In Conversation with Carol Felsenthal at Max and Benny’s on June 26

Carol Felsenthal is one of Chicago’s most knowledgeable and insightful political observers. An accomplished author, Carol has written biographies of Alice Roosevelt Longworth, Katharine Graham and Bill Clinton among others. You often hear Carol on local television and radio shows as a commentator. She has written extensively on political and social matters for Chicago magazine, where she also blogs at chicagomag.com. In addition, her blog posts can be found on Politico, the New Republic, The Hill and the Huffington Post. She will join us at Max and Benny’s on Monday evening, June 26, in a political conversation about what’s happening on the local and national scenes. It should be a fascinating discussion. The program starts at 7:00 p.m. Max and Benny’s is located at 461 Waukegan Road in Northbrook.

Celebrate Bloomsday 2017 at the Euro Echo Cafe

We will be celebrating Bloomsday on the evening of Friday, June 16, from 6:30 to 8:00 at the Euro Echo Cafe in Skokie, located at 7919 Lincoln Avenue. A number of us will be reading some of our favorite passages from Ulysses, and we encourage others to read with us. There will be a display of Ulysses-related art by Leonid Osseny. Euro Echo Cafe is a comfortable and cozy place with a nice selection of sandwiches, salads and desserts. It is located across the street from the Skokie Theater. Please confirm your attendance and let me know if you would like to read by contacting me at richardreeder34@gmail.com.

Devorah Heitner, Author of Screenwise, at Max and Benny’s on May 22

In this modern age of ours, we are constantly dealing with the issue of digital device obsession with children. This is why Devorah Heitner’s book “Screenwise: Helping Kids Thrive (and Survive)in Their Digital World” is timely,  informative and helpful. Devorah, who has her doctorate in Media/Technology and Society from Northwestern University, stresses in her book that our kids need strong mentorship in this connected world we live in. Developing these mentorship strategies as parents, grandparents and teachers is key in helping young people to succeed and become engaged in families and society. Devorah is the featured speaker at Max and Benny’s on Monday evening, May 22. Her presentation begins at 7:00 pm. Her book is being sold by our friends from the Book Bin that evening. The event is free and open to the public.

Ron Rapoport Discusses Ring Lardner

Ron Rapoport was one of my favorite local sportswriters when he wrote for the Sun-Times. Now Ron is back in town promoting his new book, The Lost Journalism of Ring Lardner, and partaking of the celebrations centering around Lardner’s induction into the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame on May 4. Lardner was a great sports columnist for the Chicago Tribune in the early twentieth century, as well as writing incisively on the American political and cultural scenes.

I hope that you will be able to join me on Thursday afternoon, May 4, at the Cliff Dwellers for  lunch and a presentation by Ron on his new book. We will start at noon, although doors open at 11:30 for time to mingle beforehand. The price for the lunch and program is $30.00. Reservations are required. Email to reserve at reservations@cliff-chicago.org or call 312-922-8080.