Most people don't know that Chicago's nickname comes from the bluster of its politicians and not the velocity of the wind. Many of the characters in Jason Berry's novel, Last of the Red Hot Poppas, should feel quite at home here as Jason kicks off the Midwest leg of his book tour.

Jason will be reading at 6:30 tonight at Kate the Great's Book Emporium (5550 N. Broadway, 773-561-1932). Come join Chicagoans and New Orleans evacuees in the area as Jason reads from his novel and talks about the fictive Governor Rex LaSalle.

Jason will be at Notre Dame tomorrow. He'll be at Columbia College in Chicago on Friday at noon, then at the Quadrangle Club on the University of Chicago campus that evening. He'll wind up this leg of the trip with an appearance at the Call to Action conference, a Catholic network to foster peace and justice, in Milwaukee on Saturday. Hope some of you in the Chicago area can catch him at one of these events.