RUI: Reading Under the Influence

Read this Chi-Town Daily News story or this Gaper's Block article to get an idea of what RUI is like from a guest's point of view.

RUI is a reading series  - originally a fundraiser for another reading - developed by Chicago writers Amanda Snyder, Carly Huegelmann, Rob Duffer, Joe Tower and Julia Borcherts. The writers (which include a rotating roster of RUI regulars and outside guests) read a short piece of original work. They also read a few lines written by famous authors that revolve around a particular theme each month. (Past themes have included Chicago writers, suicidal authors, war, sex and banned books.)

Before reading the "famous" work, the reader orders a shot (in truth, it doesn't have to be alcoholic), toasts the audience, downs the shot and then reads. A bit of trivia ensues after that: Who wrote this passage? What book is it from? Sometimes the questions range away from the actual reading (like say, "When did Franz Ferdinand's new album come out?" in relation to the WWI-starting assassination of the Archduke of the same name), but hey, you'll be drinking and you won't care. We promise.

The person who gets the most correct answers about that particular reading wins a book and maybe some other prizes. It's not at all scientific - our trivia - so you've been warned.

CHECK OUT OUR VIDEO! Trivia from the August 2007 RUI, when the theme was RISK:

 

Round 112: April 1st, 2015 The Theme: Tricksters

Wyl Villacres, Clair Rychlewski, Samantha Lafountain, and RUI's own, Jon Natzke took the stage to play pranks on the audience with some of the most difficult trivia we ever heard! But it was all in good and everyone walked away with a buzz or a good story! 

Round 111: March 4th, 2015 The Theme: Thoroughbred

Bill Hillmann, W. Todd Kaneko, Megan Kirby, and Chris Bower wandered in from the Curbside Splendor bus and read us some great stories from their novels and other published work. And with all the talk about horses, we rode it out through the sunset.

Round 110: February 4th, 2015 The Theme: Two Tickets to Paradise

Taylor Long, Kevin Munley, Daniel Story, and James Tadd Adcox brought their own stories to warm an otherwise cold, desolate Chicago evening. And bound in drinks and books, we managed through the evening.

Round 109: December 3rd, 2014 The Theme: Little Wonders

RUI regular, Mike Meyer, kicked things off with some little wonders of his own, joined by F Magazine editor, Tom Popp. Jasmine Neosh, from the West Side School for the Desperate, brought a few wonders of her own, and RUI curator, Behnam Riahi, brought a story to the table too. Overall, I think it was quite wonderful. 

Round 108: November 5th, 2014 The Theme: Lucky Ladies

If you weren't lucky enough to catch our show, you missed great readings by RUI regular, Liz Baudler, Rudaw editor, Heliz Mazouri, Carnival at Bray author, Jessie Ann Foley, and On The Way author, Cyn Vargas. Better luck next time!

Round 107: October 1st, 2014 The Theme: Dude Ranch

We rounded up quite a few dudes to bring you a fantastic reading--including Matt Rowan, author of Why God Why, Gint Aras, author of Finding the Moon in Sugar, Joseph G. Peterson, author of Gideon's Confession, and Brian Costello, author of Losing Gainesville. Yeehaw, we sure got rowdy. 

Round 106: September 3rd, 2014 The Theme: Save It For Later

Well, we certainly did not save it for later. We brought out the big guns, including Lisa Mrock of Chicago Literati, Claire Zulkey of Funny Ha-Ha,  Leah Pickett of The Morrow, and Tyler Snodgrass of We Still Like You! However, I think we saved a few drink tickets for next month...

Round 105: August 6th, 2014 The Theme: Attitude Adjustment

Who needs an attitude adjustment? We certainly got it, with the return of RUI regulars Darwyn Jones and Liz Grear. Essayist Jael Montellano and writer at Aberrant Chicago, Jacob Hall, made great additions to our show too, and I think we all left a little better adjusted than before.0

Round 104: July 2nd, 2014 The Theme: Left to My Own Devices 

This month's readers really took it up a notch. We had poet Daniel Story, editor at Artifice Books Peter Jurmu, writer and performer at Write Club Natasha Samreny, and author of Married But Looking Dan Libman. 

Round 103: June 4th, 2014 The Theme: Well Done

We had some top notch readers too, including Chris Bowen (author of We Were Giants), Scott Miles (editor of The Best Underground Fiction), A.C. Frieden (author of The Serpent's Game and Tranquility Denied), and Megan Stielstra (author of Once I Was Cool and founder of 2nd Story.) Hell, it doesn't get any better than that. Well done, indeed.

Round 102: May 7th, 2014 The Theme: Nine

RUI brought back its legends to celebrate our ninth anniversary, including original cast members like Julia Borcherts, Jesse Jordan, and Amanda E. Snyder, plus our fresh blood crew, including Naomi Huffman, Bronwyn Mead, Frankie Migacz, Jon Natzke, and Behnam Riahi. What a racket they made.

Round 101: April 2nd, 2014 The Theme: Not as Good as They Say

A very intimate RUI took place on April 2nd. We were shy one reader, but more than half of the audience were 1st timers! Eric Shonkwiler read from his debut novel Above All Men, Peggy Shinner read from her essay collection You Feel So Mortal/Essays on the Body, and our own Erin Nederbo wrapped it up with poignant and funny Chicago themed fiction. 

Round 100: March 5th, 2014 The Theme: Customs

We at RUI were honored to celebrate our 100th event with such fine readers: Emily Roth co-coordintor of 7 Stories, Johnny Misfit host of Two Cookie Minimum, Eric May author of Bedrock Faith, and Laura Krughoff author of My Brother's Name.

Round 99: February 5th, 2014 The Theme: Getting There

A very cold and snowy Wednesday did not sway the large happy crowd of RUI. The readers were Matt Martin, writer of web series Off the Rodeo and creator of reading series Come Home Chicago; John J. Accrocco, freelance writer and author of the blog Little Dinner Party; Chicago based playwright Oliver Hunt, and Claire Longeway, local writer and contributor to reading series Seven Stories.

Round 98: December 4th, 2013 The Theme: The End

We were very lucky to feature the readers Mark Cronin, author of Gigantic Failures; Joseph Bates, author of Tomorrowland; Renee Zambo, Chicago based writer and Columbia College alumni; and Ben Tazer, author of Lucky Man and recently released Orphans. It was truly inspiring to hear each of the readers present their newly published novels. 

Round 97: November 6th, 2013 The theme: Deferment 

Happy November. The leaves are gradually falling off all the tree branches, which means your neighbor across the street can now see directly into your bedroom window! Our four readers last night let it all hang out. Matt David; editor of "Base Spirits," Mason Johnson; author of recently released "Sad Robot Stories," Barrie Joan Borich; author of "My Lesbian Husband" and "Body Geographic," and RUI regular Ashley Keenan contributed. 

Round 96: October 2nd, 2013 The theme: Firsts

If first's on the 2nd, who's on 1st? Our readers batted home-runs, including Meaty's author Samantha Irby, Citizen J's author Daniela Olszewska, Old Neighborhood's author Bill Hillmann, and Zero Fade's author Chris Terry. 

We weren't stepping on tacks when we put this show on, featuring readings Knee-Jerk Editor Steve Tartaglione, Women Float's author Maureen Foley, Decline of Pigeon's author Janice Deal, and essayist Greg Baldino. 

Round 94: August 7th, 2013 The theme: Don't touch that!

No touching! Of course, our audience did come to touch or be touched by winner of Moth Story Slam 2011 Alex Gara, Columbia Grad Student Patrick Salem, Featherproof editor Mairead Case, and our own Frankie Migacz! Of course, there was supposed to be no touching...

Round 93: July 10th, 2013 The theme: Dependence

Celebrating the country's birthday can result in several accidents, so our audience leaned on one and other to make it in to see readings by Brian Hieggelke of New City, WRITECLUB proprietor Ian Belknap, Columbia College adjunct faculty Germania Solorzano, and Tina Jens--author of "The Blues Ain't Nothin'." We raised $352 dollars to help Kevin Kane, Columbia College graduate student and recent father, pay his medical bills after recently discovering cancer, and host Behnam Riahi shaved his said as per agreement. 

Round 92: June 5th, 2013 The theme:  Under Construction

Assuming they made it through traffic because of construction, Chicago's other season, the audience got caught readings by "Pepperland" author Barry Wightman, Sheri Reda of Flow Ceremonies, Emily Schultze from Elephant Rock Books, and co-creator of Fandomcomics.com Keith Kappel. 

Round 91: May 1st, 2013 The theme: Eight

This month's reading celebrated our eighth anniversary, which makes us one of the longest running literary readings in the city of Chicago! We featured eight readers instead of four, each reader performing one original piece and asking "Eight" related trivia. Our alums and current hosts Rob Duffer, Julia Borcherts, Erin Nederbo, Amy Guth, Jesse Jordan, Carly Huegelmann, Bronwyn Mead, and Jon Natzke took the house down. 

Round 91: April 3rd, 2013 The theme: The Transmogrifier 

The audience stepped into a cardboard box. We closed our eyes. We counted to ten. And POOF we became what ever it was that we wanted to become. Melinda McIntire, Shannon Cason, Michael Meyer, and C.J. Arellano aided in said awakening. Stay tuned for our upcoming podcast! 

Round 90: March 5th, 2013 The theme: Madness

Last night's packed audience went crazy for author of "Little Known Facts," Christine Sneed, Columbia College Chicago professor and author of "Hidden Things," Shawn Shiflett, Silver Tongue Reading Series Coordinator Wyl Villacres, and 2nd Story company member Darwyn Jones! 

Round 89: February 5th, 2013 The theme: Tainted Love

Four fine readers pulled on our heartstrings this month. Zak Mucha, author of the Heavyweight Champion of Nothing, Kindling Tales co-founder Jill Howe,  Adam Guerino, founder of the Word is out lit series, and Tyler Coulson, author of Attorneys After the Crash,  all left us lusting for more. 

Round 88: December 5, 2012 The theme: In Bed

We all got lucky with a release party for "The Way We Sleep" lit magazine and stories from contributors J. Adams Oaks ("Why We Fight"), Megan Stielstra ("Everyone Remain Calm"), Simon Smith and RUI's own Rob Duffer. 

Round 87: November 7 , 2012 The theme: The Hunt

RUI collaborated with 2nd Story for the release of the "Briefly Knocked Unconscious by a Low-Flying Duck" anthology with readings from contributors Matt Miller and Julie Ganey. Plus we welcomed Adam McOmber with the release of his new novel, "The White Forest," and Neutron Bomb reading series co-founder Chris Terry.

Round 86: October 3 , 2012 The theme: The Fall

We all fell hard for the tales and trivia from this month's featured readers: Mark Brand, Jon Natzke and RUI's Jesse Jordan and Amy Guth.

Round 85: September 5, 2012 The theme: Truant 

Everyone else went back to school but we played hooky with readings by Mary Beth Hoerner, Daniel Laloggia, Naomi Huffman and JD Adamski. And yes, there was some "Ferris Bueller" trivia involved.

Round 84: August 1, 2012 The theme: Camp

RUI went to camp with camp counselor Jack Daniels, the co-sponsor of the show. JD intellectual property conman Patrick Wensink read from his latest satire, Broken Piano for President. Tamale Hut Cafe Reading Series founder and professional wrestling writer Jenny Seay surprised us with a new story without any body slams, and Geoff Hyatt (Birch Hills at World's End) amazed the RUI crowd by reading a tragicomic essay about his dad's defiance of cancer.

Round 83: July 11, 2012 The theme: Prodigal Son

The wayward prodigal son returned in the form of RUI cofounder Joe Tower, who performed a piece on the differences between alien subspecies of writers "on Chicago" and writers "on Hollywood." Chris Deguire spoke of hernias, catheters, and Tatooine from his forthcoming collection of essays on Star Wars culture. We had a double book release party by Lauryn Allison, who spooked the crowd with an excerpt from her sci-fi novella Solo/Down, and Michael Czyzniejewski (Chicago Stories), who informed us of the alien anal probe in Dennis DeYoung of the Styx, thus inspiring "Come Sail Away." Local writer Patrick Andrews read a scene from his novel, when the protagonist teaches his classmates how HIV virons attach themselves to T-Cells.

Round 82: June 6, 2012 The theme: Pain (The Baseball Edition)

Hilarity in the house with stories of wayward fantasies, parking disasters, bad-ass female masturbation and a horror movie to end all horror movies by Ben Tanzer ("My Father's House"), zinestress Liz Baudler ("The Toucan"), 2nd Story contributor April Newman and Windy City Story Slam All-City champion Alex Bonner. And we had killer baseball trivia, too! But we also raised a glass and hosted one additional trivia round in honor of the late, great Ray Bradbury. 

Round 81: May 2, 2012 The theme: Seven

It's our seventh anniversary! We laid out a spread of pulled pork sliders, sweet potato fries, chips and dips and more as RUI co-founder emeritus Carly Huegelmann joined the crew--Rob, Julia, Jesse and Amy--for stories about camping in swamps, an AIDS scare, a novel chapter with a killer sex scene, a fable about an Appalachian sin-eater and Amy's disastrous face-to-face (so to speak) encounter with her dad's junk.

Round 80: April 4, 2012 The theme: Gospel Hollow

We celebrated the release of RUI co-host Jesse Jordan's debut novel, "Gospel Hollow," with readings and trivia by Jesse plus local writer Jamison Spencer, RUI's Rob Duffer and, in an annual tradition marking his sixth appearance in six years, Darwyn Jones.

Round 79: March 7, 2012 The theme: One Book One Chicago Meets Story Week

We teamed up with the Chicago Public Library to help launch the newest "One Book One Chicago" selection, "Gold Boy, Emerald Girl," by Yiyun Li--with free copies of the book for all Chicago residents who produced or signed up for a library card. We also teamed up with the Fiction Writing Department at Columbia College Chicago for a pre-Story Week event featuring readings and trivia from Fiction Writing chair Randall Albers, current Distinguished Faculty Fellow Ann Hemenway, beloved professor Eric May and administrative miracle worker Nicole Chakalis.

Round 78: February 1, 2012 The theme: Carnival

Yes, we skipped January...again. But we came back to celebrate Mardi Gras month with funny and dark stories about the patron saint of New Orleans, a domestic situation gone horribly wrong, a homeless woman who moves into an unsuspecting man's closet and a life-changing accident at--you guessed it--a carnival by our featured guests: Patricia Ann McNair ("TheTemple of Air"), writer and religious scholar Seth Alexander, writer and animator Quinn Stephens (Laser Dragon University) and RUI's Kyle Chaney. And we welcomed everyone's favorite bartender Matt back from open heart surgery.

Round 77: December 7, 2011 The theme: Infamy

Pearl Harbor Day lives on--along with trivia about other infamous occasions and people and lots of hilarity, heartbreak, awkwardness and more with tales from SKALD storytelling champ Dennis Frymire, local writer Cyn Vargas, the Book Cellar's Brandon Will and RUI co-host Ray Lumpp.

Round 76: November 2, 2011 The theme: Truth

This Much Is True reading series host Scott Whitehair, Literary Death Match champion Jill Summers, Two Cookie Minimum reading series host John Wawrszazek and local writer/jazz musician Cortez Bryson tore up the mic and RUI emeritus Gabe Levinson introduced the first book ("A Brief History of Autho-Terrorism") from his new publishing house, AntiBookClub.

Round 75: October 5, 2011 The theme: Undressed

We kicked off October with five readers and three--count 'em, three--book releases: OV Books editor Gina Frangello ("Men Undressed"), Victor David Giron ("Sophomoric Philosophy") and 2nd Story literary director Megan Stielstra ("Everyone Remain Calm"), plus great stories by local author Gus Rose and visual artist and blogger Philip Hartigan. And lots of giveaways, too.

Round 74: September 7, 2011 The theme: Apocalypse

We celebrated both the end of the world and the release of Geoff Hyatt's new book, "Birch Hills at World's End" and heard equally amazing readings from James Finn Garner ("Politically Correct Bedtime Stories,"  "Honk Honk, My Darling: A Rex Koko Private Clown Mystery"), Ilana Shabanov and Nick Delehanty. And there was lots of dystopian trivia about "The Terminator," 2Pacalypse Now, the actual Bible and--no, we're not kidding--Patrick Swayze.

Round 73: August 17, 2011 The theme: Generation Y

New RUI co-hosts Kyle Chaney, Erin Nederbo and Ray Lumpp took the stage with Aug. 3 lottery winner Michelle Pretorius for a free mid-month edition of RUI and regaled us with stories of Halo and hamsters, barbershop confrontations and affair-ending realizations. And bartender extraordinaire Matt Doan--as always--kept us all in good spirits.

Round 72: August 3, 2011 The theme: Boobies

Encyclopedia Show co-founder Tim Stafford, local writer JD Adamski, police officer and former Chicago Now blogger Joe O'Sullivan and RUI's Jesse Jordan led us by the bra straps through tales of 1980s Comiskey Park catfights, attempts to arrest an ugly transvestite, make-out sessions, lots of Phillip Roth, the lyrics to Kelis' "Milkshake" and other mammarian-related delights.

Round 71: July 6, 2011 The theme: Poison

We swallowed the Kool Aid with Chicago author Adam McOmber ("This New and Poisonous Air"), 2nd Story contributor Eileen Dougharty, P Fanatics reading series host Mason Johnson and local writer Adam Wood. And yep, both Bel Biv Devoe and Brett Michaels/C.C. DeVille showed up in the trivia.

Round 70: June 4, 2011 The theme: First Lines

For our second appearance at the Chicago Tribune's Printers Row Lit Fest, the seven of us--Jesse, Ray, Erin, Rob, Julia, Kyle and Amy--read the first lines from famous literary works and gave away 16 books to those who could correctly answer the related trivia questions. We also read short-short pieces of original work.

Round 69: June 1, 2011 The theme: Boxes

We jumped into June with prose and trivia by Jumpier Prize-winner and Kansas State University writing professor Daniel Hoyt (Then We Saw the Flames), Shawn Shiflett (Hidden Place), local writer Rick Markley and RUI's own Erin Nederbo. We also celebrated--as we do every year--the June 2 birthday of Billi Duvalier, who has attended 66 of 69 RUIs. This year, we sang to her.

Round 68: May 4, 2011 The theme: Six

We celebrated our sixth anniversary with readings by Rob, Jesse and Julia and also with two firsts: a) it was the first time in our six-year history that everyone in the audience had previously attended an RUI; and b) it was also the first time that two readers--Jesse and Julia--arrived with identical passages to read for the published work/trivia rounds. Rob wisely chose something else.

Round 67: April 6, 2011 The theme: Hizzoners

In honor of the changing of Chicago's mayoral guard, we featured readings by author Ben Tanzer (You Can Make Him Like You), Columbia College Fiction professor Eric May, Pub Theater Company co-founder Byron Hatfield, and Windy City Story Slam finalist, Maggie Ritchie.

Round 66: March 2, 2011 The theme: Ric Hess

We honored the life of our good friend and fellow writer and--as owner of Sheffield's, our host--with readings of his work as well as original prose and trivia by our guests Christine Sneed (Portraits of a Few of the People I've Made Cry), Geoff Hyatt (Birch Hills at World's End), Scott Miles (The Best Undeground Fiction), and Sean Rohwedder.

Round 65: December 1, 2010 The theme: Jews!

We celebrated the first night of Hanukkah with our own literary Festival of Lights featuring prose by author and Columbia College Fiction Writing instructor Jeff Jacobson ("Wormfood," "Foodchain"), Sunday Night Sex Show co-founder Robyn Pennacchia, Windy City Story Slam all-city championship contender Frankie Migacz and Columbia College Fiction Writing professor Ann Hemenway.

Round 64: November 3, 2010 The theme: I Hate My Family

We got in the mood for Thanksgiving with tales of cheating spouses; matriarchal temper tantrums; failed parental attempts to quash a fascination with all things punk; and born-again stalkers, drag queens and sexual practices not sanctioned by the church by poet and author Robert McDonald ("A Field Guide to Gay and Lesbian Chicago"), Two Cookie Minimum reading series founder and zinester John Wawrzaszek ("The Muse, the News and the Noose"), local writer Kristen Fiore and RUI's own Jesse Jordan.

Round 63: October 6, 2010 The theme: Gangsters

Tonight's literary mafia--Jonathan Eig ("Get Capone"), Jon Gugala, Felipe Briceno, Sheffield's owner Ric Hess and RUI's Rob Duffer--reigned supreme with thug-themed trivia and prose. In true Prohibition Era-style, we considered sneaking our own booze into the room when we discovered that the bar had run out of Jameson, but made the switch to beer and bourbon instead.

Round 63: September 1, 2010 The theme: Sloth

We welcomed back RUI's most frequent featured guest, Darwyn Jones, along with Robert Morris University professor John Flaherty (in his second RUI appearance) and first-time RUI guests JD Adamski and Brandon Will. Every one of them killed at the mic--a fantastic time was had by all.

Round 62: August 4, 2010 The theme: Gods

Author Josh Wilker introduced his excellent new novel, "Cardboard Gods," local writers Simon Smith and Windy City Story Slam all-city champ Alex Bonner wowed the crowd with great short stories and Marc Paoletti ("Scorch," "The Last Vampire"), who's moving back to California, read a bathroom scene and gave away a prize pack that included books, DVDs, a tube of caulk (yes, a tube of caulk) and a VHS (yes, VHS) porn tape.

Round 61: July 7, 2010 The theme: The Heat

We got steamy with readings by local writers Aaron Michael Morales, Jessi Lee Gaylord, Melanie Datz and James Vest and then cooled off with icy cold brews from Sheffield's unparalleled beer selection. And a few shots of Jameson.

Round 60: June 12, 2010 The theme: Famous Lines

As part of the new Lit After Dark series at the Printers Row Lit Fest, we read iconic single lines from famous books, asked lots of trivia and tossed book prizes out to the winners. Some prizes were fantastic, some were truly terrible, but they all were very small books--we didn't want to hurt anybody. Rob, Julia, Jesse and Amy also read original work.

Round 59: June 2, 2010 The theme: Sluts!

We celebrated all things dirty with first-rate readings by Gina Frangello (from her new story collection, "Slut Lullabies"), Zoe Zolbrod (from her new novel, "Currency"), Josh Alletto (whose debut film, "Drawing Underwater," just screened at the Siskel) and Charlie Vlahogiannis, who did a fantastic job despite not realizing that he was in tonight's lineup until late this afternoon. We also celebrated the appearances of RUI co-founder Mandy Snyder and former Door Queens Patty Templeton and Shawna Flavell and the birthday of Billi Duvalier, who has made it to 56 of 59 RUIs.

Round 58: May 5, 2010 The theme: Five

Our fifth anniversary reading coincided with Cinco de Mayo, but that doesn't mean we switched to shots of tequila. We--Rob, Jesse, Amy and Julia--read short original pieces, downed shots of Jameson and  hosted trivia rounds featuring excerpts from (you guessed it) "Slaughterhouse Five," "The Da Vinci Code" (all about pentacles), "The Godfather" and the five rules men must live by the first time they're having sex with a woman from Colin Channer's "Waiting in Vain."

Round 57: April 7, 2010 The theme: Openings

Ever the optimists, we celebrated the beginning of baseball season with author Peter Schilling, Jr., who read from his new book, "The End of Baseball." Joining Peter--and the rest of us--were author Delphine Pontvieux, who read from her new novel, "ETA: Estimated Time of Arrest," 2nd Story story development director Kim Morris and local writer Brendan Detzner.

Round 56: March 3, 2010 The theme: Envy

John McNally ("The Book of Ralph," "Troublemakers") returned to read from his new novel, "After the Workshop." Joining John were local writers Joe Carlson, Erik Wennermark and Jake La Duke.

Round 55: February 3, 2010 The theme: Love Hangover

We hopped on board the love train and got drunk on prose and red-hot trivia by novelist Claire Zulkey ("An Off Year"), 2nd Story ensemble member Aimee Perkins and local writers Barry Wightman and Joe Deir. Multi-award-winning author Jaimee Wriston Colbert ("Climbing the God Tree") dropped in and read from her brand new novel, "Shark Girls."

Round 54: December 2, 2009 The theme: Snow and Whiskey

 It rained--the snow held off till the next day--but we drank some whiskey anyway and heard tales about lesbian grandmothers and gangster grandfathers and modeling sessions and home-brewed hooch by Literary Death Match champion Jill Summers, 2nd Story ensemble member C.P. Chang, performance artist Sean Ewert ("Dramatic Twerp") and local author Jeff Phillips ("Whiskey Pike"). Comic book writer Onrie Kompan ("Yi Soon Shin: Warrior and Defender") stopped by with some additional trivia and comic book prizes.

Round 53: November 4, 2009 The theme: Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

We observed the one-year anniversary of the Presidential election with readings about love and hope and desperation--and sex--by local authors Kathie Bergquist ("A Field Guide to Gay and Lesbian Chicago"), Geoff Hyatt ("Malagon Rising") and Andrew Lewellen, and Minneapolis poet Wendy Brown-Baez ("Ceremonies of the Spirit").

Round 52: October 21, 2009 The theme: "Somnambulist Quarterly"

To celebrate the newest installment of this fab online journal, we threw a FREE, mid-month edition of RUI with readings by editors Lex Sonne and Mike Persley and recent contributors Jessi Lee Gaylord and Quickies reading series co-host Lindsay Hunter, along with sleepwalk-related trivia.

Round 51: October 7, 2009 The theme: Where the Wild Things Are

Featured readers Devon Polderman and John Flaherty and RUI regulars Rob Duffer and Jesse Jordan read tall tales and folktales and stories about dark things and, yes, wild things. And doorman extraordinaire Danny La Loggia extended his literary trivia winning streak.

Round 50: September 2, 2009 The theme: Fighting Words

RUI turned 50 and our literary heavyweights--J. Adams Oaks (author of "Why I Fight" and 2nd Story ensemble member), Nadine Warner (co-founder of the This Much is True reading series), Ramsin Canon (co-founder of and editor for Gapers Block and Make: A Chicago Literary Magazine) and local writer Kyle Chaney--KO'd the audience with trivia and prose.

Round 49: August 5, 2009 The theme: Dog Days

Marcus Sakey (author of the bestselling novels/soon to be major motion pictures "The Blade Itself," "At the City's Edge" and "Good People") returned to RUI to read a sex scene from his forthcoming novel "The Amateurs." Additional readers in our tribute to International Lazy Day (August 10) included SKALD 2009 Champion Dennis Frymire, local writer Tim Weaver and RUI's Amy Guth.

Round 48: July 1, 2009 The theme: Abraham Lincoln

Thanks to a partnership with Chicago Public Library, we celebrated the 200th anniversary of Honest Abe's birth with a FREE Reading Under the Influence featuring Chicago Public Library 2009 21st Century Award-winner Patrick Somerville ("The Cradle"), Featherproof Books co-founder and Time Out Chicago books columnist Jonathan Messinger ("Hiding Out") and RUI's own Jesse Jordan and Rob Duffer. We also debuted a two-round format with four readers.

Round 47: June 3, 2009 The theme: Call Me Daddy

We celebrated Father's Day a few weeks early with book-release readings by Billy Lombardo ("How to Hold a Woman") and Jamie Freveletti ("Running From the Devil"), along with fab short stories by Robert McDonald ("A Field Guide to Gay and Lesbian Chicago"), Maggie Ritchie, Ashley Kjos and RUI's Julia Borcherts. We also toasted the June 2 birthday of Billi Duvalier, who has made it to 45 out of 47 RUIs.

Round 46: May 18, 2009 The theme: Pilcrow Lit Fest

In honor of the week-long series of events celebrating independent media and small presses, National Story Prize finalist and Nelson Algren Award-winner Joe Meno read from his new novel, "The Great Perhaps," local writer John Berger made his RUI debut and RUI's Gabriel Levinson, Rob Duffer, Jesse Jordan and Pilcrow Lit Fest founder Amy Guth read brand-new and published-in-indie-lit-journal stories.

Round 45: April 1, 2009 The theme: Cubbie Blues

We ushered in the baseball season with readings from "Cubbie Blues: 100 Years of Waiting till Next Year" by contributors Rick Kaempfer (JustOneBadCentury.com), Christine Sneed, Mary Beth Hoerner, Sheffield's owner Ric Hess, Windy City Story Slam founder Bill Hillmann and RUI's Julia Borcherts. "No love for Cubs" hosts were Amy Guth (sporting, so to speak, a Boston Red Sox T-shirt) and Jesse Jordan (resplendent in a light-up White Sox hat and a "F**k the Cubs" T-shirt).

Round 44: March 11, 2009 The theme: RUI Goes to Story Week

At our pre-event celebration of Columbia College's Story Week, Columbia College Fiction Writing professor Eric May, author Brian Costello ("The Enchanters vs. Sprawlburg Springs") and 2008 Schultz-Shiflett Scholarship winners Melanie Datz and David Peak rocked the mic, along with RUI's Rob Duffer and Jesse Jordan.

Round 43: Feb. 11, 2009 (yes, we skipped January); The theme: RUI vs. AWP: Battle of the Acronyms

We welcomed newest regular member Gabe Levinson (somethingtoread.net) and fab author/Pilcrow Lit Festival founder Amy Guth. We also broke our usual format and 11 hosted writers and editors from publications in attendance at the AWP Conference, including Michael Czyzniejewski,  Matt Bell and Kyle Minor (Dzanc Books); John Wang and Lindsay Walker (Juked); and Dave Clapper, Kim Chinquee, Sean Lovelace, Darlin' Neal, Gail Siegel, and Donna D. Vitucci (Smokelong Quarterly).

Round 42: Dec. 3, 2008; The theme: Bombshells Away

We said goodbye to two RUI regulars, Amanda Snyder (to Brazil) and Carly Huegelmann (to give birth). Other readers included Nancy Conger (it was her birthday!), Steven Beier and RUI's Jesse Jordan and Rob Duffer.

Round 41: Nov. 5, 2008; The theme: Red States, Blue States

We celebrated President Elect Obama's win with a night of politics-themed readings. Readers included Ben Tanzer, Bill Hillman, Cynthia Vargas, Simon Smith and RUI's Jesse Jordan and Amanda Snyder.

Round 40: Sept. 30, 2008; The theme: Hope & Despair

We had to kick what would be our normal October night (Oct. 1) back one night because of the Cubs playoffs (who had the nerve to lose!). The lovely Allison Amend ("Things That Pass for Love") was our featured guest. Other guests included Arnie Raiff, C.P. Chang and Adam Cloe. Regulars Rob Duffer and Carly Huegelmann held down the fort.

Round 39: Sept. 6, 2008; The theme: Sin

Six contributors from the book, "Sin: A Deadly Anthology," by The Chicago Contingent read in September:  Andre Frieden ("Tranquility Denied"), Marc Paoletti ("Scorch" and "The Last Vampire"), Patricia Pinianski Rosemoor ("The Last Vampire"), Darwyn Jones, Sheffield's owner Ric Hess and RUI's Julia Borcherts.

Round 38: Aug. 6, 2008; The theme: Music

The rockin' Stephanie Kuehnert - author of "I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone" - was our August guest. First time RUI readers Cortez Bryson and Dana Wood read, along with RUI veteran Darwyn Jones, and regulars Rob Duffer and Jesse Jordan.

Round 37: July 2, 2008; The theme: Patty Templeton

We said goodbye to the best door gal in the world, our own Patty Templeton. Readers included Brian Costello, David Peak and Andrew Reilly (of Ghost Factory), Marc Paoletti (who read from his kick-ass new novel, "Scorch"  ), Ric Hess and of course, Patty.

Round 36: June 4, 2008; The theme: True Life Tales

Margot Bordelon and J. Adams Oaks, curators of the Re:Action Reading Series were our featured guests. Writer Brian Smith read, along with Jesse Jordan, Rob Duffer and Carly Huegelmann.

Round 35: May 7, 2008; The theme: Holy Shit! The Sun!

Ingrid Rojas from Manual Labor and the lit journal Lying Down with Full Stomachs was our May guest. Other readers included Elliot Crop, Alex DeBonis, Julia Borcherts and Amanda Snyder.

Round 34: April 2, 2008; The theme: Fool for Love

Returning guest Jenny Seay - host of the Tamale Hut reading series - read, plus Arnie Raiff, Brian Costello, Adam Cloe and RUI's Jesse Jordan and Rob Duffer.

Round 33: March 5, 2008; The theme: Greatest Hits, Vol. 3

Our third anniversary! All six regulars read. Really, we had a great time. You shoulda been there.

Round 32: Feb. 6, 2008; The theme: Massacre

The lovelies Claire Cooney and J9 Vaughn from Kate the Great's Book Emporium were our featured guests this month. Daniel Laloggia and Grant Woods also read.

Round 31: Jan. 2, 2008; The theme: Hangovers

Happy 2008! Paul Barile - a returning guest - (of the n.u.f.a.n. ensemble and Monodogs of War event) was our featured reader. Other readers included Marianna Swallow, Nick Ladendorf, C.P. Chang and RUI regulars Julia Borcherts and Carly Huegelmann.

Round 29: Dec. 5, 2007; The theme: Big Shoulders

We hosted a release party for the local lit mag Other Voices with readers Megan Stielstra, Lisa Stolley and Michael Newirth. Erika Mikkalo and RUI regulars Rob Duffer and Jesse Jordan also read.

Round 28: Nov. 7, 2007; The theme: Women on Top

Our featured guest for November was Tina Jens, creator of the Twilight Tales reading series. Other guests included Molly Each, Jessica Young, RUI door queen Patty Templeton, and RUI regulars Carly Huegelmann and Amanda Snyder.

Round 27: Oct. 3, 2007; The theme: That Which is Hidden

Jonathan Messinger from Featherproof books was our featured guest for October. Writers Gary Poplawski, Allison Spangenberg and Christopher Woods also read.

Round 26: Sept. 5, 2007; The theme: The Factory

David Peak, editor of Ghost Factory Magazine was our September guest. Max Glaessner read his piece from the mag. Local writers Stephanie Kuehnert and Paul Howard and RUI regulars Julia Borcherts and Rob Duffer also rocked the mic.

Round 25: Aug. 1, 2007; The theme: Risk

Don Evans, author of "Good Money After Bad," was our featured August guest. Other guests included Arnie Raiff and Jenny Seay. RUI regulars Amanda Snyder, Jesse Jordan and Rob Duffer also read.

Round 24: June 6, 2007; The theme: RUI Goes Gay

Kathie Bergquist, co-author of "A Field Guide to Gay and Lesbian Chicago" was our featured guest for June. Joining Kathie were Aileen Keown Vaux, Byron Flitsch, David Harvey, Dana Kaye Litoff and Darwyn Jones.

Round 23: May 2, 2007; The theme: Bondage

John McNally was our featured guest. Julia, Rob, Joe and local writers Steven Beier and Erin Walter told tales, and we all nearly ended up in handcuffs when former RUI special guest Brian Costello's band, Johnny and the Limelights, took the stage and the neighbors called the cops.

Round 22: April 4, 2007; The theme: Virgins

Our five first-time readers--Alexis DeBonis, Cristina Cabrera, Chia-Pei Chang, Marc Paoletti and Jessica Young--were broken in not-so-gently by our sixth reader, Frank Crist, who made his second RUI appearance.

Round 21: March 7, 2007; The theme: The Terrible Twos

The Terrible Twos marked our second anniversary. We can hardly believe it. In honor of the night, all of the regulars - Carly, Rob, Julia, Jesse, Joe and Mandy - read.

Round 20: Feb. 7, 2007; The theme: The All-Male Revue