Alena Saunders

E-reader: Three great podcasts from the Chicago Humanities Festival

May 9, 2019 at 10:56 p.m.

Junot Diaz: This is How You Find Him, released Oct. 16, 2013, free,1:02 listen I read Junot Diaz's "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao" when I was 17, still...

John "Tig" Tiegen, Mark "Oz" Geist and Kris "Tanto" Paronto attend the Dallas premiere of "13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi" at the AT&T Dallas Cowboys Stadium on Jan. 12, 2016 in Arlington, Texas.

Military contractors at Benghazi discuss ’13 Hours’

May 9, 2019 at 10:56 p.m.

On a cold day in early December, I meet three men a nation has been both talking about and not talking about since Sept. 11, 2012. That night the U.S....

The Westboro Baptist Church, a Kansas church known for its vehement anti-gay positions and for protesting at US soldiers' funeral, stages a protest across the street from Northwestern High School in Hyattsville, Md., in 2011. The church was demonstrating against what it claims is a "pervert-run" school and said teachers across the country have "broken the moral compass of this generation."

E-reader: Three looks at life inside, outside the Westboro Baptist Church

May 31, 2019 at 12:49 a.m.

Unfollow: How a prized daughter of the Westboro Baptist Church came to question its beliefs by Adrian Chen, The New Yorker, free, 40-minute read A look at the life of...

Three podcasts discussing books, reading, and writing. (Getty Images/ Tuan Tran)

E-reader: Podcasts explore art of — and rationale for — writing

May 9, 2019 at 10:52 p.m.

Longform Podcast #168, Ta-Nehisi Coates, 1:06:40, longform.org/podcast In an interview with Aaron Lammer, Max Linsky and Evan Ratliff, author Ta-Nehisi Coates discusses the process of writing his best-selling, National Book...

These three e-reads look at the legal, personal, and national effect of gun violence.

E-reader: Guns and their toll in a trio of essays

May 9, 2019 at 10:51 p.m.

Whatsoever Things Are True, Atavist magazine, 40-minute read, free Anthony Porter was accused of a 1982 double homicide on the South Side of Chicago, found guilty and sentenced to death...

Give the gift of books this year to people in need with this roundup of places accepting charitable book donations.

Book drives offer life-long gift of knowledge

May 9, 2019 at 10:49 p.m.

Interested in charitable giving this year? Here are some Chicago area organizations accepting book donations and other support. Children's Home + Aid Chicago Metro Region Holiday Gift Drive Children's Home...

A Nicholas White turkey, one of two presidential turkey candidates, sits in an enclosure during a press conference at the InterContinental Hotel on Nov. 6 in San Francisco. Two presidential turkey candidates, known as Tom 1 and Tom 2, are contending for the honor of being named the 2015 National Thanksgiving turkey and being pardoned by President Obama during a pardoning ceremony at the White House before Thanksgiving.

E-reader: 3 Thanksgiving reads

May 9, 2019 at 10:49 p.m.

Give Thanks? Science Supersized Your Turkey Dinner by Alexis Madrigal, Wired, 10-minute read, free A brief look into how industrial farming has changed the production of food since the first...

Book clubs for everyone

May 9, 2019 at 10:46 p.m.

Looking for a good book club to join this winter? Here are a few book groups in the Chicago area open to the public. Once a month, Logan Square's City...

Three bookish Instagrams to follow

May 9, 2019 at 10:46 p.m.

@subwaybookreview 48.4k followers; "Book reviews with strangers on the subway"; www.subwaybookreview.com There is a certain joy to seeing people read on public transit. I often find myself peering over shoulders...

Three apps that help kids read are Vcarrot, Kindoma, and Professor Astro Cat

3 apps supply avenues to young readers’ attention

May 9, 2019 at 10:45 p.m.

Vcarrot, www.vcarrot.com, free on iTunes Vcarrot is an app that can give a reluctant reader an extra little push: "Carrot or stick," as they say. The way it works is,...

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