I’m generally not the kind of person that makes a it a point to read books about cities. Even if I’m visiting or traveling to or even living in an interesting place in the world, I haven’t been known to read about that place.

A few weeks ago I picked up Never a City So Real by Alex Kotlowitz at Powell’s, the local used book store. It was brand new, never read, and only five bucks. The purchase was not a mistake.

If you’ve been to Chicago before, you’ve probably seen all the hot tourist spots: Millennium Park, Sears Tower, Navy Pier. The list goes on. None of these places are mentioned in the book.

What are discussed in the book are the stories of a number of everyday Chicagoans. People from the Far South Side’s steel mills and the West Side’s Soul Food scene. There are stories about the downtown courthouse and Cicero’s politics. These places are not famous, and never will be. But as a Chicagoan, this book was important. It’s a celebration of the everyday style of life that this city affords. We’re not classy or stylish the way New York is, nor are we glitzy like LA. Sure we’ve got all the accoutrements of a major city…but in the end we’re all regular people.

That’s why I love Chicago. And that’s why I loved the book.

Quotable Quote:

Jack loved the city for its ingenuity, as well as for its easygoing demeanor. ‘I can’t see why anyone would want to live anywhere else in the world,’ he used to say. And he relished its tussles, large and small. He hustled, peddling his V-Vax, embracing the underdog, finding ways to reinvent himself—not for the purpose of self-aggrandizement, but rather because life is short and sometimes another path seems enticing and just worth the try.”