My favorite bits were Sandra Cisneros' tribute to her mother, Don DeLillo's tribute to Nelson Algren, and Elaine Showalter's tribute to Jane Adams. But what I'll think about when I think about this issue of Granta, probably forever, is Alex Kotlowitz. His story is about gangs and violence, but it's specifically about the kids who murdered a former coworker of mine, which I didn't know when I bought the book. I don't know what else to say about that, except that the story left me feeling more hopeless and distraught than anything I've read in years.

Chicago has complicated problems.

It's a good thing he has that day job.

Or give some money to MY favorite nonprofit, The Neo-Futurists. Because times are tough for the arts, especially the arts that are determined to keep themselves affordable and accessible to us normal people.

I first saw Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind shortly after I moved to Chicago in 1994 and immediately saw it again the next weekend because I was so utterly gobsmacked by it. I've probably seen Too Much Light about 100 times since, not to mention their Prime Time shows, the summer Film Fest (staged readings of really bad movies scripts), and loads of other special events over the years. Something about their work just clicked with me. It's funny and frantic, but also thoroughly honest. Their performances continually challenge not only the way I think about "things" (politics, religion, sex, relationships, clowns), but the way I think about art. I've laughed until my lungs ached, I've been thoroughly confused, I've been moved to tears and pushed to fury. But I've rarely left that theater unmoved. All that, and it's only 10-15 bucks a show!

So send a little scratch to the Neos. Or better yet, see a show! Experience Chicago's coolest theater company for yourself. Their latest Prime Time show opens next week. Or if you haven't seen Too Much Light in a while, see it again -- you know what they say: if you've seen the show once, you've seen the show once! (If you haven't even seen the show once, I just don't even know how to respond. Except to say: Go see it! What are you waiting for?)

You'll thank me later.

Langer has this thing in all three of his books that drives me nuts: The man either can't or won't write dialogue. Instead, we get whole paragraphs of the narrator describing what the characters are saying to each other. It's distracting. Perhaps he should start hanging out with Richard Russo and learn how to write a conversation.

The fact is, when I ascend to my throne -- and I will ascend to my throne -- life for the average person won't be much worse than it is now. In some respects, it will probably be better. For instance, I will outlaw the song "Jingle Bell Rock," which all scientists agree is the worst song ever created. With that one law, I will improve Christmas by two hundred percent!

This book has it all: Political intrigue. Oedipal issues. Astounding technology. Fart jokes. In short, a classic of modern Western literature. Or at the very least, a pleasant way to spend a frigid afternoon, especially with some Earl Grey and a bowl of clementines by your side.

View all my reviews >>

So step 1 is to read those books. Here's the list. Some were for school, some are Jim's, and some I just never got around to cracking. It's a good list. I'm looking forward to this.

Step 2 is to get anything else I want to read from the library or borrow from friends.

I'll admit, I'm torn about this resolution. I love my local independent bookstores and desperately want them to survive. But I've reached the point where "supporting the local shops" has evolved into "making myself crazy with stuff" and "running out of shelf space for no good reason" (not to mention "sighing in disappointment when I open the Visa statement").

But, hey, if you're still buying books in 2010, buy them from Women & Children First and Unabridged and Book Cellar! Fuck Amazon and the chains, man. They will not save your neighborhood.

Not that the week was devoid of goodness! Here are some highlights:

--cookies
--seeing a bunch of my favorite local theater types in Verbatim Verboten
--an open house and studio sale at WomanCraft, a program you should totally love and support because they are crafty-minded and socially responsible and tremendous on so many levels
--the El Vez/Los Straitjackets show at the Double Door last Friday night. El Vez is the hardest-working man in showbiz, and he looks fabulous in a sparkly jumpsuit. And he seems like a really nice guy.
--Birthday party for a friend, involving both a sushi boat and a cupcake tree.
--Movie day with some crafty friends, watching silly things and eating snacks.

So, some good stuff, but not enough time to write about how much I liked it. This week will probably entail more of the same: I have at least five work events to attend and several year-end deadlines to meet, plus some personal obligations, and a go-go performance, and somewhere in there I need to bake cookies for one of the aforementioned work thingies and get my friggin' holiday cards mailed.

My blogging experiment may be running off the rails here, but I've still been trying to concentrate on the good things in my life and not get mired in stress-muck. And, oh, there will be stress this week! Here's to making it through to Saturday without getting a migraine or punching a caroler in the neck.

I love this. I mean, I'm still on the clock and I spend my train time proofreading or doing other worky things. But something about riding the El in the middle of a work day is thrilling. I feel like I'm getting away with something. Here I am gliding above the city while the other working stiffs are plopped in front of their desks, getting carpal tunnel syndrome and eating vending machine food with only the buzz of the fluorescent lights and the voices in their heads to keep them company! But not me! I'm free to look at trees and shop windows and dogs frolicking in parks! And there's always a seat!

As the CTA's magic voice man used to say, "This is grand."

I dare you not to dance.

I haven't made this recipe before, but we got parsnips in the CSA box, and I've never cooked with them. So here we are -- a new recipe with new ingredients. I love it when that works out. (I'm planning another entry about the ups and downs of the community-supported agriculture deliveries. I'm mostly in favor of them!)

We also had a spinach salad with grated celeriac (another ingredient I'm new to using) and some homemade pomegranate vinaigrette with rice vinegar and olive oil. We got four pomegranates in the box a couple weeks ago, so I searched for some recipes online. Working with the pomegranates was challenging at first, but I think I've got a better feel for it now. Fun fact: the seeds don't break up in the food processor, so I was able to throw all the ingredients in together and just strain the seeds out. Easy!

I have lots of leftovers to get me through lunch for the week as well. I'm spending a lot more time in the kitchen than I used to, which can feel overwhelming at times, but nothing is quite as satisfying as making real food from scratch.