Prior to the author’s reading on Monday at the Illini Union Bookstore, Adam Scott reviews this award-winning collection of short fiction.
Posts by Adam Scott:
Bulls Balls: A Favorite Truck Decoration
I first noticed a pair in the parking lot at Parkland College, hanging from the back of a fire-engine red Ford F150. If you’ve been paying attention to the trucks on the road, you may …
Why is Finding a Good Chinese Buffet So Crazy Difficult?
I was lured to Crazy Buffet in the North Prospect Big Box Retail District the other night on the recommendation of a friend who told me that this place was “better than the others.” By …
The Illinois Marathon: An Opportunity to Show Off
This past Saturday, Smile Politely was well represented at the Country Music Marathon in Nashville. Okay, maybe well represented isn’t exactly fair to say, but at least there were two of us there: your humble …
Hanging with Junot Díaz in Key West
Four months ago, before he won the Pulitzer Prize in fiction for his novel The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Díaz was hanging out in my hotel room in Key West. There were …
Downtown Champaign: Perfect for Micro Festivals
Downtown Champaign, with its two movie theatres and its many bars, restaurants and cafés seems to be a perfect locale for small film festivals: movie buffs can watch a film and then talk about it …
Who Should Be Making a Buck Off “Unofficial”?
On Tuesday, the News-Gazette reported that “Unofficial St. Patrick’s Day” — which, like REO Speedwagon, Roger Ebert and that Miss America lady, are the spawns of Champaign-Urbana — cost the community more than $30,000. These …
Book Glutton Serves the Appetites of Social Readers
Successful businesses often have humble beginnings. The first Apple computers were assembled in Steve Jobs’ living room. YouTube’s first office was in a garage. eBay’s first sale was a broken laser pointer. For Book Glutton, …
African Cinema Comes to Champaign-Urbana
For many of us Americans, Africa exists as only a giant multi-colored mass on our world maps. The worst thing about our ignorance of Africa is that people don’t seem too uncomfortable with it — …
Papa George: Finding Tasty Greek in the Least Likely Place
There’s very little about Papa George, the restaurant that was until recently Pickles on Neil Street, that says “Greek.” In fact, the exterior screams bland American cuisine (a la Pickles), but the fact that the …