Hearth + Shelf is a local event series, where we ask Chicagoans to open up their homes to talk to us about their personal book collections.

Please join us on Wednesday, May 23 at 7:30 pm for a Hearth + Shelf hosted by Zach Dodson, entitled, Designer Books.

Tired of looking at words? Time to read some pictures! Zach Dodson will thrust a a dizzying number of illustrated books in your hands, many of which it seems he's never read. Watch as he veers from his intended topics: designed narrative, wordless comics, image/texts, and invented worlds into some surely tedious tangents, such as "How can narratives that utilize artwork or graphic strategies add new layers of meaning to the written word?" Vote on how many precarious stacks of books away Zach is from starring in his own episode of 'Hoarders'.

RSVP to info@summerforum.org. Space is limited but we will be posting the list of books discussed on our website for those who cannot attend. A five dollar donation is suggested.

To see the list of past selections by Martine Syms, Marco Braunschweiler, Julia Kramer, Naomi Vaughan, Jeremy Tinder, and Abby Satinsky, and hear some readings from the events, check out the Summer Forum blog.