📚 Farewell, Newberry Book Fair

You will be truly missed. [READER]( The Daily Reader October 25, 2023 Last week, the [Tribune broke the news that the Newberry Library would no longer host its long-running book fair](. I did not respond to the news particularly well. I’m quite fond of the book fair, and in recent years I’ve made sure to take a day off work in order to take full advantage of the event. Yes, Chicago has plenty of great used bookstores, and I visit them as frequently as my schedule and budget allow. (Full disclosure: My friend and Reader colleague J.R. Nelson co-owns Myopic Books. On another note, Reader social media engagement associate [Charli Renken]( J.R.]( for our Books Issue in September, and [you should read that stor]( if you haven’t yet.) But I love the energy that I find at a book fair; to be in a throng of people flipping through books, fueled by the fair’s temporary nature and cheap prices, brings a thrill to the overwhelming experience of digging through hundreds and hundreds of books. I’ve walked in not knowing if I should buy one book or two, with no idea of what I could possibly want, and left with more books than I can fit in my backpack. One year I walked away with a second-edition copy of [William “Upski” Wimsatt’s Bomb the Suburbs]( a book I already owned, but part of what drew me in was that it included a copy of Wimsatt’s old hip-hop zine, [Elevated](. This year, I came across a quasi-autobiography by Dean Weiss, who quit his job as a vice president of a Chicago bank in order to pursue his passion: clowning. Weiss’s book, [Follow the Rainbow]( is partially an instructional guide to his craft. While I am not about to take up clowning myself, I couldn’t turn down a $1 copy of a book about an artistic obsession that looked like it was assembled by hand. I had no idea when I’d come across a copy of Follow the Rainbow again, and I had no idea that’d be the last time I’d ask myself if I really needed a book about clowning at the Newberry Book Fair. Sincerely, “[Women staffers of Jann Wenner’s Rolling Stone get their turn to speak]( by Marisa Kabas (The Handbasket) “[The World’s Most Popular Painter Sent His Followers After Me Because He Didn’t Like a Review of His Work. Here’s What I Learned,]( by Ben Davis (Artnet) “[Bandcamp Editorial Director: ‘Fuuuuuck Bandcamp United]( by Emanuel Maiberg (404 Media) Sadness, Vulning, [Sadness / Vulning]( Jane Remover, [Census Designated]( Vic Spencer, [Psychological Cheat Sheet 4]( 🎃 Leor’s “[Last October 2023 Reader playlist]( playlist [‘For me, music and spirituality are intertwined as one’]( Kenyan-born Chai Tulani takes inspiration from across the African diaspora on the new Rift Valley 773/312. by [Alejandro Hernandez]( | [Read more]( → [RIP multimedia rock artist Shelley Howard]( Plus: Selenoplexia drop an album of high-density blackened death metal, and Nihilist Records releases a stack of thoughtfully crafted noise by venerated pioneers of the genre. by [J.R. Nelson]( and [Leor Galil]( | [Read more]( → [Geneva Jacuzzi is a vibrant goth weirdo]( by [Micco Caporale]( | [Read more]( [Deeper make cold postpunk shine bright on their Sub Pop debut]( by [Leor Galil]( | [Read more]( → Nominate the Best of Chicago! The Best of Chicago nomination ballot is now OPEN! Show love to your favorite local businesses, small businesses, coffee shops, beauty salons, dive bars, and sports teams. Click below to place your nominations today! [2023 BEST OF CHICAGO BALLOT]( [Issue of Oct. 19 – Nov. 1, 2023 Vol. 53, No. 1]( [VIEW / DOWNLOAD ISSUE [PDF]]( [View this e-mail as a web page]( [@chicago_reader]( [/chicagoreader]( [@chicago_reader]( [Chicago Reader on LinkedIn]( [/chicagoreader]( [chicagoreader.com]( [Forward this e-mail to a friend](. Want to change how you receive these e-mails? You can [update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe from this list](. Copyright © 2023 Chicago Reader, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Chicago Reader, 2930 S. Michigan Ave., Suite 102, Chicago, IL 60616