This is not a very substantial book, which is surprising from Kotlowitz. But basically, it’s just a sweet, loving look at Chicago and all its madness. There’s a lot of social justice related stuff in here, which is what you’d expect from him, but it’s mostly just touched on lightly. There’s no real passion in this book, but there’s a lot of affection. He loves Chicago, obviously, even though he’s well aware of its many downsides.

One thing this book is great for is ideas for where to go and what to read next. As a Chicago newbie, I found it a helpful intro/overview, with a social issues angle that I appreciate.

I might actually get my own copy of it, just for reference.

I love this book, and it’s clearly a “quick read” – normally it would be an afternoon or two of dedicated reading. The chapters have little snippets of history in them, but mainly they stay light and friendly. It’s making me feel very happy to be in Chicago, for the most part.

But it’s taking a loooong time to read it, because these days I do almost all my reading on the CTA, and I don’t want to carry this book around with me. My boss lent it to me, and it’s an autographed copy. So I have to be veerrrryyy careful, and just read it in quick 15-minute sessions at home.

(All Consuming says that I started consuming this item less than a minute before writing this post, but that’s just when I clicked on it. I actually started reading it weeks ago.)