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

What are you looking for in your summer reading? Chicago stories, books about music or celebrities, history lessons, or tawdry, trashy novels that are secretly good? Read on.

What are you looking for in your summer reading? Chicago stories, books about music or celebrities, history lessons, or tawdry, trashy novels that are secretly good? Read on.

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

There was a doctor in Chicago years ago named Victor Frankenstein, and one of his jobs was finding medical specimens. When you visit his grave, ponder just how much Mary Shelley’s creation remains alive and well and wandering around…

The Computer Guy wears Ray-Ban Meta glasses with a camera, through which he records his interactions programming strangers, later posting brief videos on TikTok.

Stationerycore, as many call the culture, is having its moment, with devotees flocking to events such as the recent Chicago Stationery Festival in Ravenswood.

Stationerycore, as many call the culture, is having its moment, with devotees flocking to events such as the recent Chicago Stationery Festival in Ravenswood.

The Computer Guy wears Ray-Ban Meta glasses with a camera, through which he records his interactions programming strangers, later posting brief videos on TikTok.

Long a neighborhood landmark, the Victorian home was an art project for its previous owners. Its new owners promised to keep it much as it was. Then HGTV came calling.

Long a neighborhood landmark, the Victorian home was an art project for its previous owners. Its new owners promised to keep it much as it was. Then HGTV came calling.

Daisy Hernández’s new book, Citizenship: Notes on an American Myth,” is partly a family memoir and partly a world history.

Daisy Hernández’s new book, Citizenship: Notes on an American Myth,” is partly a family memoir and partly a world history.

Ghoulish Mortals in St. Charles runs an annual death pool to predict the celebrities who won’t live to see out the year. The guesses are in for 2026.

Ghoulish Mortals in St. Charles runs an annual death pool to predict the celebrities who won’t live to see out the year. The guesses are in for 2026.

Her 2012 novel “Treasure Island!!!” remains a cult classic. Her new book, “The Hitch,” arrives some 15 years later, with some important elements in common.

Her 2012 novel “Treasure Island!!!” remains a cult classic. Her new book, “The Hitch,” arrives some 15 years later, with some important elements in common.

Her 2012 novel “Treasure Island!!!” remains a cult classic. Her new book, “The Hitch,” arrives some 15 years later, with some important elements in common.

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 do you pick yours?

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 do you pick yours?

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 do you pick yours?

Friends and family members gathered at the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to ring the bell and remember those who died 50 years ago.

Friends and family members gathered at the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to ring the bell and remember those who died 50 years ago.

You can learn a lot about your options for the afterlife at the annual trade show, which recently ended at McCormick Place. It was not a solemn gathering.

You can learn a lot about your options for the afterlife at the annual trade show, which recently ended at McCormick Place. It was not a solemn gathering.

As playoff football games unfold across the state, two prospective bills are resurfacing in Springfield that insist the village of Freeburg, and many other Illinois schools, rethink their problemat…

As playoff football games unfold across the state, two prospective bills are resurfacing in Springfield that insist the village of Freeburg, and many other Illinois schools, rethink their problemat…

For the record, there is no statewide age restriction on trick or treating in Illinois. But many small communities around the country set formal and informal age limits.

For the record, there is no statewide age restriction on trick or treating in Illinois. But many small communities around the country set formal and informal age limits.

This new Yoko Ono retrospective is epic but intimate, impossibly earnest but funny and full of irony, without a single wink.

This new Yoko Ono retrospective is epic but intimate, impossibly earnest but funny and full of irony, without a single wink.

A few years back, Evan Zimmerman started dressing up as the killer from the “Halloween” movies. Videos of him in character have been viewed many millions of times.

A few years back, Evan Zimmerman started dressing up as the killer from the “Halloween” movies. Videos of him in character have been viewed many millions of times.

A few years back, Evan Zimmerman started dressing up as the killer from the “Halloween” movies. Videos of him in character have been viewed many millions of times.

“Revolution(s),” by Chicago playwright Zayd Ayers Dohrn, has music by the Rage Against the Machine guitarist and was inspired by his legacy of musical bomb-throwing.

“Revolution(s),” by Chicago playwright Zayd Ayers Dohrn, has music by the Rage Against the Machine guitarist and was inspired by his legacy of musical bomb-throwing.

Horror lit is in an unprecedented renaissance right now, driven by a diverse crop of new writers, robust horror sections in bookstores and the spread of horror-only book clubs. But all roads lead b…

Horror lit is in an unprecedented renaissance right now, driven by a diverse crop of new writers, robust horror sections in bookstores and the spread of horror-only book clubs. But all roads lead b…

The portraits have all been made by two photographers, Mary Ellen Matthews and Edie Baskin, who have collected their work in recent art books.

The portraits have all been made by two photographers, Mary Ellen Matthews and Edie Baskin, who have collected their work in recent art books.

The new Peacock sitcom set at a Toledo newspaper is by the creators of “The Office.” Some real newspaper staffers in that Ohio city threw a little watch party in a basement bar recently.

The new Peacock sitcom set at a Toledo newspaper is by the creators of “The Office.” Some real newspaper staffers in that Ohio city threw a little watch party in a basement bar recently.

The new Peacock sitcom set at a Toledo newspaper is by the creators of “The Office.” Some real newspaper staffers in that Ohio city threw a little watch party in a basement bar recently.

Someday, someone might look back on 2025 and pick through the mountain of symphonies and movies and novels and museum exhibits that were being offered in Chicago. But never mind future historians, …

Someday, someone might look back on 2025 and pick through the mountain of symphonies and movies and novels and museum exhibits that were being offered in Chicago. But never mind future historians, …

The endless to-be-read list on your phone, the ready-to-be-read stack on your bedside table, should expect company, regardless of whether you read cozy mysteries or harrowing memoirs.