Nearly 10 years ago Rosemary Thornton drove to Springfield from Alton to give a talk at Lincoln Library about Sears homes. As the library’s program director, I remember her coming early in the d

When people think of Springfield history their minds usually turn to its favorite son. Thousands of books have been written about Abraham Lincoln, but there is much capital city lore to be brought to

A compilation of books from Illinois authors and publishers.

Starting in 1984, the Library of Congress’ Center for the Book began to establish affiliate centers in the 50 states. Today, there is a state Center for the Book in all 50 states. The Illinois Center for the Book is located in the Illinois State Library at Second and Capitol Streets.

“We are all connected.” So begins Gay Stinnett’s lovely new book about her experiences with the ancient art (she calls it the “wondrous gift”) of Reiki (pronounced ray-key). The International Center for Reiki Training defines the practice as “a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing. It is administered by ‘laying on hands’ and is based on the idea that an unseen ‘life force energy’ flows through us and is what causes us to be alive. . . . The word Reiki is made of two Japanese words — Rei which means ‘God’s Wisdom or the Higher Power’ and Ki which is ‘life force energy.’ So Reiki is actually spiritually guided life force energy.” Reiki practitioners believe, therefore, that if one’s “life force energy” is low, then we are more likely to get sick or feel stress, and if it is high, we are more capable of being happy and healthy.

Close your eyes and think of Illinois. Take your time. Free associate. I’m not a mind reader but I guess you see fields of corn and red barns against blue skies. Now think architecture. Of course, Frank Lloyd Wright. History — who else but honest Abe? Politics — no not our ex-governor. I’ll give you a hint. Think bow tie and it can only be Senator Simon.

Untitled Document One of the pleasures of summer vacations is a visit to the bookstore or library to pick out those special volumes you plan to take to the cottage or the beach.

Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, in a sense, worked her way up to the nation’s greatest leader by first producing several acclaimed political studies of some of the 20th

I used to work in a library, and the person I most envied there was the cataloger. She got to see all of the new books first and decide where they would reside in the cozy confines of the De

Lost Survivor By Thomas R. Jones Like Henry Fielding’s famous novel (whose hero shares a name with Lost Survivor’s author), this is a coming-of-age story. But Johnny