BOOKS

You Must Be This Happy to Enter

Akashic; $14.95
A zombie wife. Falling in love in a closet. Chicago writer Elizabeth Crane, who is known for her offbeat prose, offers a third collection of short stories as sincere as they are surreal; they will resonate with women everywhere who fumble through friendships, romantic relationships, and careers.

Please Stop Laughing at Us

BenBella Books; $14.95
After earning the trust of bullied students with her best-selling memoir Please Stop Laughing at Me, Chicago-based motivational speaker Jodee Blanco continues to champion the cause of the mocked, misunderstood, and forgotten. Her second book couples true stories about peer-on-peer abuse with practical advice to help victims “turn pain into purpose.”

The Third Coast

Chicago Review Press; $24.95
In this winding journey around the five Great Lakes, Chicago contributor Ted McClelland captures the charm and spirit of a region he calls Freshwater Nation. Starting in Chicago on the east bank of the Calumet River, his travel journal is full of such characters as Willie Greene, who has owned Montrose Harbor’s Park Bait Company for more than 50 years.

The Oldest We’ve Ever Been

University of Arizona Press; $15.95
Accept this intimate invitation into the lives of seven baby boomers as they narrate the passage through midlife. Edited by Maud Lavin, a professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Photography: Black Box Studios, Inc.