Greg Zimmerman
@gregzimmerman.bsky.social
📚 Bookseller: @roscoebooks.bsky.social 🛠️ Daily Editor: @chicagorevbooks.bsky.social ✍️ Marketing and communications: @storystudiochicago.bsky.social 📝 Book Reviewer: open.substack.com/pub/thenewdorkreviewofbooks Chicagoan. Marquette alum. Runner
Professional writer organizations should not send out pro-AI propaganda in the form of tantrum-having "essays" to their members, and I don't think that's controversial.
Regarding The Pro-AI Tantrum In The HWA Newsletter
Today I, and every other HWA member, received the HWA newsletter in our inboxes. In that newsletter was an essay (“essay”) of pro-AI propaganda that made a number of specious points in …
terribleminds.com
Our eighth installment in the Chicago Renaissance series is an essay about Joe Meno’s trilogy of coming-of-age Chicago novels by Greg Zimmerman (@gregzimmerman.bsky.social). chireviewofbooks.com/2026/08/05/t...
Just started KIN by Tayari Jones and had to force myself to put it down last night in order to get sleep and not be a zombie today. (Still a zombie.)
Liberty Hardy@libertyhardy.bsky.social · 6h agoSo, star bits, what have you been reading these days? 📚
I don't understand much about anything, but why isn't the solution to this "hire more drivers." blockclubchicago.org/2026/08/05/t...
Thousands Of Books Are Piling Up In Chicago Libraries Due To Staffing Shortage
The backlog has librarians scrambling to find space and keep track of books in the system. Library workers say it's a ripple effect of a delivery driver shortage — and patrons have started checking ou...
blockclubchicago.org
"The main point, as always, is this: Read what you want, when you want, and where you want. Read and let read. And when in doubt, don’t be a jerk. It’s really not that tough to not be a jerk." open.substack.com/pub/thenewdo... #books #booksky
On "Performative Reading" and The Brothers Karamazov
Read and let read, I always say.
open.substack.com
Book 44: 1000 Words, by Jami Attenberg Sometimes you don’t know you need a good swift kick in the ass to get your writing going until the boot print is on your bum. #books #booksky substack.com/profile/3501...
Greg Zimmerman (@thenewdorkreviewofbooks)
Book 44: 1000 Words, by Jami Attenberg Sometimes you don’t know you need a good swift kick in the ass to get your writing going until the boot print is on your bum. This book is that boot print. Not...
substack.com
Book 43: The Shampoo Effect, by Jenny Jackson Just an absolute blast. Beachy and soapy but with some astute things to say about writerly inspiration and the ethics of using your friends and family as fodder for stories. Loved this! #books #booksky substack.com/profile/3501...
Greg Zimmerman (@thenewdorkreviewofbooks)
Book 43: The Shampoo Effect, by Jenny Jackson This is an absolutely perfect read for a long, languid summer afternoon. Beachy, for sure — but with some fascinating and astute things to say about writ...
substack.com
Book 42: The Brothers Karamazov, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky Hurrah for Karamazov! Dramatic, soapy even. Philosophical, but not nearly as difficult as I thought it’d be. Actually kind of fun. These Russians knew how to have good time with plot.
last call to sign up for my writing magic class at @storystudiochicago.bsky.social! if you're into earth magic, portals, witches, unusual superpowers, and magical creatures, this class is for you. we'll meet online starting next Tuesday, August 4. see you there!
Writing Magic with Ruth Joffre - StoryStudio Chicago
This class is all about magic and how it can shape a story. We’ll explore various magical systems to understand how they work and what impact they can have in our writing.
storystudiochicago.org
I'm not letting AI horseshit maneuver me into a defensive position with my writing. I write like I write. I love emdashes. I keep using emdashes. Whatever we write, AI will take and copy it -- all you can do is keep writing the best shit you can write in the form you want it to take, and fuck it.
Manisha Krishnan@manishakrishnan.bsky.social · last wk.Authors and journalists are doing more first-person (hello 2010s blogging) and embracing "mistakes" in writing to prove they're not chatbots. There's even an “anti-Grammarly" app that leaves in typos and signs off "sent from my iPhone" to create more authenticity: www.wired.com/story/more-t...
Book 41: Cool Machine, by Colson Whitehead The Harlem Trilogy goes out on a high note. open.substack.com/pub/thenewdo... #books #booksky
Cool Machine, by Colson Whitehead: Yuppies and Gangsters vs. Ray Carney
The Harlem Trilogy goes out on a high note.
open.substack.com
Book 41: Cool Machine, by Colson Whitehead The Harlem Trilogy goes out on a high note. open.substack.com/pub/thenewdo... #books #booksky
Cool Machine, by Colson Whitehead: Yuppies and Gangsters vs. Ray Carney
The Harlem Trilogy goes out on a high note.
open.substack.com
“Why, why is everything so stupid?” —Ivan in The Brothers Karamazov #booksky
It's been two weeks now since this article first published. And the discussion on this reaction piece is still going strong. Are we really in a "postliterate" society? thenewdorkreviewofbooks.substack.com/p/in-defense... #books #booksky
In Defense of Reading: A Few Thoughts on The Atlantic's Hit Piece
C'mon. We're not really in a "postliterate" society.
thenewdorkreviewofbooks.substack.com
I'm trying to write a scene about election night 2016 and it's the second hardest thing I've ever tried to write, just behind an essay about my father dying. #writersofbluesky
Dentist: Do you feel numb? Me: Yes, and that's a delightful little oxymoron. This is why I don't go out much.
Seems pretty bad www.yahoo.com/news/science...
OpenAI AI models went rogue during testing, triggering 'unprecedented' breach at startup
WASHINGTON, July 21 (Reuters) - OpenAI said on Tuesday that an autonomous agent powered by its advanced artificial intelligence models went rogue during a security test and triggered a hack that compr...
yahoo.com
Book 40: Country People, by Daniel Mason What a whimsical, charming novel! I had so much fun reading this — so many LOLs. #books #booksky substack.com/@thenewdorkr...
Greg Zimmerman (@thenewdorkreviewofbooks)
Book 40: Country People, by Daniel Mason What a whimsical, charming novel! I had so much fun reading this — so many LOLs. A story about culture clash really becomes a story about empathy.— but told ...
substack.com
"I’m always fascinated when history provides a perfect mirror to our current moment." @gregzimmerman.bsky.social's interview with @rbeaird.bsky.social on "Tenderness" (@flatironbooks.bsky.social) is out now. chireviewofbooks.com/2026/07/21/o...
On Cults, Class, and the Turbulent 1970s: A Conversation with Rowan Beaird - Chicago Review of Books
Our interview with Rowan Beaird about her new novel, "Tenderness."
chireviewofbooks.com
In case you were wondering, yes, we do have an AI policy:
There are no stupid questions except for the three different people on our neighborhood FB page asking what’s going on with the bad smell and haze outside 🫠
One of us liked it, the other didn't = really good conversation. #books #booksky
Chicago Review of Books@chicagorevbooks.bsky.social · 3w agoRead Sara Cutaia and @gregzimmerman.bsky.social in conversation as part of our new feature, a podcast on the page. They’re talking about Caro Claire Burke's YESTERYEAR (@aaknopf.bsky.social). chireviewofbooks.com/2026/07/16/c...
Last week we ran our Favorite Books of 2026 (So Far) list, and now that we’ve looked back at all the great books the year has already brought us, it’s time to look ahead to all the great ones to come... Check those out at the link below! chireviewofbooks.com/2026/07/15/o...
"Men really will do literally anything instead of going to therapy." 😂 Oh man, @kathleenmrooney.bsky.social, I really loved MAN OVERBOARD! Reader friends: You will too! thenewdorkreviewofbooks.substack.com/p/man-overbo... #books #booksky
Man Overboard!, by Kathleen Rooney: "Men really will do literally anything instead of going to therapy"
Maybe all men should be forced to do an annual 20-hour sea float?
thenewdorkreviewofbooks.substack.com
"Men really will do literally anything instead of going to therapy." 😂 Oh man, @kathleenmrooney.bsky.social, I really loved MAN OVERBOARD! Reader friends: You will too! thenewdorkreviewofbooks.substack.com/p/man-overbo... #books #booksky
Man Overboard!, by Kathleen Rooney: "Men really will do literally anything instead of going to therapy"
Maybe all men should be forced to do an annual 20-hour sea float?
thenewdorkreviewofbooks.substack.com
