Michael Ruzicka, Office Manager, was raised in suburban Los Angeles, received a BA in Creative Writing/Poetry at UC Santa Cruz, then moved to Birmingham, AL, where he spent five years owning an independent bookstore and earned an MLIS. He has brought his librarian skills to Vanderbilt’s Television News Archive, Battle Ground Academy, The Museum of Contemporary Art-Chicago, and the Chicago School of Professional Psychology. Michael is very excited to be a part of Booklist and call Chicago his home.
As we introduce the latest installment of our long-running annual spotlight on romance, we begin the third year of our new tradition: #SeptemberRomance. For the next two weeks, The Booklist Reader will delight all your senses with daily romance injections. Subscribe to our daily updates to get these love notes delivered straight to your inbox. The […]
The September 1 issue of Booklist magazine is now live. Visit Booklist Online, where you’ll find 321 new reviews and 8 new feature articles and lists. The articles will be free to all for the next two weeks—to have unrestricted access, you’ll need to log in. If you aren’t yet a subscriber, or you do subscribe but haven’t […]
There are books that seep into you as you are reading them. Unexpectedly, you find yourself thinking about them while you’re performing everyday tasks: watching TV, eating, getting ready for bed, basically doing anything other than reading that particular book. Severance by Ling Ma was released this week. Unlike its fictional Shen Fever that slowly […]
The July issue of Booklist magazine is now live. Visit Booklist Online, where you’ll find 278 new reviews and 10 new feature articles and lists. The articles will be free to all for the next two weeks—to have unrestricted access, you’ll need to log in. If you aren’t yet a subscriber, or do subscribe but haven’t registered for […]
The June 1 & 15 issue of Booklist magazine is now live. Visit Booklist Online, where you’ll find 394 new reviews and 12 new feature articles and lists. The articles will be free to all for the next two weeks—to have unrestricted access, you’ll need to log in. If you aren’t yet a subscriber, or do subscribe […]
This morning sees the tragic loss of a giant in the culinary world, Anthony Bourdain. Bourdain had the life most have dreamed about: after publishing the wildly popular Kitchen Confidential, which uncovered the “back of the house” in all its alluring debauchery, he went on to trek around the world, tasting every type of food […]
The May 15 issue of Booklist magazine is now live. Visit Booklist Online, where you’ll find 291 new reviews and eight new feature articles and lists. The articles will be free to all for the next two weeks—to have unrestricted access, you’ll need to log in. If you aren’t yet a subscriber, or do subscribe but haven’t […]
The haggard gumshoe detective / investigator has a long tradition in the annals of science fiction: both sci-fi and mystery found a fanbase through pulp and serial magazines. The titles I’ve collected have gained new life through feature films and streaming series. In them, the distant future presents perhaps the greatest mystery, so bridging that […]
The May 1 Mystery Showcase issue of Booklist magazine is now live. Visit Booklist Online, where you’ll find 332 new reviews and 8 new feature articles and lists. The articles will be free to all for the next two weeks—to have unrestricted access, you’ll need to log in. If you aren’t yet a subscriber, or […]
The April 15 issue of Booklist magazine is now live. Visit Booklist Online, where you’ll find 299 new reviews and 7 new feature articles and lists. The articles will be free to all for the next two weeks—to have unrestricted access, you’ll need to log in. If you aren’t yet a subscriber, or do subscribe but […]
Encouraging Middle-Schoolers to Choose Books
There’s been a lot of discussion among the librarians I know about what to do with middle-schoolers: they just don’t seem to read as much as they used to. I know that here in Chicago, we have a unique perspective on this situation, since our schools run K–8. In my former school system in Maryland […]
Getting Started with the Global Read Aloud
The 2017 Global Read Aloud kicked off yesterday, and I’m here to help. Author and educator Pernille Ripp founded the program as a way to connect students and teachers from different locales around the topics of books. (Think One Book One School or One Book One City, but on a global scale.) Each year, Ripp […]
TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE: Practice Recognizing Fake News
Cindy: There have been a number of YA fiction books with the title “Two Truths and a Lie,” but we’ve found a creative, informational book for middle-grade students that reinforces evaluating information for truth. Fake news, anyone? Two Truths and a Lie: It’s Alive (2017) by Ammi-Joan Paquette and Laurie Ann Thompson is the first […]
Encouraging Middle-Schoolers to Choose Books
There’s been a lot of discussion among the librarians I know about what to do with middle-schoolers: they just don’t seem to read as much as they used to. I know that here in Chicago, we have a unique perspective on this situation, since our schools run K–8. In my former school system in Maryland […]
Getting Started with the Global Read Aloud
The 2017 Global Read Aloud kicked off yesterday, and I’m here to help. Author and educator Pernille Ripp founded the program as a way to connect students and teachers from different locales around the topics of books. (Think One Book One School or One Book One City, but on a global scale.) Each year, Ripp […]
TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE: Practice Recognizing Fake News
Cindy: There have been a number of YA fiction books with the title “Two Truths and a Lie,” but we’ve found a creative, informational book for middle-grade students that reinforces evaluating information for truth. Fake news, anyone? Two Truths and a Lie: It’s Alive (2017) by Ammi-Joan Paquette and Laurie Ann Thompson is the first […]
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