When my interest was piqued about personal finance two years ago, I read many books about the subject and I attended database classes. Morningstar is a reputable financial evaluator that has helped me choose good mutual funds for my individual retirement account (IRA) and personal investments. It is invaluable, and I have learned much about finance from this database. The TV show, Nightly Business Report, also provides much information about personal investment choices.

Investment Information

There is a plethora of information about companies that one can purchase stocks in, mutual funds, and electronic transfer funds (ETFs) in this database. Morningstar provides star and color ratings. Five stars is the best star rating, and gold is the best color rating. I usually shoot for four or five star gold and silver mutual funds. You can also see the proportion of stocks versus fixed funds in each mutual fund. You can read the financial professionals’ opinion of and forecast for the mutual funds. Information about the minimum investment amount for each fund, the ticker symbol and whether the fund is open for investment is provided.

Financial Analysis

Newsletters, articles and videos provide more information for those who would like to learn more about the financial market. This is up-to-date analysis of the financial services sector and the stocks and funds that are contained within. Becoming knowledgeable about financial trends can assist individuals with their investment choices.

Saving for Retirement

The Retirement Cost Calculator is a helpful way to forecast what one’s financial situation will be in one’s golden years. If the amount is too low, people can adjust their saving habits. Unfortunately, the rate of financial literacy in the United States today is alarmingly low. It behooves everyone to begin saving for and thinking about retirement as soon as they become adults.

Saving for College

The College Savings Calculator assists parents in saving for the kids’ tertiary education. College is a huge expense, and it is important to begin saving as soon as one conceives in order to ensure that the kids experience and enjoy their college years. This tool can help one determine if they are saving enough for college.

• Science, Industry and Business Library
• Financial Literacy Central
• Books about personal finance

When we asked people to share books related to the theme of nature at our recent Open Book Night, we heard about titles related to both the natural world and to human nature, with an emphasis on humankind’s relationship to nature. The selections were mostly nonfiction titles this time, but  two readers chose novels to share with the group. We enjoyed hearing about different books that our library users love, so we’d like to pass along their reading recommendations here.

Our first book was Just Kids from the Bronx: Telling It the Way It Was: An Oral History by Arlene Alda (2015), recommended by Rachel, who was was born in the Bronx in the late 1930s. She told us that it’s a quick read, broken into short chapters that are full of “human stuff.” She mentioned being taken back to a time when people in the Bronx didn’t lock their doors, and she recognized the games she played on the street as a child. She wrote, “This book interviews both famous and non-famous persons who were born in the Bronx in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s. Very interesting and heartwarming.”

Melissa was reading Into the Wildby Jon Krakauer (1996), the true story of Chris McCandless, a young man who disappeared into the Alaskan wilderness in April 1992. She was struck by the portrayal of McCandless in the book, the exploration of his reasons for a solo trek into the wilds of Alaska, and by the positive reactions expressed by people who met him before his death. Into the Wild was made into a feature film in 2008, directed by Sean Penn. Chris McCandless's sister Carine published her own memoir last fall, The Wild Truth, in which she reveals the violent family dynamics that led her beloved brother to search for himself in the wild, and she shares her journey from dysfunction to redemption. 

Talking about Into the Wild  led people to think of other books about people setting off to discover nature and themselves. Cheryl Strayed’s 2012 memoir about a solo hike she undertook after her mother’s death, Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, was recommended. Another recent memoir about a retreat to the wilderness we mentioned was The Consolations of the Forest: Alone in a Cabin on the Siberian Taiga by French writer Sylvain Tesson, who spent six months alone in a cabin on Lake Baikal. Jessica blogged about this book in the NYPL Reader’s Den last year and shared some of the books Tesson brought to keep him company, such as Thoreau’s Walden and The Arabian Nights.

The danger of underestimating the power and ferocity of nature as seen in Into the Wild reminded one reader of the story of Timothy Treadwell, the “grizzly man.” Treadwell wrote about his experiences interacting with bears in the Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska in his 1997 memoir Among Grizzlies. In 2003, he and his girlfriend, Amie Huguenard, were killed and partially eaten by grizzlies in the park. The 2005 documentary filmGrizzly Manby renowned director Werner Herzog chronicles Treadwell’s life and death. [Coincidentally, we’re having a free screening of Grizzly Man here at Mid-Manhattan on Saturday, July 11 at 2 p.m.]

Miriam chose to share a documentary film related to nature rather than a book. She recommended Watermark, a 2014 film by Jennifer Baichwal and Edward Burtynsky, which explores the ways people have shaped, manipulated, and depleted one of our most vital resources: water. Miriam noted that, in addition to documenting our dangerous water situation, Watermark is also a stunningly beautiful art film.

Another reader found the need to respect nature as an antagonist beautifully illustrated in Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s 1931 novelNight Flight, based on the author’s experiences flying in Argentina as an airmail pilot. In the novel, a pilot is sent on a mail run despite poor weather conditions, and a thunderstorm becomes more and more threatening, possibly to the point of death. The reader also noted that Saint-Exupéry’s writing continued a tradition of adventure fiction in French, which called to mind the work of Jules Verne for another reader. Saint-Exupéry was a great admirer of Verne, whose science fiction novel Underground City or The Child of the Cavern, was inspiration for Night Flight.

From the perils of nature, we returned to human nature with our next book recommendation from Mike. He told us how much he enjoyed reading Courtney Maum’s 2015 novel, I am Having So Much Fun Here Without You.“It’s an easy to read, fresh novel, full of sarcastic and sometimes sad occasions and an age-old question: Is it possible to fall back in love with your spouse?” Mike also shared a quote he liked from the novel: “On weekends in Boston, she’d make me stand in crowded places and report back on whether I agreed with her about how clean people smelled. ‘Like mangos,' she said. ‘American girls always smell like fruit.’”

I chose Atlantic: Great Sea Battles, Heroic Discoveries, Titanic Storms, and a Vast Ocean of a Million Storiesby Simon Winchester (2010) to tie in with the nature theme. The author combines extensive research and great storytelling in an exciting biography of the Atlantic Ocean that includes geology, archeology, cartography, history, art, literature, technology, commerce, and more. I thought it was a really fun and informative read. I alternated between reading and listening to the book; the author reads the audiobook, and he is an engaging reader as well as a compelling writer of narrative nonfiction.

Do you enjoy reading about sports? Is there a biography of an athlete or a team that really moved you, or perhaps a novel you love that has an athlete as its protagonist or a sporting event as a key moment or part of the setting?  Please come join the fun and share a book at the next Open Book Night on June 12! (And if you have a book you'd love to tell us about that doesn't quite fit the sports theme, that's perfectly okay, too.)

If you'd like to share book recommendations with other readers, join us at any or all of our upcoming Open Book Nights at the Mid-Manhattan Library, or on the steps of the Schwarzman Building this summer. The complete 2015 schedule is listed below.  We meet on the second Friday of the month at 6pm in the Corner Room on the First Floor, except for our special outdoor Open Books nights on June 26 and July 10, which will meet on the steps of the Schwarzman Building.  We'd love to see you there!

• February 13, 2015 - Love                                            See the Patron Picks List from Open Book Night, February 2015
• April 10, 2015 - New Beginnings                            See the Patron Picks List from Open Book Night, April 2015
• May 8, 2015 - Nature                                                    See the Patron Picks List from Open Book Night, May 2015
• June 12, 2015 - Sports
• June 26, 2015 - Open theme                                     Meet in the Outdoor Reading Room 
• July  10, 2015 - Open theme                                      Meet in the Outdoor Reading Room                
• August 14, 2015 - Travel       
• September 11, 2015 - New York
• October 9, 2015 - The Occult
• November 13, 2015  - Thanksgiving
• December 11, 2015 - Food and Cooking

Clustered resources refers to using varied perspectives and media to portray an educational topic in compliance with Common Core standards. The term was coined by author and educator Marc Aronson and library system director Sue Bartle in a 2012 article in School Library Journal. Whether you are an educator looking to diversify your lesson plans or a parent helping your child select materials for their upcoming report, clustering is a fun way to delve into any topic. The New York Public Library provides many useful books and media that can be used in a cluster.

The example provided here is clustered resources for the topic of the California Gold Rush for middle school students. These resources support New York State Common Core standards 7.9, 7.13, in social studies and CCSS ELA-Literacy standards 6-8.2, 6-8.6, 6-8.7, and 6-8.8.

Nonfiction

Jerry Stanley's Hurry Freedom describes the challenges that African Americans faced as mine workers and gold diggers.

The California Gold Rush by Mel Friedman serves as a non-biased informative source for children about the period. It includes the names of prominent historical figures and events.

Digger, another Jerry Stanley book focuses upon how westward expansion negatively affected American Indian tribes.

Beyond the facts and figures, history topics can be supplemented by the addition of fiction books and media.

Fiction

Letters from the Corrugated Castle is a fictional account of a young woman's experience in 1849 Massachusetts. It highlights the issues that women faced during the time. 

Media

An 1872 painting, titled Sunday Morning in the Mines, by Charles Nahl drew upon his memories of pioneer life during the gold rush. It depicts the range of Sunday activities that miners would partake in ranging from gambling and fighting to reading the Bible.

As you may notice, these examples include the perspective of African Americans and American Indians as well as American women during the time. To supplement further, one could add resources about Chinese Americans and the challenges they faced as mine workers. It is highly important when curating resources that you consider the perspectives, and points of view of the author(s). It helps to include conflicting views within the cluster to promote critical thinking among students. 

Clustered resources can be created for any subject ranging from financial education to women's rights to gardening. Leave a comment below if you would like to see further examples of clustered resources.

Lana Dukovskaya is a ballerina in the Bolshoi company. She is thrilled to get a chance to go to NYC and dance in The Rite of Spring... but only because star soloist Nina is unwell. And there is speculation as to what caused her injury. Lana's mother Marina encourages her to dance, but she may be resting her unrealized professional ambitions of her daughter. She also danced for the Bolshoi. Cryptic in her speech and behavior, Lana strives to comprehend her.

Lana is gripped by the music that she dances to. She feels chased by the trumpets, and she attempt to catch the strong cadences of the instruments. Lana loves ballet, and she ardently searches for the most effective interpretation of the dance. She tells the story of music through her movements.

Once in New York, Lana meets the handsome Roma, who sheds some light on her mother's past. The girl revels in dance and she enjoys the spotlight. However, there is turmoil in her mother's life in Russia, and her future is uncertain.

Hider Seeker, Secret Keeper by Elizabeth Kiem, 2012

I loved learning more about Russia and the ballet through this novel.

• Elizabeth Kiem's web site
• Books about Russia
• Books about ballet
• Metropolitan Opera 
• Library for the Performing Arts

Job seekers, if you are 18 years old with a high school diploma, like to work with your hands, have a good mechanical aptitude, and would like to develop a career in well-paying occupations, apprenticeships, an "earn while you learn" process, may be just the ticket for you.  

You can learn more about Apprenticeship in the New York State of Opportunity Apprenticeship Fact Sheet.

Apprenticeship Opportunities in New York City

• Boilermakers Northeast JAC LU#5
• Bricklayers & Allied Craftworkers LU#1 of NY & LI
• District Council #9 JATC
• Heat and Frost Insulators JATC LU #12
• NYC District Council of Carpenters JATC
• Plasterers Local #262 JATC
• Sheet Metal Workers JATC LU #137
• Tile, Marble, Terrazzo LU #7 of NY & NJ
• USDIS Electric, Inc.

Over the last two months, we brought together a group of people to read, write, and discuss poetry in the library. The eight week workshop, The Art of Making Poems: Creation and Craft, was led by poet/instructor Hermine Meinhard, who guided with a unique and playful approach to writing. The participants learned a variety of ways to enter into writing and left each night with the draft of a poem. But, now the workshop has ended, and I feel like a girl leaving summer camp to go home again. The intimacy and camaraderie is left in the room along with those Thursday nights. Luckily, it lives on the page.

The group explored the sound of words, their texture and effects, and the way a poem landscapes the page. They made collages inspired by the images of Joseph Cornell and Max Ernst and then turned those strange juxtaposition of images and objects into words. They listened to the music of Meredith Monk and wrote about what they heard. They read the poetry of Stanley Kunitz to explore line breaks, while Langston Hughes and Lucille Clifton showed them how to use repetition.

To celebrate the end of the workshop, they chose their favorite poem written in class, placed it on a broadside, and recited their works out loud in a poetry reading and reception last Saturday. Truly time well spent.

If you missed the workshop this time around and are looking for some help writing poetry, here are a few titles available in the Library to get you started:

The Triggering Town by Richard Hugo
Lectures and essays on learning to write poems from a former professor and student of Theodore Roethke.

The Poetry Home Repair Manual: Practical Advice for Beginning Poets by Ted Kooser
A poet laureate instructs poets on how to hone their craft.

Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg
A popular title with writing advice in short, easy to read chapters, laced with humor and practicality.

Enrollment Now Open! SAGEWorks Boot Camp.  This two-week long, intensive training course will provide participants with essential skills to lead them toward job placement.  The first session starts on Monday - Friday, from June 8 to June 19, 9:30 am - 2:00 pm.  Participants must attend every day at the SAGE Center, 305 7th Avenue,  15th Floor, New York, NY 10001.

GoodTemps  will present a recruitment on Tuesday, May 26, 2015, 10 am - 3 pm, for Laborers (10 openings P/T Temp), Administrative Assistant (10 Temp openings), Stock Workers (10 Temp openings), Office Assistants (10 Temp openings), at the Bronx Workforce 1 Career Center, 400 E. Fordham Road, 8th Floor, Bronx, NY 10458.

Total Transportation Corp. will present a recruitment on Wednesday, May 27, 2015, 10 am - 2 pm, for CDL, Class C Drivers (15 openings) at the New York State Department of Labor, 9 Bond Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201.

SAGEWorks Workshop - Key Techniques That'll Make You Proficient in Excel, on Wednesday, May 27, 2015, 6 - 7:30 pm, at The SAGE Center 305 7th Avenue, New York, NY 10001. SAGEWorks assists people  40 years and older in learning relevant, cutting-edge job search skills in a LGBT- friendly environment.

Imacuclean Cleaning Services Inc. will present a recruitment on Thursday, May 28, 2015, 10 am - 2 pm, for Post Construction Worker (2 openings), Food and Beverage Servers (4 openings), Handymen (4 openings), Housekeepers/Housemen (10 openings) at the NYS Department of Labor, Workforce 1 Career Center, 250 Schemerhorn Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201.

Apprenticeship Opportunities in New York City.

The New York City Employment and Training Coalition (NYCE&TC) is an association of 200 community based organizations, educational institutions, and labor unions that annually provide job training and employment services to over 750,000 New Yorkers, including welfare recipients, unemployed workers, low-wage workers, at-risk youth, the formerly incarcerated, immigrants and the mentally and physically disabled. View the NYCE&TC Job Listings.

Digital NYC is the official online hub of the New York City startup and technology ecosystem, bringing together every company,  startup, investor, event, job, class, blog, video, workplace, accelerator, incubator, resource and organization in the five boroughs. Search  jobs by category on this site.

St. Nicks Alliance Workforce Development provides Free Job Training and Educational Programs in Environmental Response and Remediation Tec (ERRT).  Commercial Driver's License, Pest Control Technician Training (PCT), Employment Search and Prep Training and Job Placement, Earn Benefits and Career Path Center.  For information and assistance, please visit St. Nicks Alliance Workforce Development or call 718-302-2057 ext. 202. 

Brooklyn Workforce Innovations helps jobless and working poor New Yorkers establish careers in sectors that offer good wages and opportunities for advancement. Currently, BWI offers free job training programs in four industries: commercial driving, telecommunications cable installation, TV and film production, and skilled woodworking.  

CMP (formerly Chinatown Manpower Project) in lower Manhattan is now recruiting for a free training in Quickbooks,  Basic Accounting, and Excel. This training is open to anyone who is receiving food stamps but no cash assistance.  Class runs for eight weeks, followed by one-on-one meetings with a job developer. CMP also provides Free Home Health Aide Training for bilingual English/Cantonese speakers who are receiving food stamps but no cash assistance. Training runs Mondays through Fridays for 6 weeks and includes test prep and taking the HHA certification exam. Students learn about direct care techniques such as taking vital signs and assisting with personal hygiene and nutrition. For more information for the above two training programs, email: info@cmpny.org, call 212-571-1690, or visit. CMP also provides tuition-based healthcare and business trainings free to students who are entitled to ACCESS funding.

Nell Zink’s experimental writing (and her unlikely friendship with Jonathan Franzen) is making headlines— and creating a new audience of readers who are curious about avant-garde fiction.

You don’t need a Ph.D. in comparative literature to enjoy it, either: books that play with language or challenge normal expectations about linear plot developments can be creative, lighthearted, and fun.

Here are a few good places to begin your investigation.

Start simple (and short) with a classic story from Jorge Luis Borges: “The Library of Babel.” Imagining the universe as a library with an infinite number of books, the Argentinian author set the tone for many daring authors who followed him.

The First Bad Man, the first novel from avant-garde artist Miranda July, has a first-person narrator who’s haunted by a baby and chasing a man she’s convinced she’s slept with in previous lifetimes. July’s signature style from her films and short stories makes her debut novel fresh and surprising.

Snapshots of marriage and parenthood make up Jenny Offill’s Dept. of Speculation. Its nontraditional format allows the author to select only her choicest cuts, making her musings incisive and sharp.

Tao Lin is one of the most visible—and creative, and accessible—experimentalists writing today. Try Eeeee Eee Eeee (which includes a dinner with a dolphin, a moose, an alien, and the President of the United States) or Shoplifting from American Apparel(an autobiographical novel the author calls “2 parts shoplifting arrest, 5 parts vague relationship issues”).

Choose your own adventure in Million Little Mistakes. Author Heather McElhatton updated the children’s book format for adults, asking readers to make a decision and turn to a different page at the bottom of each section. It’s written in second person—as in, “you win $22 million dollars”—and it’s a fun take on plot and narrative.

And check out Flavorwire’s list of 10 experimental novels that are worth the effort and a New Republic story on avant-garde fiction coming into its own.

Annemarie Zimmer loves her 17-year-old one-eyed warm blood, Hurrah, and her teenage daughter, Eva. She helps her mother, Mutti, by teaching riding lessons at her stable. She sleeps in the barn, and horses fill her mind, her thoughts and her days. One freak jump killed Hurrah's brother, Harry, and the hippophile cannot stop reliving it.

Unfortunately, Eva refuses to think about anything besides jumping. Like galloping straight towards a paddock fence on frozen ground on a horse who lacks depth perception. She begs her mother to allow her to compete. Dressage simply will not cut it with this high-flying girl.

Nathalie has many working students living in a house near her stable, and Eva wants to join them. Smokin' Joe is a superstar blue roan Nokota who refuses to let just anyone ride him. Girl and horse fall in love and in step. Eva feels alive on Joe, and he searches for her instructions. He will jump anything, and it is Nathalie's hope that the gelding has Olympic potential. 

Impossibly slick footing at an eventing competition puts all of the riders and their horses in peril. Eva must choose between a riding career or returning home. Mrs. Zimmer struggles to reach her daughter.

Flying Changes by Sara Gruen, 2005

• Sara Gruen's web site
• Books about horses

If Sir Arthur Conan Doyle were immortal, he’d celebrate his 156^th birthday today.

And the Scottish author IS immortal, in a way: He lives on in his most famous character, the detective Sherlock Holmes.

NYPL staff picked out their all-time favorite stories about the inimitable detective. (Don’t worry — no spoilers.)

My favorite was always The Hound of the Baskervilles, perhaps just because of the eerie dog on the cover of my childhood copy. But I also remember the atmosphere… the howling dog, the dense fog… —Danita Nichols, Yorkville

When I was in fourth or fifth grade, my father gave me his childhood comic book collection. He told me that these comics of classic novels were how he had learned about and read so many British and American classic novels. I gobbled them up. The Hound of The Baskervillescomic was so much fun to read, with great illustrations: a perfect way to introduce Sherlock Holmes to kids.—Anne Rouyer, Mulberry Street

Last week marked the 90th birthday of one of baseball's living legends, Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra, who has had many roles in the game over the course of his career. He was an 18-time All-Star as a catcher for the New York Yankees (though he also picked up nine plate appearances in the final year of his career with the Mets). He was a three-time Most Valuable Player. He spent 1965-1971 as a coach for the Mets before managing them for over three seasons. His odyssey then brought him back to the Yankees, where he both coached and managed the team before wrapping up his career with the Houston Astros. Perhaps the most notable number encompassing Berra's career is 13: the amount of World Series winning clubs Berra was a member of, either as a player or as a coach. 

However, Berra is also well-known for his "Yogiisms". These statements often either contradict themselves or state the glaringly obvious, yet they are lovable and charming all the same. In honor of Yogi's 90th, let's take a look at some of his best Yogiisms:

"It ain't over 'til it's over." Arguably the most famous of all Yogiisms, this one originated during the Mets 1973 run toward the division crown. Mired behind the Chicago Cubs in the East, 12 1/2 games out in mid-July, Berra spit out this classic to reporters, as if he had a premonition of things to come. Sure enough, the Mets turned it up that month, going 46-31 over their last 77 games, which was just enough to clinch the division by one and a half games over the second place St. Louis Cardinals. Of course, this Yogiism wasn't even the most famous quotation dished over the Mets' magical run. That honor would belong to Tug McGraw, whose "Ya Gotta Believe!" is still used as a rallying cry for the Amazins today.

"It's déjà vu all over again." Spending 1960-1963 in the same batting order as both Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris, Berra had a front row seat for some of the most prolific hitting displays ever. After witnessing the M&M boys hit back-to-back home runs for what seemed like the umpteenth time (the tandem did it on four different occasions alone in 1961) the sharp-tongued Berra simply said to the press what I'm sure many fans at the time were thinking. Of course, I'm not sure if deja vu is capable of happening twice (or maybe I'm just confused), but we'll let that part go.

"Baseball is ninety percent mental; the other half is physical." Remember Danny Ozark? He managed the Philadelphia Phillies for the bulk of the 1970s, taking home three consecutive National League Eastern Division titles from 1976-1978. In addition to 594 career managerial wins, he also had his share of malapropisms, including "Half the game is nintety percent mental." Contrasting percentages, but nonetheless we get what he means. Well, not wanting to be outdone, Berra took this Ozark's liner and expounded upon it. Berra claimed that baseball may be ninety percent mental, but the other half of it is physical. So...we're up to 140% now am I right? Anyone keeping a running tally? Just shake your head and smile.

"You better cut the pizza in four pieces because I'm not hungry enough to eat six." One of Berra's funniest comments comes not from the diamond but rather within a pizzeria instead. Berra stopped in one day in search of a meal. He ordered a pie and was asked by the employee behind the counter how would he like his pie cut: into four pieces or into six pieces? Berra's response is very, very funny. Berra thought because there were fewer slices, there would be less to eat. However, if he'd responded that he'd rather have his pie cut into six pieces, it would have made more sense since the cut slices would have been smaller in size. However, the contradicting nature of Yogi's comments are part of what made them so delightful.

Happy 90 years Yogi!

For more Yogi Berra fun, please visit our catalog.

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Don Draper's got nothing on Matthew Weiner. Weiner, after all, is the creator, director, executive producer, and writer of one the the most esteemed prestige dramas ever to light up our living rooms: Mad Men. For this week's New York Public Library Podcast, we're proud to present Weiner in conversation with the wonderful author A.M. Homes, discussing writing the character's inner life, what he realized about Don Draper after seven seasons, and Frank O'Hara.
 

One of the challenges Weiner encountered in writing Mad Men was navigating his characters' inner lives without his characters discussing them. His characters would not have psychologists or share their feelings with loved ones. Instead, he worked at building tension through nonverbal drama:

"I realized that contrary to the rules in cinema and, I'll include television with that, of filmmaking, you could tell a story about what was on somebody's mind if you really, really tried hard and thought like silent movie-wise about how to illuminate an internal experience and that we would know. And you know sometimes the audience gets it and they scream, 'Oh, it's so obvious!' and sometimes they have no idea it's there, and I feel like I failed. I'd rather have them say, 'It's so obvious!' and enjoy the story. Don can sit there and listen to this pitch for Heineken after he's pegged his wife, and you can have the physical experience of knowing that he just ruined his marriage because he's so good at his job."

Don, of course, is the ad man at the heart of the show. After living with his character for seven seasons, Weiner hit on something he'd never previously recognized about Don:

"I don't think I realized this until the end of the show: that Don likes strangers. Don likes winning strangers over. He likes seducing strangers, and that is what advertising is. You're gonna walk down the side of the road, and now we know each other, and once you get to know him, he doesn't like him. We all know people like this."

At the Library, of course we're fascinated by the reading habits of Mad Men's characters. Weiner describes how he discovered Frank O'Hara in New York City and why Don reads Meditations in an Emergency:

"My wife took me to what I think is one of my favorite place in New York, which is the Museum of the City of New York... They had one of the Lunch Poems on a piece of paper and you could pull it out and read it, and she had already been, took me to the exhibit, I picked up this poem, 'Lana Turner Has Collapsed,' where he talks about he sees it on a headline, he's out there in the snow, and he's got this great line. He goes at the end, 'I've never been to Hollywood, but I have been to some parties, and I've never collapsed. Lana Turner, we love you! Get up!' or something like that. It's like your funniest friend ever sitting next to you and then every once in a while there'll be something that gets to you emotionally. And I thought, 'Oh, Don'll be reading Lunch Poems.' He'll see some guy reading it, and Don is absorbing the culture at all times. That's his job as an ad guy. He's going to the movies, he's reading everything, he's not a snob. And it turned out it hadn't come out yet, so we got Meditations in an Emergency. And then I read that, and it changed my life."

You can subscribe to the New York Public Library Podcast to hear more conversations with wonderful artists, writers, and intellectuals. Join the conversation today!

12-year-old Tyler is enjoying life at his Vermont farm, and all seems well. Then, his family hires illegal immigrant Mexican workers. Tyler is very ambivalent about his parents dabbling in this source of labor. On one hand, he does not appreciate his parents breaking the law. However, he enjoys the company of the three girls who are named Maria. Good thing they have different middle names.

Mari, the eldest, hangs with Tyler, since she is around his age. The daily fear that she and her family live through is striking. They want to be in the United States, and they dread facing deportation by the immigration police. Mari and her sisters speak Spanish and English, and they attempt to enjoy life in their trailer on the farm. I liked the fact that the voices in the book included letters from both Mari and Tyler. 
 

Return to Sender by Julia Alvarez, 2009

• Books about illegal immigration
• Julia Alvarez' web site

Now in its third year, the Bronx Book Fair (formerly the Bronx Literary Festival) will be held on Saturday, May 30 from 12-6 p.m. at the Bronx Library Center. It promises to be a great day for book lovers, literacy enthusiasts, creative writers, and the curious of all ages. Like the past two years, the program will be punctuated by cultural performances suitable for the entire family. The events is free and open to all.  Come on out and join us!   

Here is the schedule for the day:
 

12:00-12:25
The poetry and music of NuyoRican School Poetry Jazz Ensemble. 

12:30-12:55
J. Ivey
Grammy-winning poet J. Ivey brings his unique blend of hip-hop poetry and performance to this year’s book fair. He is the author of Dear Father:  Breaking the Cycle of Pain, a memoir that shows what it takes to deal with your emotions before your emotions deal with you. J. Ivey also represented Chicago on Russell Simmons’ HBO Def Poetry.
Location: Auditorium

Thelma Ruffin Thomas
Imagine seeing literature come to life with characters and events leaping off the page and unfold before your eyes. Thelma Ruffin Thomas’ extraordinary storytelling skills does just that by providing a uniquely entertaining and educational experience. Her repertoire encompasses unconventional stories, Biblical stories, and poetry that includes a wide range of literary work written by African-American authors.
Location: Conference Room

1:00-1:55
Bronx Memoir Project Reading
Contributors to the Bronx Memoir Project, a 188-page anthology, will read personal selections from the book. Bronx Memoir Project includes native Bronxites, as well as those who’ve arrived from the Dominican Republic, Maryland, USA, and Italy. This is the first title to be released by the Bronx Council on the Arts’ BCA Media publishing platform. Bronx Writers Center director Charlie Vazquez will lead the reading.
Location: Auditorium

Bronx Heroes ComicCon
Connect with great comic book artists right here in the Bronx and NYC area.
Location: Conference Room

2:00-2:25
Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa
Bronx-born Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa will read from her book Daughters of the Stone. Daughters is a lyrical, powerful debut novel about a family of Afro–Puerto Rican women, spanning five generations, detailing their physical and spiritual journey from the Old World to the New.
Location: Auditorium

Writing Womanhood: Telling Our Stories in Our Voice
In this workshop participants will write and share stories and poems about what it means to be women from their perspective and in their voice. This is a safe, supportive and welcoming space. Facilitated by Poets Lorraine Currelley and Peggy Robles-Alvarado.
Location: Conference Room

2:30-3:25
Legacy Women
Legacy Women, an all-women’s traditional musical group rooted in Afro-Dominican and Afro-Puerto Rican rhythms and traditions, bring their unique blend of drumming, song, and dance infused with of Afro-Caribbean beats, Palos, Congos, Slaves, and Bomba: the Afro-Indigenous roots music of the Caribbean.
Location: Auditorium

3:30-4:25
Engaging Readers: Adults, Teens and Children
Join us for a panel discussion by librarians @ the Bronx Library Center:

Choosing the Right Book: Jean Harripersaud, Adult Services; Diverse Books for Teen: Elisa Garcia, Teen Services; Developing Lifelong Readers: Deborah Allman, Children’s Services.
Location: Auditorium

4:30-4:55
Canto Mundo • Cave Canem • Kundiman Poetry Reading
Poets from three leading poetry organizations, Canto Mundo, Cave Canem, and Kundiman come together to read from their work. Each organization was created to provide culturally rooted spaces for writers of color to hone and nurture their craft.

Cathy Linh Che (Kundiman) is the author of Split (Alice James, 2014), winner of the Kundiman Poetry Prize and the Norma Farber First Book Award from the Poetry Society of America. A Vietnamese American poet from Los Angeles and Long Beach, CA, she received her BA from Reed College and her MFA from New York University.

Brian Francis is a Cave Canem fellow from New York City. He graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a degree in Creative Nonfiction and has an MFA in Poetry from NYU. His poetry has been featured and is forthcoming in Fledgling Rag, Cave Canem Anthology XIII, and Tupelo Quarterly.

Urayoán Noel (Canto Mundo) is a poet, performer, scholar, translator, and assistant professor of English and Spanish at NYU. He is the author of the critical study In Visible Movement: Nuyorican Poetry from the Sixties to Slam (University of Iowa Press, 2014) and several books of poetry in English and Spanish, the most recent of which are: Hi-Density Politics (2010), Los días porosos (2012; second edition 2014), and EnUncIAdOr (2014).
Location: Auditorium

Bronx Recognizes Its Own (BRIO) Reading
Nahshon Ratcliff, winner of the Bronx Council on the Arts’ BRIO Award and will read from recent work. Nahshon will be joined by a reader to be named.
Location: Conference Room

5:00-5:55
Open Mic hosted by Five Boro Story Project
FBSP invites the community to to bring its best poetry and stories and participate in an open mic session. Five Boro travels throughout NYC producing community storytelling events that spotlight different neighborhoods and invites community members to share their own stories and art through open mics and story circles.
Location: Auditorium

Gladys Gatsby is a sixth-grade chef-in-training. A bona fide foodie, she loves everything pertaining to food. She reads and writes about food. She watches the food TV station, and she cooks and enjoys consuming delectable delights.

However, Gladys' parents do not understand or support her fascination with all things edible. They eat fast food almost every night of the week. Their idea of cooking is using the microwave to reheat fast food. The fact that they prohibit Gladys from cooking almost kills her. Well, okay, she did almost burn the kitchen down when she used a blowtorch to finish off the top of creme brulee, but... amateur mistake, right?

So, this foodie girl decides to write a letter to the New York Standard asking for a job as a food critic for a school assignment. Perhaps this will prove to the parental units once and for all that she is a serious food enthusiast. But, when an employee from the venerable news institution responds asking for writing samples, Gladys is sure that it is a prank. 

All Four Stars by Tara Dairman, 2014

• Tara Dairman's web site
• Books about food critics

Cities, like dreams, are made of desires and fears, even if the thread of their discourse is secret, their rules are absurd, their perspectives deceitful, and everything conceals something else.

—Italo Calvino, Invisible Cities

Stop by the streets around the  New Museum between Thursday May 28th and  Saturday May 30th, and you'll see the invisbile city come alive with new, progressive ideas as part of the Ideas City festival for the future. This three-day festival will feature over 100 free events, culminating with a street fair around the New Museum on Bowery/Prince Street on Saturday May 30th. Some of the highlights of the festival include talks and panels at the Cooper Union  on the future of cities and urban spaces. See what an artist can do with repurposed hot air balloons, or check out the future of mobile workspaces. There will be film screenings, poetry readings, panels, workshops, and slide projections in the more unexpected of places (this year on a basillica!).  

To tie in with the theme of Invisible Cities, we polled our patrons at the Mulberry Street Library to see how the library helps them uncover hidden resources that make the city seem less invisible.  Here is a sampling of some of the responses:

"I like watching movies at the library."

"The library is very quiet in the morning. It has a lot of books and series for me to read. It is a good place for homework. Librarians help me with homework. It is a relaxing place to play and talk to friends."

"I like to use the library for books and DVDs."

"Gives me a voice as an artist that I would not ordinarily have."

"I would like the library to have a snack cart for kids. I like that all the staff are helpful and nice, and fun."

"I like that I can be nice to my friends at the library."

"The library lets me use laptop computers, plus all the options of the audiobooks and other resources." 

"The library has made me more aware of the homeless situation; the library is where they hang out when they get out of the shelter." 

The Ideas City festival is a bienniel celebration started in 2011, and has bought over 50,000 people each year to the streets around the Bowery location of the New Museum. The festival challenges us to come together and celebrate a thriving urban life, and dares us to dream, think about and design our cities of the future. 

May is Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month, which celebrates Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States.

According to the Library of Congress, "The month of May was chosen to commemorate the immigration of the first Japanese to the United States on May 7, 1843, and to mark the anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869. The majority of the workers who laid the tracks were Chinese immigrants."

AAPIs (Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders) represent over 30 countries and ethnic groups and speak over 100 languages.

One of the greatest contributions from AAPI workers is the building of the first transcontinental railroad. The majority of the workers were Chinese, and many of these workers died from the freezing winters and the backbreaking and dangerous work conditions. The United  States Labor Secretary, Tom Perez, in his blog, They Helped Build a Railroad and a Nation: Honoring the Chinese Railroad Workers, honors the Chinese workers and advocates for today's most vulnerable AAPI workers that include Filipino health care workers, Korean grocers, South Asian taxi drivers, and Vietnamese nail salon workers. Secretary Perez asserts that the Department of Labor's prorities are also priorities for AAPI communities.

One of the major challenges for the most vulnerable AAPI workers is unemployment. Portia Wu, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employment and Training, in her blog, Unemployment Challenges for AAPI Workers, points out that Asian Americans, as a group, had the lowest unemployment rate, 5.2 percent in 2013, while the national unemployment rate is 7.4 percent. However, the Vietnamese and smaller Asian populations like Laotians, Cambodians, Bangladeshis, Pakistanis, Hmong, Burmese and Nepalese had an unemployment rate of 41.7 percent in 2013. In addressing the challenges of unemployment, the Department of Labor offers variety of employment and training programs as well as the Self Employment Assistance initiative.

Asian American families  place a high value on education. According to the U S Department of Labor, in 2013,  AAPIs with a bachelor degree or higher accounts for over 53.4 percent of the population, which is substantially higher than the next closest group, Caucasians, at 31.9 percent. However, a wide disparity exists among this high educational attainment group: Indian- Americans have the highest rate of college graduates (76.1 percent), followed by Korean-Americans (58.7 percent),  and Chinese -Americans (56.8 percent), while on the lower end, Vietnames-Americans (29.5 percent) and Native Hawaian and Pacific Islanders, at 26.5 percent, have a college degree. Nearly one-third only have a high school education. In addressing the disparity in educational attainment within this group and other populations, the Department of Labor offers free job training programs that lead toward  an associate or bachelor's degree. The Labor Department also works with Registered Apprenticeship sponsors and colleges to turn years of apprenticeship training into college credits. Besides preparing workers with a college education to meet the needs of the job market in the next decade, the Labor Department also offers green cards to foreign graduates students in STEM education. You can learn more from the Deputy of Labor through Chris Lu's Blog, Expanding Opportunity for AAPI Communities Through Education.

A recent Galup poll reveals that nearly 30 percent of AAPI workers have reported discrimination in the workplace. The White House Initiative on Asian -Americans and Pacific Islanders—WHIAAPI— along with an interagency working group, launched the Vulnerable Worker Project. The purpose of this initiative is to listen to and understand employment and labor issues of this popultion, to educate them about their federal civil rights and labor protection, and develop enforcement and policy priorities for federal agencies to address their labor and employment issues. Phil Tom, in his blog, Speaking Up for Vulnerable AAPI Workers, states that "it's a moral imperative to ensure that the services and protections offered by the federal government are available to all."

This year, the Labor Department introduces seasonally adjusted data for Asians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Current Population Survey. Dr. Heidi Shierholz, Chief Economist of the Department of Labor, in her blog, Better AAPI Data for Better AAPI Policies,states that data help the Department understand how they can better serve diverse communities, target resources, and assess programs.

Two giants of the American short story. One NYPL quiz.

Raymond Carver and John Cheever have birthdays two days apart: May 25 and May 27, respectively. Cheever was born in 1912, more than 20 years before Carver. Cheever lived to 70; Carver died at 50.

And, although their styles weren’t exactly similar, they may not be as different as you think.

Can you tell who said what? (Answers below.)

1. “All literary men are Red Sox fans — to be a Yankee fan in a literate society is to endanger your life.”
2. “The truth is, cathedrals don’t mean anything special to me.”
3. “I can’t write without a reader. It’s precisely like a kiss — you can’t do it alone.”
4. “I hate sloppy or haphazard writing whether it flies under the banner of experimentation or else is just clumsily rendered realism.”
5. “It ought to make us feel ashamed when we talk like we know what we're talking about when we talk about love.”
6. “He had lost his crown, his kingdom, his heirs and armies, his court, his harem, his queen and his fleet. He had, of course, never possessed any of these.”
7. “Paint me a small railroad station then, ten minutes before dark.”
8. “The first time I robbed Tiffany’s, it was raining.”
9. “My husband eats with a good appetite. But I don’t think he’s really hungry.”
10. “A collection of short stories is generally thought to be a horrendous clinker; an enforced courtesy for the elderly writer who wants to display the trophies of his youth, along with his trout flies.”

1. Cheever, quoted in Newsweek, Oct. 20, 1986 
2. Carver, “Cathedral,” Collected Stories
3. Cheever, The Stories of John Cheever
4. Carver, “On Writing,” Collected Stories
5. Carver, “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love”
6. Cheever, Oh What a Paradise It Seems
7. Cheever, Bullet Park
8. Cheever, “Montraldo,” The Stories of John Cheever
9. Carver, “So Much Water So Close to Home,” Collected Stories
10. Cheever, quoted in The Writer's Quotation Book

"In the past, my partner and I would read the same book as one another while I was out on tour. It was a way of staying connected, even though we were physically far apart."

Screaming Females are a three-piece indie rock band hailing from the storied New Brunswick, New Jersey music scene. The past decade has watched them go from  playing in cramped New Jersey basements to touring with indie rock icons such as Dinosaur Jr., Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, and Throwing Muses. The trio just released their sixth studio album, Rose Mountain, in February and embark on a national tour this summer. Do they find time to read during their musical ascent? Check out our brief interview with Marissa Paternoster, Jarrett Dougherty, and Michael Abbate to find out, and rock 'n' read forever!

Have any specific authors, books, and/or poems influenced your songwriting in any way?
Marissa: After reading Girls to the Front by Sara Marcus, I decided to pick up some Kathy Acker books because all of the formative riot girl bands were really into her writing. I bought Blood and Guts in High School and it was, hands down, one of the strangest and most terrifying things I had ever read. It was easy to see how early Bikini Kill songs and zines were highly effected by her writing style. It got me thinking about my own writing, but I really can't say.    

Do you have any tour memories involving books or libraries?

Jarrett: In 2011, we did a whole lot of touring. I spent a good portion of that time digging into radical political literature.

The Egyptian revolution in Tahrir was happening, Occupy Wall Street was happening, there were massive protests in Spain. It seemed like the whole world was in upheaval. I remember being in a European airport reading the anarchist collection No Gods, No Masters [An Anthology of Anarchism] edited by Daniel Gurein and looking up to see a security guard staring at me. Perhaps it was just a random moment but, regardless, I quickly put the book away. It was a strange moment but I clearly remember thinking, "Books can be dangerous."

 

Mike: In the past, my partner and I would read the same book as one another while I was out on tour. It was a way of staying connected, even though we were physically far apart. We would write our thoughts and notes to each other in the margins, and then, when I returned home, we would trade copies, review all of the notes, and talk about the book. It was a really fun way to remain close. Unfortunately, we won't be doing that for the next few years, as she pursues a Master's degree in Library Science. I am not trying to read reference textbooks on tour just yet.

 

Now you know what Screaming Females read, but do you know what they sound like? NYPL currently carries two albums by the band, including their newest release:
 

Come  join us for an Author @ the Library talk this June at Mid-Manhattan Library to hear distinguished non-fiction authors discuss their work and answer your questions. Author talks take place at 6:30 p.m. on the 6th floor of the Library, unless otherwise noted. You can also request the authors' books by clicking on the book cover images below.

	Monday June 1, 2015 6:30 p.m. Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly: Two Masters of Song and Dance Music enthusiast Mel Haber speaks about the life and careers of Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly.
	Tuesday June 2, 2015 6:30 p.m. Bibliotech: Why Libraries Matter More than Ever in the Age of Google Library expert John G. Palfrey, Jr. argues that libraries must make the transition to a digital future as soon as possible—by digitizing print material and ensuring that born-digital material is publicly available online.
	Wednesday June 3, 2015 6:30 p.m.   Filling Your Bucket List: Where to Go Next Evelyn Kanter, a freelance writer, photographer, and guidebook author and editor, explores the most exciting and most affordable destinations to visit this summer, fall, and beyond.
	Thursday June 4, 2015 6:30 p.m. In the Company of Legends Joan Kramer and David Heeley, who have produced many acclaimed documentary profiles together, share their insiders' view of some of the famous and powerful Hollywood personalities they knew.
	Monday June 8, 2015 6:30 p.m.   Money Matters: Presenting Your Plan Entrepreneur Theodore Henderson gives each participant or team an opportunity to present their business plan.
	Tuesday June 9, 2015 6:30 p.m. Data-ism: The Revolution Transforming Decision Making, Consumer Behavior, and Almost Everything Else Steve Lohr, a technology reporter for The New York Times, chronicles the rise of Big Data, addressing cutting-edge business strategies and examines the dark side of a data-driven world.
	Wednesday June 10,  2015 6:30 p.m. Bruno Schulz: Polish, Jewish, and Modern David A. Goldfarb, independent scholar of Polish literature and literary theory, explores the life and works of Bruno Schulz.
	Thursday June 11,  2015 6:30 p.m. Reading Publics: New York City's Public Libraries, 1754-1911 Tom Glynn, a librarian at Rutgers University, traces the history of New York City's early public libraries and their evolution within the political, social, and cultural worlds that supported them.
	Monday June 15,  2015 6:30 p.m. Hijacking the Runway: How Celebrities Are Stealing the Spotlight from Fashion Designers Author and veteran fashion journalist for The Wall Street Journal, Teri Agins, takes on the glitter and stardust transforming the fashion industry, and where it is likely to take us next.
	Tuesday June 16, 2015 6:30 p.m.   Money Matters: Deliver a Winning Presentation to Your Business Prospects  Robert Hellmann discusses how to win over audiences and land new business by employing Hellmann Career Consulting's "RESULTS" methodology for presentations.
	Wednesday June 17, 2015 6:30 p.m.   Dawn's Early Light: A Garden Photographer's Muse Stacy Bass, photographer and author of "Gardens at First Light" and "In The Garden," celebrates a spectacular selection of private gardens in subtle and enchanting  ways, all shot at the break of day.
	Thursday June 18, 2015 6:30 p.m.   Russian Tattoo: A Memoir Elena Gorokhova, author of two memoirs, a teacher, and a contributor to newspapers and literary magazines, relates her story of a unique balancing act and a family struggle: three generations of strong women with very different cultural values.
	Monday June 22, 2015 6:30 p.m.   Seeking New York: The Stories Behind the Historic Architecture of Manhattan--One Building at a Time The author of the popular blog, "Daytonian in Manhattan," Tom Miller, investigates the back stories of Manhattan's architecture and monuments.
	Wednesday June 24, 2015 6:30 p.m. Gay Berlin: Birthplace of a Modern Identity   In celebration of the origins of LGBT culture and New York City’s Pride Week, Robert Beachy, an associate professor of history, explores how the uninhibited urban  sexuality in pre-Weimar Berlin affected, and in a way shaped, our modern understanding of homosexuality.
	Thursday June 25, 2015 6:30 p.m.   The Cost of Courage Charles Kaiser, a former reporter for The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and a former press critic for Newsweek, tells the heroic true story of the three youngest children of a bourgeois Catholic family who worked together in the French Resistance.
	Monday June 29, 2015 6:30 p.m. 1995: The Year the Future Began Author, journalist, and educator W. Joseph Campbell leads a trip back in time, to 1995, and describes the important features and realities of contemporary life that can be traced to 1995 and its watershed moments.
	Tuesday June 30, 2015 6:30 p.m. Of Pride and Protest: Gay Travel Around the World Michael Luongo, freelance writer, editor, photographer, and New York University travel writing professor features a romp around the gay world, focusing on pride marches and LGBT neighborhoods  throughout the United States, Europe, and Latin America, along with visits to other parts of the globe.

If you'd like to read any of the books presented at our past author talks, you can find book lists from our January 2013–June 2015 Author @ the Library programs in the BiblioCommons catalog.

The Author @ the Library posts include authors discussing their recent non-fiction works at the Mid-Manhattan Library. Don't miss the many other interesting classes, films, readings, and talks on our program calendar. Enjoy art lectures and artist conversations, musical tributes, virtual tours of the city, and short story readings at Story Time for Grown-ups.

Download Mid-Manhattan Library's June 2015 Author Talks & More flyer.

Don't forget: All of our programs are free of charge!