 a.m.

Stationerycore, as many call the culture, is having its moment.

Jasmine Campos, a senior at Lane Tech High School, shouts during a protest on book banning.

In 2013, Chicago Public Schools tried to ban a book. It didn’t go well. A new graphic novel tells the tale

April 3, 2026 at 10:30 a.m.

The book’s primary characters are fictional, but many names are not.

Sara Levine plays with her dog Lenny in her home writing space on Jan. 9, 2026, in Evanston. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)

What’s like got to do with it? Sara Levine on the art of ‘difficult’ women

February 7, 2026 at 10:30 a.m.

Her 2012 novel “Treasure Island!!!" remains a cult classic.

Claudia von Mallinckrodt collects an armchair left out with the trash Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, in Hinsdale, outside Chicago. Under the name Claudia von Thrift, the tech worker runs a social media account called The Rich Goodwill, on which she documents things people leave at the curb and offers them to her followers. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune/TNS)

What the rich pitch: Her Rich Goodwill account is TikTok famous for her finds

December 15, 2025 at 2:33 p.m.

Claudia von Mallinckrodt, a pretty well-off tech sales professional, transformed this year into Claudia von Thrift, a popular influencer with almost 1 million followers and a compelling, thoughtful and even...

Christopher Borrelli’s 2025 top 10 books: “A Guardian and a Thief,” by Megha Majumdar, “The Gossip Columnist’s Daughter,” by Peter Orner, “Sick and Dirty: Hollywood’s Gay Golden Age and the Making of Modern Queerness,” by Michael Koresky, “Clam Down: A Metamorphosis,” by Anelise Chen, “King of Ashes: A Novel, by S.A. Cosby, “Murderland: Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of Serial Killers,” by Caroline Fraser, “Lost in the Dark, and Other Excursions,” by John Langan, “Do Admit! The Mitford Sisters and Me,” by Mimi Pond, “A Marriage at Sea: A True Story of Love, Obsession and Shipwreck,” by Sophie Elmhurst and “Red Scare: Blacklists, McCarthyism and the Making of Modern America,” by Clay Risen. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)

The 10 best books of 2025: Censorship, crime and compassion

December 8, 2025 at 1:05 p.m.

From "Clam Down" to "Murderland," these are the 10 books out of my tall stack of best books of the year that I couldn't get out of my mind. How...

Cremation Air, an ash-scattering plane, on display Oct. 29, 2025, during the National Funeral Directors Association Convention at McCormick Place. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

From cradle to grave: There was something for everyone alive and otherwise at the Chicago funeral directors convention

November 7, 2025 at 1:30 p.m.

You can learn a lot about your options for the afterlife at the annual trade show.

Warren Township High School student Lilani Devries leads her friends as they trick-or-treat in a neighborhood in Gurnee on Oct. 26, 2025. Gurnee does trick-or-treating on the Sunday before Halloween. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)

How old is too old to trick or treat? The answer is more complicated than it sounds.

October 31, 2025 at 3:37 p.m.

For the record, no state has such a law restricting age for trick or treating.

Electric Funeral owner Jan. Overton pours a drink at the horror-themed bar in Chicago’s Bridgeport neighborhood on Oct. 15, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)

Horror as a lifestyle: The rise of spooky and gothic shops

October 28, 2025 at 10:31 a.m.

Horror-and-gothic-themed shopfronts, cafes, restaurants and bars have been popping up across America.

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