Read it on the Page, See it For Yourself: What to Read on International Museum Day
Brendan, Project Manager, NYC Culture Pass, Project Manager, NYC Culture Pass
Books have a unique power to transport us to faraway places both real and imagined—but they can also bring us fresh perspectives on places that are right down the street! In New York City, we’re surrounded by an incredibly diverse collection of collections: museums of all sorts and sizes, filled with everything from modern art and detailed dioramas to abstract sculpture and period furniture. Whatever you find fascinating, there’s likely an exhibit on it tucked away somewhere in the five boroughs. This year, to celebrate International Museum Day, we’ve rounded up eight of our favorite books…
Groundhog Day: Books You Can Read Over and Over Again
Ah, Groundhog Day. I grew up in Pennsylvania, not far from the home of the notorious Punxsutawney Phil and his yearly weather prediction on February 2. This is a ritual that derives from the Pennsylvania Dutch superstition that if a groundhog can see its shadow on February 2, it will retreat back into its burrow and spring won’t arrive for six more weeks. This was a relatively small, obscure rural tradition until the 1993 Bill Murrary movie Groundhog Day, which brought prominence to the event (and party that happens in Phil’s hometown). The film also forever tied the idea of Groundhog Day to…
Celebrate Christmas in Summer!
The east coast is experiencing its last blast of heat this month before slipping into the cooler climate of the fall. For many people, post-Independence Day begins the countdown to Halloween while many others skip straight to Christmas. If you're looking forward to pine trees and twinkling lights decorating your home once again, then take some time to read a few of the Christmas books on this list that will appeal to any reader—from sweet romances and classic stories to fantastical twists on holiday favorites. Many people believe that Christmas did not exist in the way we…
Revamping High School Reads
I think high school literature needs a serious update. There are the “classics” we’re always required to read—Romeo and Juliet, Lord of the Flies, Of Mice and Men—and while they’re great books that have valuable themes, they’re also so stale. They’ve been assigned on a loop to kids, and their parents, and their parents' parents. Most high schoolers can’t connect with or don’t care about Jay Gatsby and Holden Caulfield: they’re all often white, very Eurocentric, and authored by men. Anyone who has read a book published in the last five to ten years knows that there’s…
Modern Little Women: An Interview with Virginia Kantra
Have you seen Little Women yet?! It's been the first question out of every book lover's mouth since Christmas Day, when Greta Gerwig's highly anticipated adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's novel finally hit theaters. BPL's bloggers are happy to report the movie is wonderful, it is everything, stop whatever you're doing and go see it. Even more good news: this interview with Virginia Kantra, author of Meg & Jo, the first installment of a two-book, contemporary retelling of Little Women. Whether you're a longtime Alcott reader or are brand new to March Sister fandom, you will love Kantra's…
5 Books You've Been Longing to Have Time For
Does your apartment seem strangely quiet? Has the pitter-patter of little feet raced away down the rapidly cooling sidewalk? These are the telltale signs that your children have finally gone back to school. So the question is: what are you going to do with all your spare time? Read a very long, complicated book, of course! Here are BPL’s selections for books to read when you’ve really got the time: Outlander (850 pages) by Diana Gabaldon: In 1945, Claire, a former combat nurse, is reunited with her husband for a second honeymoon in the Scottish Highlands. When she walks through a…