John Warner

1 month ago | chicagotribune.com | John Warner

When “Orbital” by Samantha Harvey won this year’s Booker Prize in what I, at least, thought was an upset over “James” by Percival Everett, I was instantly eager to read it. As I had a pre-planned trip to Edinburgh, Scotland, the week after the announcement, I was even more eager because I could buy a book that won the biggest U.K. book prize in the United Kingdom.

1 month ago | chicagotribune.com | John Warner

Sometimes, early in the experience of reading a book, I will get a sensation that I may be in the presence of a classic. It’s tough to say what triggers this sensation. I remember experiencing it while reading Isabel Wilkerson’s “The Warmth of Other Suns,” her landmark exploration of the emigration of Black Southerners to other parts of the country in the 20th century and how this remade our culture.

1 month ago | chicagotribune.com | John Warner

I’m a little miffed at Oprah right now. I had a plan to be the first person to publicly proclaim Eric Puchner’s new novel “Dream State” as a great book that everyone should read. I noted the planned publication date (March 25) in my calendar and scheduled my work accordingly. So, imagine my surprise when I saw Oprah on the CBS Morning News on Feb. 18 announcing that the next installment of her book club would be “Dream State” by Eric Puchner.

2 months ago | chicagotribune.com | John Warner

It feels like just about every month I’m coming here to remember a recently deceased writer who had some profound effect on my life as a reader. This month it’s Tom Robbins, author of numerous classic novels, including “Another Roadside Attraction,” “Even Cowgirls Get the Blues,” “Still Life with Woodpecker” and “Skinny Legs and All,” among others. Robbins died in his home of La Conner, Washington, on Feb. 9, at the age of 92.

2 months ago | chicagotribune.com | John Warner

For no particular reason that I can think of, lately I’ve been looking for good examples of people embodying the American spirit of hard work, creative entrepreneurship, and care for the well-being of others as part of a democratic society. Fortunately, I had an example that’s been sitting at the end of my desk since last fall: “Norman Lear: His Life and Times,” a biography of the legendary television producer by Tripp Whetsell.