CRP's Blog

How is it already mid-May? The weather here in Chicago is starting to feel like summer is approaching, and we’re getting our picnic blankets, sunscreen, and books ready for some reading in the sun. In the meantime, check out what our staff has been reading below!

I am determined to make a dent in the old to-be-read pile and decided to start way back with The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2008. It’s a great collection, and while some cultural references date it a tad it’s more of a cause for nostalgia than annoyance. I’m also rereading 8 Keys to Mental Health Through Exercise because it’s a great resource for forming goals more concrete than “not die during a Spartan race.” —Ashley Alfirevic, publicity associate

I just finished reading Keiler Roberts’s newest graphic memoir Sunburning. As with her past collection Miseryland and her ongoing series Powdered Milk, these comic vignettes go from funny to awkward to sad to poignant and back again (often from panel to panel). Her sensibility is not so much confessional as it is keenly observant and ruthlessly honest. She’s a treasure of Chicago’s contemporary comics scene. —Allison Felus, production manager

I just picked up Elizabeth Wein’s The Pearl Thief from RoscoeBooks on Sunday, and I’m relishing the opportunity to meet Lady Julia Lindsay MacKenzie Wallace Beaufort-Stewart before the events of Code Name Verity. It’s clear Julie’s talent for storytelling was something she had honed well before Verity. I also recently read this interview with David Grann about his new book, Killers of the Flower Moon. I’ve enjoyed Grann’s previous books—and I recommend recent film version of The Lost City of Z, too—and this one is on my TBR pile now. —Mary Kravenas, marketing manager

I’m still reading A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and Sapiens. My reading pace has slowed significantly since there are too many dang TV shows to watch. Hoping to finish both books this weekend. Podcast-wise, I just started listening to Invisibilia on my commute and I’m in love. —Emily Lewis, editorial and marketing assistant