Arts & Culture

Below is the top-ten list of the St. Louis region's best-selling adult and children's books. The list is compiled by the St. Louis Independent Bookstore Alliance.

For the week ending September 25:

Adult:

A revitalized area of downtown St. Louis has been named one of the top designed public spaces in the world.

The American Society of Landscape Architects on Wednesday announced that St. Louis' Citygarden was among 37 winners from nearly 600 entries. Citygarden earned an Honor Award in General Design.

Citygarden was designed by Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects. It includes a three-acre sculpture park, greenery, even a water area where children play in warm weather.

Today we got the chance to visit with Webster Groves native and acclaimed author Jonathan Franzen about his latest novel Freedom, his inspirations, and his methods.  You can hear the whole conversation in the St. Louis on the Air archives, but here are some highlights:

On whether or not he's working on a new book

It takes me a long time to write a book. They’re years in development before I get any pages I can believe in.  I have some vague thoughts.  Usually the vague thoughts I have at this stage, they turn out to be completely wrong headed.