In Memoriam: Grace Paley

Grace Paley, amazing author and social activist died yesterday. She was 84 years old. There is a good obituary at The New York Times and a good piece at NPR, complete with links to audio files.

I especially like the end of the NPR piece: Grace Paley's voice was ardent, delicious, idealistic and funny... whenever people told Paley they loved one of her stories, she would say, "So, what's wrong with the rest?"

Nothing at all, Grace. Rest in Peace.

Congratulations, Gary Paulsen!

The Chicago Tribune reports: "The Chicago Tribune Young Adult Literary Prize -- to Gary Paulsen for a distinguished career during which he has authored more than 175 books for children and adults, including Hatchet, Dogsong and The Winter Room, all Newberry Honor Books."

Not only is the award well deserved, but -even better! - the article goes on to say: "Paulsen will be given his prize at the Harold Washington Library Center at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 27, during the Children's Humanities Festival."

Huzzah! Read the whole story here.

Maybe this shouldn't surprise me...

... but this story from Yahoo made me very, very sad:

"One in four adults say they read no books at all in the past year, according to an Associated Press-Ipsos poll released Tuesday. Of those who did read, women and seniors were most avid, and religious works and popular fiction were the top choices."

I am going to try to take some small crumb of comfort from the fact that there are avid readers I know who read magazines and newspapers constantly, so their not reading books doesn't mean they aren't readers.

But, even so...

Damn.

A Time for Love

Huzzah! We got tickets to see Stevie on September 10th! The concert sold out pretty quick, so we're feeling pretty lucky. Yay, yay, YAY! I feel like we got the golden ticket!

Richton Perk - coupon and official Grand Opening info

As many of you know, my parents' coffee shop, Richton Perk, opened quietly a few weeks ago. Now, they're getting ready to celebrate!

They'll have an official Grand Opening on Monday, August 6, beginning at 1pm. Richton Park Mayor, Richard Reinbold, will preside over the festivities. They'll be be offering specials and samples all afternoon, so if you're n the area, stop by and say hi!

Also, they will be open Saturdays, 7am to noon beginning on Saturday, August 11.

Below, please find a coupon good for $1 off any purchase, good for next week, 8/06 through 8/11. (The coupon is also at http://s94.photobucket.com/albums/l95/book-kitten/Richton%20Perk/?action=view&current=coupon.jpg)

If you have a myspace page, you can add them as a friend -- or even just check out their page, at http://www.myspace.com/richtonperk.

Thanks to everyone who has already stopped by. I hope you've had good experiences and can honestly recommend them to friends.

Peace and love to all,
Katharine

Suddenly, I long for cheddar...

I loved this so much I've been singing the song for 25+ years!

Woo-hoo!

Seriously excited to learn that the incomparable Stevie Wonder is coming to Chicago in September. He is one of my Favorite. Musicians. EVAH. I plan to be there!