Starting March 17, we'll be holding our Third Annual Literary March Madness! This is a bracket-style tournament like the NCAA March Madness basketball tournament, but with a literary twist: our competition pits famous authors against each other and the winner is decided by you! Sixteen authors will enter, only one can be crowned this year's crowd favorite.
Here's how to get involved:
Step 1: Follow us on Instagram and Facebook. We'll be posting in both places.
Step 2: Check in every day after 11 AM EST to see who's competing that day. The first match is March 17.
Step 3: Cast your vote by commenting on the post with the name of the author you support. We really love these authors too, but please: one vote per person, per post!
Step 4: We'll tally up the comments one day after the match is posted, and the winners will proceed to the next round. There will be 15 matches total, and the winner will be announce on March 28.
That's it! We hope you'll check in and vote to support the authors you love.
Owl tears the house apart looking for the “squeak” that is keeping him up. Maybe not the best behavior for children to model, but adults will love the punk rock record collection and mid-century modern décor.
Through a series of swaps, a clever boy gets everything he needs to fix up an old ship and cheer up his friend.
Staff picks are chosen by NYPL staff members and are not intended to be comprehensive lists. We'd love to hear your picks! Tell us what you'd recommend: Leave a comment or email us.
Earnestness sets in when Singing Children's Librarian Emily Lazio joins us to talk about courage and encouragement, children's classics, and a cool new trend in picture books.
Our patrons AREN’T being paranoid—there really ARE faces on the walls looking at them! Ner Beck’s “Found Faces” are now on view in the Young Adult room of Mulberry Street Library. The Young Adult room is exclusively the domain of library patrons aged 12 to 19, so teens and tweens should stop by to get a real kick out of a surprised looking bathtub, a quixotic building column, and a pipe that looks like it might go “meow!” and many more!
What characteristics of showing your work in a Young Adult space informed your choice of the Found Faces photographs? How do you think this age group relates to this collection of photographs?
In making the final picks for the walls of the Young Adult section, I first looked back over my comments books from past shows, that requested visitors to “Tell me your favorite photograph in this exhibition.” This current display represents a selection of images that have had the highest response from young New Yorkers. They seem to enjoy and be able to quickly connect with the almost friendly, funny and sometimes scary quality that these faces reflect as they look back at you.
How do you find your faces on the street?
I usually go out to air my brains out at least once a day and end up walking about two miles with my camera always in hand. I never intentionally go on a photo safari to hunt down these overlooked or missed characters. The real problem for me, is not finding any faces, but the visual overload of seeing them constantly. The real final test that makes me decide to pull the trigger and capture an image is if I start snickering, smiling or mentally talking back to this new face that is trying to get my attention. I know this process sounds a little strange, but I have been working in this same old odd way since I started seeing faces everywhere and everyday on city streets. Recently I have been finding a gold mine of interesting faces while spending time in other cities such as Prague and Barcelona. It is refreshing to find them with a different regional twist other than that of my hometown of NYC.
Do you sometimes hear found voices accompanying the found faces?
Many of these faces seem to have their own unique voices, and some viewers have described to me what they hear once they stand in front of a photo and are confronted by these characters. When a face suddenly pops up and is staring at me and says “Hey you stop, look at me, or you will be really sorry if you do not take my picture.” Some examples are: a steam pipe that looks like a kitty that seems to meow. An architectural column that looks like Quasimodo who is crying out to Esmeralda. A dropped grouchy glove that is reprimanding everyone who almost accidently steps on him. A old discarded bathtub that whistles away, even though his days are numbered. A chattery coffee cup that has maybe had a little too much caffeine today. And finally, a muffin that is way too nice to eat. The voices go on and on, so listen with your eyes, and see if they speak to you too.
What are a few of your favorite comments that visitors have written in your guest book?
“So amazing. I dream of being a photographer when I grow up.”
“This way of looking should be an assignment for NYC high school photography students.”
“I have never been to a photo exhibition, I will really start looking around on my way home. Maybe I’ll create something just as awesome!”
Four People on Platform - Train Conductor in Cap. Image ID: 5038748
The MTA Conductor exam is coming in the next couple of months and everyone is looking for the test book to study. The Library does carry civil service exam books, and you can read a more general post on civil service exams. The copies we own of the only known study guide for the MTA exam, Conductor: Test Preparation Study Guide Questions & Answers (published by the National Learning Corp), are limited and have a waiting list. This means that the odds of you getting the book via the library before the actual test are slim, but you have the option of going on the wait list for it.
If you wish to purchase the book, your best bet is to visit the Civil Service Bookshop. They are located at 38 Lispenard Street, New York NY 10013, (212) 226-9506. You can also purchase it online at Amazon or the Passbook website.
So what are your options if you are unable to get your hands on the book? Plenty. The exam is not typical in the way that you need to study with a special book in order to pass. Here is what it says on the exam notification:
You must achieve a score of at least 70% to pass the test. The multiple-choice test may include questions on: understanding and applying written and verbal instructions relative to the safe and efficient duties of a Conductor; using good judgment and taking proper action in emergencies or stressful situations; relating courteously and informatively to the public; being familiar with the locations of major points of interest in New York City; understanding military time; and other related areas.
So this means you really need to be familiar with a few things: reading comprehension, familiarity with important NYC points of interest and military time! These are all things that you can easily prepare for before heading into the exam and I will share how.
Books on Reading Comprehension
Most exams require the skill of reading comprehension. What is this, you ask? It is the ability to read a statement, process what you have read and understand it. You should then be able to answer questions regarding what you have read. The reason this is an important part of the Conductor exam is that they do not ask questions specific to the job because you have not yet been trained for it. Training takes place after you are called when you make the list of those who have passed. What you will most likely have to answer are questions that will present a situation to you that could happen on the job and then you must decide how to answer questions related to what you read. This is where reading comprehension comes in.
So how does one study reading comprehension? One way is to incorporate reading into your daily life. Whether it is books or newspapers, consistency is the key and both are available to you in all library locations. Can't visit a branch? You can access thousands of books on your computer, smart phone or tablet via our e-book collection. It's as simple as downloading an app. You also can read current newspapers from around the world for free via the PressReader database on your computer or tablet. You are not required to have a library card to view items on site at a branch but if you are interested in any of our remote services mentioned above or borrowing materials, please apply for one here!
The other option for more formally training your mind to read and think critically would be to use books and websites geared towards this topic. For general studying that will help you boost your ability, check out the titles on the following list: Reading Comprehension Books. Here are some highlights below:
Civil Service Reading Comprehension
The General Aptitude and Abilities Series provides functional, intensive test practice and drill in the basic skills and areas common to many civil service, general aptitude or achievement examinations necessary for entrance into schools or occupations. This book prepares you by sharpening the skills and abilities necessary to succeed on this part of your upcoming exam. It provides hundreds of multiple-choice questions to be answered in response to information contained in short and long passages on varying topics and subjects.
Reading Comprehension Success in 20 Minutes a Day
This book enhances your critical reading skills in just twenty short lessons. Learn to dissect a story, find the main idea, and draw conclusions through study of practical exercises. With passages from literature, essays, technical writing, and articles, this handy guide includes lessons with hundreds of exercises in test format to help you acquire or refresh essential reading comprehension skills.
Master the Civil Service Exams
Presents a study guide for preparing for entry-level civil service job tests, along with four practice exams and answers. You can pick and choose which sections would be applicable to this exam. Some helpful chapters are Reading Comprehension as well as Judgment, Communication and Memory.
501 Reading Comprehension Questions With examples from literature, science, history, business, general interest, etc, this fully updated edition provides a reading comprehension tutorial in an easy to use format. This guide helps readers learn how to quickly: get essential information from a passage; find the main idea; increase comprehension and reading speed; identify chronological order; find meaning in a variety of readings; and draw conclusions.
Web Resources on Reading Comprehension
LearningExpress is a great database the Library offers for studying different topics. It focuses on test preparation materials and interactive practice exams that will help people improve their scores on academic, civil service, military, and professional licensing and certification exams. While they do not have an exam specific to the Conductor, it is another way to practice reading skills. When you visit the site you would want to choose Adult Learning Center (located under All Centers), then move the mouse over Guidance and choose Become a Better Reader. You can also practice some math skills and grammar among other things.
The Civil Service Employees Association has available online a helpful guide that gives some great basic information on preparing for a test. It also provides reading comprehension tips, along with sample statements and questions along with an answer key which provides explanations for the answers as well.
Books on New York City Information
The next thing you will want to go over are the major points of interest in NYC. As a conductor you would be working for the City of New York and therefore likely expected to know about such things from customers and staff alike. There will also will be questions in regards to this on the exam. One way to get this info easily is through a travel guide, they aren't just for tourists. You can find a comprehensive list of what we own here: New York City Travel Guides.
Not for Tourists Guide to New York City 2016
This nifty guide can in fact be read by tourists but it is made with the needs of native New Yorkers in mind. It is a map-based, neighborhood-by-neighborhood dream guide designed to lighten the load of already street-savvy New Yorkers, commuters, business travelers, and yes, tourists too.
DK Eyewitness Travel 2015 New York City This newly updated travel guide for New York City will lead you straight to the best attractions Manhattan has to offer, from unearthing archeological treasures at The Metropolitan Museum of Art to biking through Central Park to discovering the city's hottest neighborhoods on walking tours. Plus, check out the best of the boroughs with suggested highlights for Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, The Bronx, and upper Manhattan.
Web Resources on New York City Information
NYC Go: Official New York City Guide
NYC & Company is New York City’s official marketing, tourism and partnership organization. Their site is the ultimate resource for visitors and residents to find everything they need about what to do and see in New York City. Look under theMust Seelink to check out information on the City's well known attractions as well as borough and neighborhood info.
Learning Military Time
So MTA expects you to know military time. What is that you ask? Military time is a method of measuring time based on the full twenty four hours of the day rather than two groups of twelve hours. It is used by the military, emergency services (including law enforcement, firefighting), transportation and hospitals among other organizations.
Below is a basic chart that shows how the time translates from a typical clock. Visit www.militarytime.us for more information.
Additional Resources
Career Cruising is free with your library card. It is a comprehensive bilingual (English and Spanish) interactive multimedia source which features profiles and information on hundreds of occupations, two- and four-year college and universities, and financial aid, including scholarship opportunities. Search under the term Train Operator for information.
Occupational Outlook Handbook
Offered through the United States Department of Labor, the OOH can help you find career information on duties, education and training, pay, and outlook for hundreds of occupations.
NYC Transit Forums
A great source for current and prospective employees. The NYC Transit Forums website is strictly for informational and entertainment purposes. The website is no way connected or affiliated with the MTA (Metropolitan Transportation Authority) or any other related transportation agency. It is a useful tool if you want to hear about the experiences of current and past employees, as well as sharing with others who are going through the training process.
MTA Exam Information Center is located in the lobby of 180 Livingston Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201
Open Mondays through Fridays, 9 AM – 3 PM
Email: examsunit@nyct.com
Information in this post is meant to be a supplement for those who will be taking the upcoming examination. This post is in reference to Conductor Exam #6601 which will be administered in April and May 2016. If you have already applied and want updates on the exam, please visit the MTA Information page.
Spring is right around the corner and the weather has been unseasonably warm. The clocks have sprung an hour forward due to daylight saving time. If you love the warm weather and don’t yet feel ready to shed your sweater, these picks may inspire you to get into the swing of spring.
Entrance court with spring flowers. Image ID: 835268
Do you like the portability and convenience of energy bars but balk at their high price in the stores? Then try your hand at creating your own from the recipes found in this book.
Do you want to engage or re-engage in creative hobbies or activities but lack confidence? Do you feel emotionally boxed in by your inner critic? Let Julia Cameron gently take you by the hand and provide guidance through exercises designed to unlock your creativity. You will learn to enjoy the creative process and silence your inner critic.
If you feel the urge to wipe away the gray and brown haze of winter and do some spring cleaning, this book provides some tips on how to clean various spaces and objects in and around your home.
Do you occasionally find yourself getting around to tidying and decluttering your home and find that—like ivy—the clutter quickly grows back every time you turn around? This book may help you to tame your piles and to maintain order in your home while adding a sense of calmness and spaciousness to your life.
You may feel a sense of staleness in your living space or work space. Or you may feel agitated and that life is moving too fast. Either way, the principles of Feng-shui may help to provide a sense of balance.
The New York Public Library has named Tony Ageh Chief Digital Officer, responsible for the institution’s ongoing digital transformation and its visionary work in making its collections and services as accessible as possible. He is scheduled to start on April 11.
Ageh comes to the Library from the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in London – one of the largest media organizations in the world – where he has held a variety of leadership positions since 2002 and, in that time, has managed over 300 staff members. His accomplishments include the development and implementation of the BBC’s Internet strategy, which grew its web traffic from 2 million users per day to over 25 million over a five year period. He also created and implemented the BBC iPlayer (an internet streaming catchup television and radio service for people in the United Kingdom), which has delivered over 10 billion programs to the British public and on average receives 10 million requests per day.
Most recently, Ageh acted as controller of the BBC’s Archive Strategy, making their substantial archives of radio, television, images and documents – and by extension British culture and creativity – increasingly accessible to the public in the UK and beyond. Key accomplishments included releasing over 1 million programs to those in education, publishing a searchable catalogue of the BBC’s entire broadcast output since 1923 and partnering with organizations such as the British Library and the Open Data Institute to develop a collaborative approach to open access to learning and cultural resources known as the Digital Public Space.
In 2015 Ageh was awarded the Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) by the Queen, for services to digital media.
“Tony Ageh has proven himself to be a visionary leader capable of implementing sustainable and impactful change at an important institution,” said NYPL Chief Library Officer Mary Lee Kennedy. “We are excited he is joining us to help transform our institution, expanding on the considerable progress we have already made in adapting to user needs in an increasingly digital world.”
At the Library, Ageh will work with Kennedy and others to develop and execute a far reaching digital strategy that will benefit existing and future users in New York and around the world through trusted interactions with NYPL experts, increasingly open collections, and interactive programs. His responsibilities will include increasing NYPL’s virtual user base and impact both locally and globally, identifying strategic partnerships to strengthen NYPL’s digital agenda and expand its digital capabilities, providing a consistent approach to evaluating and integrating new initiatives, technologies, and products that are consistent with NYPL’s mission and priorities, and managing a top caliber team that is able to quickly evaluate and implement new digital opportunities.
“It is a great honor to have been invited to join such an august institution at such a pivotal moment,” said Ageh. “I believe the NYPL can continue to build and use digital technologies to transform the way people access information for lifelong learning and personal development and I hope to play a significant part in making that possible – not just for the short term, but with a lasting impact that creates greater opportunities and richer communities.”
Prior to his time at the BBC, Ageh worked as Head of Creative Development at the Guardian Newspaper in London and as publisher at several magazines and websites, including upmystreet.com, a pioneering online information service that provided local stats and data by postal code in the United Kingdom.
Ageh studied at the McEntee Technical School in Walthamstow, East London. He is an honorary research fellow of Royal Holloway University of London, and a commissioner of Warwick University Commission into the Future Value of Culture. He is also a trustee of LEAP, Confronting Conflict – Reducing Youth Violence. He was a BAFTA winner (the British Academy of Film and Television Arts) in 2008.
Looking for a great book? Join us on Twitter this morning @NYPLRecommends from 10-11 AM. The Librarian is IN: taking requests and giving recommendations.
Earnestness set in this week! Frank and Gwen are joined by a singing children's librarian, Emily, to talk about courage and encouragement, children's classics, and a cool new trend in picture books.
What We're Reading
This week, Lynn is reading Gone with the Mind by Mark Leyner. This funny, offbeat story is about the author of an autobiography giving a reading—set up by his mom—in a New Jersey food court. In attendance are a few Panda Express employees.
Gwen is still reading Of Bees and Mist by Erick Setiawan—it's really good! not slow at all! just trying to read a lot of things at the same time—and Burn Baby Burn by Meg Medina. It's a YA novel set in the summer of 1977, with the Son of Sam on the loose and a wave of arson sweeping New York City. Our heroine is Nora Lopez, a 17-year-old Queens girl, who's facing a future full of uncertainty and dread.
First of all—happy birthday! So now you have turned, what is it now… 83? Eighty-three years old and nearly four years into your “retirement.” How is that going, by the way? The “not writing?” How do you fill your day? Perhaps you wake up in the morning and studiously walk past your desk and have a cup of coffee while you read the paper (very thoroughly these days, since you have all the time in the world to do it). After that, you probably map out your day. What will you do to fill the time? I’m told volunteer work can be very fulfilling. Perhaps you could volunteer at your local library. You could help someone use the online catalog, or better yet, you could re-shelve books; and as you push the cart down the aisle I can imagine a small ironic smile cross your face as you place a copy of Goodbye, Columbus back on the shelf.
I’m worried that I may sound like I’m mocking you, but honestly I’m not. Who am I to begrudge a person wanting to take it easy in the golden years of his or her life? You should do whatever it is that will make you happy, even if it means that your fans will no longer have a new Philip Roth novel to read every year. Did that sound like I was trying to guilt-trip you into writing again? Believe me, I’m not. I am not here to mock you, guilt-trip you or even harangue you online to increase your output, as some of George R.R. Martin’s fans are wont to do. But I (being a fan) shall miss looking forward to a new Philip Roth novel. No more late masterpieces like Sabbath’s Theater; no more incisive memoirs like Patrimony: A True Story; no more Zuckerman novels; and no more books that made me laugh as much as I did when I read Portnoy’s Complaint.
I read that book when I was an impressionable twenty-something and I always wondered if it was just a book written by a young man for young men. So just recently, with great trepidation, I pulled my old and battered copy off the shelf to re-read it—to see if it stood up to my memory of it (and really, my memory of it 30 years later consisted solely of “that was a hilarious book,” a novel way to use a piece of liver, and a note pinned to a boy who hanged himself). Well, I’m happy to say that the book more than lived up to my expectations. The entire book , a brilliant, searingly self-lacerating monologue that explores what it is to be a Jew in modern America, is a masterful high wire act . Do you have to be a Jew to “get” it? No, I don’t think so. I’m not Jewish, and I got it (a small caveat—I grew up as an Italian Catholic, which to some people is right next door to being Jewish). Do you have to be a man to enjoy it? Well, female characters were never your strong suit, but my wife also read Portnoy’s Complaint and she enjoyed it immensely. In fact, she read it several years ago while commuting on the subway and she was approached several times by men who wanted to engage her in conversation when they saw what she was reading. I guess for a bookish man, seeing a beautiful woman reading (and enjoying) Portnoy’s Complaintis too good to be true.
Since re-reading Portnoy, I’ve felt a little better about your decision not to publish any more. I can always re-read your other books, right? I loved Sabbath’s Theater as well, so I can start with that. And to be perfectly honest, I have not read your entire oeuvre (a word I learned to use at some wine and cheese party I once attended) . Despite the best of intentions, I still haven’t gotten to Our Gang, The Counterlife, Nemesis, as well as a few others. So go ahead Mr. Roth—enjoy your retirement. Enjoy walking your dog around the neighborhood; enjoy taking that painting class you were always too busy to get around to; enjoy a weekend trip to Boston where you can follow the Freedom Trail and learn about how our great country formed. Enjoy all of that because I still have a few books of yours to read. However, in a year or two I’ll probably be all caught up. And then I may ask you again how your retirement is going.
On International Women's Day, March 8, 2016, the International Labour Organization, a United Nations agency based in Geneva, published the "Women At Work" report as a part of their Women At Work Centenary Initiative. The report highlights the enormous challenges women continue to face in seeking and keeping decent employment around the world.
The report examined data for up to 178 countries. It reveals that gender employment and wage gaps persist across a wide spectrum of the global labor market. Unemployment gender gaps remain high, especially for young women. Women remain overrepresented as contributing family workers or in other informal work arrangements, denying them access to social protection acquired through employment such as pensions, unemployment benefits or maternity protection.
Women continue to suffer from significant wage gaps. In developed countries women are more concentrated in under-valued and under-paid occupations as clerical, service and sales workers. In developing and low income economies, women are overrepresented in time and labor -intensive agricultural activities.
The report concludes that main policy interventions and good practices that are taking place throughout the world to address gender employment and wage gaps are in line with the International Labour Organization. These are outlined below.
Tackling the root causes of sectoral and occupational segregation
Encouraging young girls and boys to break gender stereotypes through education and outreach
Offering training to women and men to enter into non-stereotypical fields
Promoting women's entrepreneurship
Supporting women's participation and leadership in decision making including in governments, employments, employers' and workers' organizations
Addressing the gender wage gap
Eliminating unequal treatment of men and women in the labor market
Promoting equal pay for work of equal value through wage transparency, training and gender neutral job evaluations methods
Supporting adequate and inclusive minimum wages and strengthening collective bargaining
Promoting and normalizing good quality part-time work
Limiting long paid hours and overwork
Transforming institutions to prevent and eliminate discrimination
Changing attitudes towards unpaid care work to overcome the motherhood wage gap
Implementing a comprehensive framework to achieve the harmonization of work and family responsibilities
Providing maternity protection to all women according to international labor standards
Guaranteeing adequate social protection to recognize, reduce and redistribute unpaid care work
Ensuring the provision of basic infrastructure, in particular in rural areas
Implementing gender-transformative leave policies: increasing leave entitlements for fathers and boosting their take-up rates
Making quality early childhood care and education a universal right
creating and protecting quality jobs in the care economy
Promoting decent work for care professionals, including domestic and migrant workers
Extending long-term care coverage for older persons
Promoting family-friendly flexible working arrangements
Encouraging individual income taxation to increase women's labor force participation
Young Adult literature is filled with smart, strong, brave, butt-kicking female characters. So when I say "feminist" I don’t just mean fiction with strong, female characters—that’s a given. What I mean are novels that feature strong, female characters who either confront sexism, defy the patriarchal order, subvert gender expectations or celebrate female solidarity, or all of the above. These characters are often flawed and don’t always come out the other end unscathed but they are warriors and heroes all the same.
“Feminism isn't about making women stronger. Women are already strong. It's about changing the way the world perceives that strength.” —G. D. Anderson, poet and writer
This is by no means a complete list—I struggled with what to include and it's still too long. However, for even more great feminist books check out the Amelia Bloomer Project—they review books and put out an annual list of feminist literature for children and teens.
Realistic Fiction
All the Rage by Courtney Summers
A year after she was raped at a party, Romy is still dealing with the aftermath and being called "liar" and "slut". When a girl in town goes missing Romy has good reason to suspect her rapist.
Asking for Itby Louise O’Neil
Set in Ireland, this is a searing and brutal account of a girl who is sexually assaulted at a party and humiliated on social media by four boys she considered her friends. She's then re-victimized by the townspeople and media who question her honesty and debate her motives. Based on true stories.
Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
Football-loving, farm girl D.J does a lot of the heavy work at her family's dairy farm—her father has broken his hip and her brothers are off to college. When she gets the chance to fitness train a rival team's star quarterback she jumps at it. Tired of always doing what's expected, she decides to try out for her high school football and surprises everyone by winning a place as a linebacker.
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau Banksby E. Lockhart
When Frankie's boyfriend refuses to tell her about the all-male secret society that he and his friends belong to at their boarding school, she calls their bluff and ups the ante. She infiltrates the society and proves that girls are the equals to boys when it comes to pranks—if not better.
Endangered by Elliot Schrefer
Not long after Sophie arrives in the Congo for her yearly visit with her mother at an animal sanctuary, war breaks out and rebel soldiers overtake the sanctuary. When government troops arrive, Sophie refuses rescue without Otto, a baby bonobo she has bonded to. Instead, she jumps out of the armored van, grabs Otto and takes off into the jungle.
Gabi, a Girl in Piecesby Isabel Quintero Gabi, a high school senior, finds solace and empowerment through her journal writing and poetry as she deals with personal problems, her family and friends and forging her own identity.
Homeless Bird by Gloria Whelan (middle grade) Set in India, 13 year old Koly discovers that she has been traded for her dowry to the highest bidder in an ill-fated arranged marriage. Soon a widow, homeless—abandoned by her mother-in-law, Koly finds sanctuary at a widows' home and begins a new life where she more than a wife and widow.
If You Could be Mine by Sara Farizan
Best friends Sahar and Nasrin have been in love with each other for years, but in modern day Iran being homosexual could get them arrested or killed. When Nasrin's parents arrange a marriage for her, Sahar decides to take desperate action so they can be together. She will get gender reassignment surgery and become a man so that she can marry her friend, but will she lose herself in the process?
Kissing in America by Margo Rabb
Eva and her best friend Annie set off on a cross country road trip from New York to L.A. so that romance obsessed Eva can see her boyfriend Will and Annie can be on a T.V. game show. Along the way, they meet meddling family and insightful strangers and learn that the most important loves of their lives won't necessarily be the romantic ones. (You might need a box of tissue handy for this one.)
Science Fiction/Fantasy
Ash by Malinda Lo In this retelling of Cinderella, Ash is a servant to her wicked stepmother and stepsisters but escapes as often as she can to the fairy wood behind her old house. When she gets the chance to attend a ball, the Prince finds her irresistible but it is the King's huntress Kaisa who has captured her heart.
Blood Red Road by Moira Young
Set in a post-apocalyptic America, when Saba's twin brother Lugh is kidnapped, she and her younger sister Emmi set off across a wasteland to rescue him. When they get captured themselves Emmi is forced into servitude and Saba must become a cage fighter and kill to survive. To continue with their rescue efforts, they'll have to trust strangers including an all-female group of bandits.
Glory O’Brien's History of the Future by A. S. King
On the brink of high school graduation, Glory is afraid that she is destined to spiral into depression and commit suicide just like her mother. One night, she and her best friend, drink a warm beer infused with desiccated bat remains which give them terrible visions of the future—for Glory this means a misogynistic world filled with laws making women nothing but chattel.
Graceling by Kristin Cashore
In the Seven Kingdoms, some people are born with “graces” or special talents, Katsa’s specialty is killing. Used and abused by her corrupt, royal uncle to be his “enforcer,” she balances this out by doing secret rescue missions where she dispenses her own form of justice.
Only Ever Yours by Louise O'Neil
In Frieda and Isabel's world, all girls (called "eves") are raised in schools with their only goal becoming wives of rich, powerful men. All they have to do is be listed in the top ten most beautiful girls and they will be chosen by the sons of the wealthiest, most prestigious families. The pressure to be perfect is intense and those that don't make it are destined to become either common concubines, chastitys (teachers) or simply erased all together.
Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
In 2025 California the world is in utter chaos. When the gated community where she lives is overrun, Lauren, who can literally feel someone else's pain, ventures into the savage unknown in search of safety. As people start traveling with her she begins to find a new family and even more importantly, forge a new destiny for herself and the people around her.
Shadows of Sherwood : A Robyn Hoodlum Adventure by Kekla Magoon (middle grade)
In this alt-universe Robin Hood retelling, Robyn Loxley flees Nott City after her parents disappear and heads for the more criminal friendly Sherwood City. Once there, she bands together with other orphans fighting the laws of the oppressive crown and its tyrannical government
Song of the Lioness series by Tamora Pierce
Starting with Alanna: The First Adventure, 11 year old Alanna lives in a world where young women are treated more like chattel, so she trades places with her twin brother and disguises herself as a boy so she can train as a knight. Follow her adventures as she grows up and struggles to be true to herself and true to the country she has vowed to protect.
Summer of the Mariposas by Guadalupe Garcia McCall
Odilia, 16, and her four younger sisters must work together to return the body of a drowned man, they found while swimming in the Rio Grande, to his home across the border in Mexico. Their real mission, however, is to find their father who abandoned the family a year before. Along their journey, they are guided by heroes and monsters of Mexican mythology, including the evil sorceress La Llorona who may not be as evil as they previously thought.
Historical Fiction
A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly
Set in 1906 in upstate New York, 16 year old Mattie is torn between her dreams of attending college and studying writing and being a good daughter and sister. Her father needs her to stay to help with the farm and care for her younger siblings. There's also a handsome, young neighbor who wants to marry her. Things change when she begins waitressing at a nearby hotel and strikes up a friendship with young, female guest who ends up murdered.
Agency series by Y.S. Lee
Starting with A Spy in the House, we meet Mary Quinn, a young thief and orphan who is rescued from the gallows in 1850s London to be educated at an unusual school for girls. Eventually, she's trained to be an investigator for an all female detective/spy agency. Her first assignment: to act as a companion to a young lady and gather intel on the father's business dealings but she soon finds out she's not the only spy in the house.
Black Dove, White Raven by Elizabeth Wein
Raised as brother and sister, Emilia's and Teo's mothers, Rhoda and Delia were an all female, black and white stunt pilot team. When Delia is killed, Rhoda takes the children to live in Ethiopia to escape the prejudices of 1930s America and so Teo can to get to know his Ethiopian heritage. As WW2 breaks out, Teo and Em's own talent for flying comes into play and with her brother soon missing in action, Emilia must navigate the politics of war all on her own.
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein In 1943, a British war plane crash lands in Nazi-occupied France. One of its passengers, a female, is captured by the Nazis, taken prisoner and interrogated by the Gestapo. What follows is a game of cat and mouse as the prisoner spins a tale of war, friendship and espionage. Hopefully, just enough of a confession to keep her torturers satisfied but that still keeps her secrets and her friends safe.
Full Cicada Moonby Marilyn Hilton (middle grade)
It's 1969 and 12 year old Mimi has just moved from Berkeley, California to an all-white small town in Vermont. Being half black and half Japanese, she's already an odd girl out but her love of science and goal of being an astronaut makes her even more of an outsider. She soon finds allies in a teacher who encourages her to enter the science fair and new friends who help her protest the school rule that only girls can take home ec and boys can take shop.
Jackaby by William Ritter
In 1892, young Englishwoman Abigail Rook is fleeing the societal expectations of her family and seeking adventure when she lands in New England. She soon crosses paths with an observant, young detective named R.F. Jackaby. He's no Sherlock Holmes wannabe but an investigator of the paranormal and he soon hires the unflappable Abigail to be his assistant. Before she can learn the difference between a ghost and a banshee they are off—hot on the heels of a serial murderer.
Mad Wicked Folly Sharon Biggs Waller
In 1909 London, Victoria Darling has just been sent home in scandal from her French finishing school for getting caught posing nude during a life drawing class. Her parents are eager to marry her off to someone rich and boring but what Victoria really wants is to attend the Royal College of Art and become an artist. As she secretly applies to the school, she gets involved with the suffragettes and meets a handsome, young constable who is sympathetic to their cause.
These Shallow Graves by Jennifer Donnelly
In 19th century New York City, Jo Montfort is a rose of high society—a girl who is destined for nothing more than attending balls and tea parties, all in the hope of marrying well. However, what Jo really wants is to become a newspaper reporter just like her hero Nellie Bly. When her father mysteriously dies, Jo knows it can't have been an accident and that he must've been murdered. When Jo sets out to prove her theory she will risk everything to get at the truth.
Graphic Novels
Ghost World by Daniel Clowes
The cynical and ironic Enid and Rebecca are life-long best friends but now that they have graduated from high school they are feeling the strains on their relationship. As they weather dead-end jobs, going off to college and boys, they wonder if their friendship will survive long distance, growing up and possibly growing apart.
Lumberjanes series by Noelle Stevenson and Grace Ellis
Join Jo, Molly, Mal, April, and Ripley for an awesome, butt-kicking summer at Miss Qiunzella Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet's Camp for Girls Hardcore Lady Types. You'll help them earn their "Friendship to the Max" badge as they have late night investigations of mysterious light houses, trap-laden secret caves and suspicious goings on at the boys camp and more.
Ms. Marvel series by G. Willow Wilson
Kamala Khan is an ordinary Pakistani girl from Jersey City with pretty strict Muslim parents who is tired of being caught between their world and her world of school and parties. When she sneaks out the house one night, she's given special powers and transformed into Ms. Marvel. But does she need to be blonde and wear skimpy clothing to be a superhero or can she just be herself? Either way she's ready to kick some evil-villain ass!
The Plain Janes by Cecil Castelluci
New to suburbia, after being injured in an explosion in the city, Jane forms a disparate group of outsider girls into a team of "art terrorists" called "People Loving Art in Neighborhoods" (P.L.A.I.N.). Defiant and unified, together they shake-up their conservative town and confound the authorities by performing art attacks such as putting bubbles in water fountains and wrapping objects on the street like Christmas presents.
This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki
Rose and Windy have spent every summer with each other and their families at Awago Beach. Together they spend their days, swimming, reading magazines, sipping lemonade on the porch, watching scary movies and walking down to the corner store but this summer is different. Rose's parents are fighting and they're starting to see the world around them a lot more clearly. Luckily, they have each other to get through it all.
Adventures of Superhero Girl by Faith Erin Hicks
Superhero girl is living a mundane life trying to balance her abilities to fight villains with her daily struggles to just get through the day. What's a superhero girl with a weakness for kittens to do when her Mom keeps calling her, the laundry shrinks her cape, she accidently wears her mask to work and her male arch-nemesis keeps telling her that she's "doing it wrong"?
The Women’s Jazz Festival at the Schomburg Center, our annual Women’s History Month celebration, allows the opportunity for black women jazz artists—past and present—to be acknowledged, recognized, and celebrated. For more than two decades, this month-long series has provided dynamic jazz performers such as Terri Lynne Carrington and Nona Hendryx with a platform to showcase their work for both the Harlem community and our international digital audience.
Of course, many artists paved the way for these incredibly talented women to grace our stage. Mary Lou Williams, who we’re honoring at our Before 5 program next month, was one of the greatest pianists, composers, and jazz singers ever—yet is still largely unknown. Her creativity, talent and ambition to break through a male-dominated industry was unprecedented. Patti Bown, another jazz pianist, singer and composer, had her music recorded by jazz greats such as Duke Ellington, Benny Golson, and Sarah Vaughn. She was invited by Quincy Jones in 1959 to join a big band ensemble for a European tour of the musical, Free and Easy. Between 1962 and 1964, she served as Dinah Washington’s musical director. “Down Hearted Blues,” the famous blues song by Bessie Smith, which has sold over 2 million records to date, was written by composer and singer Alberta Hunter. She learned to read music by simply hitting keys on a piano, finding a rhythm and turning it into a song. This tenacity, which led her from her hometown of Memphis to Chicago as a runaway, would launch her career.
These are just a few of the women who have made a significant impact in jazz, whose achievements are often overshadowed by their male counterparts. This is why we our Women’s Jazz Festival is so important. The series is curated by singer and songwriter Toshi Reagon. Reagon’s dedication to highlighting talented women jazz singers, composers, and instrumentalists has been reflected in the success and response from our patrons.
This year, our series features performances from great artists such as Shelley Nicole, Mal Devisa, Alicia Hall Moran, Camille A. Brown, Bernice Reagon Johnson, and many others. With your support, we hope to continue to introduce you to women who are not just singers, but exceptional songwriters, composers, instrumentalists for years to come.
We have two more concerts to go! Purchase tickets for March 21 and March 28 on our website.
The top five this week includes something for everyone: urban fantasy, gritty suspense fiction, a new police procedural, a little bit of romance, and some history. Happy reading!
#1 Recommendations for readers who enjoyed Fire Touched by Patricia Briggs, more urban fantasy series:
Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris [Book One]
Staff picks are chosen by NYPL staff members and are not intended to be comprehensive lists. We'd love to hear your picks! Tell us what you'd recommend: Leave a comment or email us.
Dana Spiotta is the acclaimed author of novels including Eat the Document, Stone Arabia, Lightning Field, and most recently, Innocents and Others. She has earned a Guggeinheim Fellowship, NYFA Felowship, and Rosenthal Foundation Award, and has been a finalist for both the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award. This week, for the New York Public Library Podcast, we're proud to present Dana Spiotta discussing good people, literary heroes, and writing with density.
Dana Spiotta at Books at Noon
Spiotta discussed the way that she creates dense prose, a process of backtracking and addition:
"Usually I write pretty blindly for a while. So in this case, I had the voice of this woman Meadow looking back. And the first thing she says is 'This is a love story.' And I thought, well okay this is a love story, but as I was writing, I realized the love story was about film and this woman, being an artist. You're writing to discover, and as you discover more... you start to see the connections, and then you start to see the shape. The way I work is I write and then I read what I've written and then I add, so I try to carry everything forward. It's a slow process, but it gets a kind of density, where even if you're a different storyline, you're reading everything that precedes it and adding and then shaping once you see the shape, being more deliberate about what you're leaving in or what you're taking out or what you're emphasizing. But ideally, your subconscious comes up with deep connections that lead you, rather than you schematically planning it out, which will never be as good as this organic process where it comes out of this weird pursuit you're doing, a kind of concentration."
Spiotta's characters are often morally complex. Her sense is that there are very few evil people and that instead she's interested in the way that individuals talk themselves into suspect decisions:
"We can talk ourselves into a lot of things. We're very good rationalizing beings, and sometimes, it's only later that we realize. I'm more interested in that than someone who's a bad actor. I don't think there are that many of them where it's 'I'm a bad person. I'm going to do bad things.' But no, 'I'm a good person. I'm doing this good thing.' And then maybe later you say, 'Maybe not so much. Maybe not really.' Or people do bad things. It doesn't necessarily mean they're bad people. People make mistakes."
Like many writers, Spiotta has had a love affair with the work of James Joyce. She recalled reading Joyce as a pivotal moment in her life as a reader and writer:
"I was writing in high school and writing in college, but it took me a long time to get serious. I didn't really start writing seriously until my late twenties. I was at the Evergreen State College, and I was reading a lot and wanting, but the difference between wanting and be able to write were so far. Honestly, this is going to sound really corny. But I was reading Dubliners and reading The Dead, and I had this epiphany. When I was reading the book, I started weeping and started thinking about the whole world and my mortality and how moving it was that this person could get me to this place. I memorized the parts of the story, so James Joyce is my hero. I teach Ulysses now at my university where I teach. Every three years, I'll teach it with the graduate students, and it really renews the possibilities of the novels for me."
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When Angelo Pecunia’s granddaughter Bianca was just one year old, he brought her to the Great Kills Library and let her pick out as many books as she wanted. Over the years, the two have found a home at the Library, where Angelo teaches Bianca the importance of reading, and Bianca teaches Angelo the joys of youthful imagination and discovery. In this week’s Library Story, find out how Angelo comes to the Library not only to help his granddaughter, but to build a loving and lasting relationship with her as well.
Library Stories is a video series from The New York Public Library that shows what the Library means to our users, staff, donors, and communities through moving personal interviews.
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SAGEWorks Boot Camp on Monday, March 21, 2016, 9:30 am - 2 pm. This 2 week training takes place from Monday - Friday, 3/21/16 - 4/1/16, 9:30 am - 2:00pm, 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.
Garrison Protective Services will present a recruitment on Wednesday, March 23, 2016, 10 am - 2 pm, for Security Guard (15 openings) at the New York State Department of Labor - Workforce 1 Career Center, 250 Schermerhorn Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201.
New Partners, Inc. will present a recruitment on Thursday, March 24, 2016, 10 am - 1:30 pm, for Home Health Aide (10 F/T & P/T openings) at the Bronx Workforce 1 Career Center, 400 E. Fordham Road, 7th Floor, Bronx, NY 10456.
Spanish Speaking Resume Writing workshop on Thursday, March 24, 2016, 12:30 - 2:30 pm,for all interested jobseekers and dislocated workers to organize, revise, update resumes at Flushing Workforce1 Career Center, 138 60 Barclay Ave. 2nd Floor, Flushing, NY 11355.
Oxfam America will present a recruitment on Thursday, March 24, 2016, 1-3 pm for Face-to-Face Fundraiser (25 openings), at the Lower Manhattan Workforce 1 Career Center, 75 Varick Street, New York, NY 10013.
SAGEWorks Workshop: Marketing Yourself with Confidence, on Thursday, March 24, 2016, 6-7:30 pm at the Sage Center, 305 7th Avenue, 15th Floor, Cyber Center, New York, NY 10001. SAGEWorks assists people 40 years and older in learning relevant, cutting-edge job search skills in a LGBT-friendly environment.
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 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 six 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.
Nontraditional Employment for Women (NEW) trains women and places them in careers in the skilled construction, utility, and maintenance trades. It helps women achieve economic independence and a secure future. For information call 212-627-6252 or register online.
Grace Institute provides tuition-free, practical job training in a supportive learning community for underserved New York area women of all ages and from many different backgrounds. For information call 212-832-7605.
Please note this page will be revised when more recruitment events for the week of March 20 become available.
In this post, he states that in this Women's History Month, the Labor Department honors all women in government and public service and also celebrates those who work behind the scenes to build a brighter future for our nation and their families. The Department is working to expand opportunity for women on a variety of fronts as listed below:
Encouraging progress on paid leave, so working parents don't have to choose between the job they need and the family they love.
Extending minimum wage and overtime protections to millions of home-care workers, the overwhelming majority of whom are women.
Working towards closing the pay gap between men and women through rulemaking and improving the availabilityu of pay data.
Tom Perez also broadens his perspective by applying the human capital theory into the U S labor market. He states that from a pragmatic calculation, empowering women is about maximizing our human capital in a complex and competitive world, that we can't unleash our full economic potential unless we're fully investing in a population that accounts for about half of our workforce. This is an excellent point and a clear vision for the Department.
Shakespeare’s Star Turn in America focuses on production of Shakespeare’s works in North American theaters and why certain plays were popular at specific times. However, it became obvious in our research that some plays are popular because actors want to do them. A prime example of this phenomenon is the almost constant production of the Falstaff plays—King Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2, as well as The Merry Wives of Windsor. There are two prime examples of actors and actor/managers who based their later careers on performing Sir John Falstaff.
James H. Hackett played Falstaff over at least 30 years. The exhibition includes broadsides for King Henry IV, Part 1, from the Park Theatre, NY, on March 20, 1839, and from Booth’s Theatre, NY, for December 31, 1869. He was featured in Johnson & Fry engravings for the Henry plays and a Hollies engraving after a daguerreotype by Mayall. The poses are similar to the one above, although in the second, he wears the antler headdress from TheMerry Wives of Windsor. Fun fact: His son, James K. Hackett, also had a long careeer with one role, but he played the identical cousins, Rudolph and Rupert, in the stage and silent film adaptations of Antony Hope's The Prisoner of Zenda. My second ever post (April 2010) was about his portrait in the recognizable Zenda pose.
Benedict de Bar played Falstaff at his own theaters and opera houses along his Mississippi and Missouri River circuits in the 1860s and 1870s. His broadsides include a roundel of him in that character, probably based on his portrait in profile.
So what does this have to do with Dickens? They would say “nothing.” He would claim “American plagiarism!” Charles Dickens was famously upset that his novels were adapted, re-published and ripped-off by American publishers. Did he ever know about the Falstaffs?
One of the pleasures of seeing Shakespeare in the 18th through mid-19th centuries was that the program also included an afterpiece and frequently solos and duets by other members of their companies. So we know what else was on the program with these productions of Henry IV.
Ben de Bar had shown up in my Touring West research so I knew to request his bright yellow broadsides from New Orleans, Iowa and Memphis (you may have to check a map to understand why his your routes made sense). I had not remembered the afterpiece. He paired performances of King Henry IV with his own Micawber and Toodles. We Googled Toodles (who turns out to be a character in a different Dickens novel) and decided that he meant Traddles, who works with Micawber. The afterpiece was based on the characters in Charles Dickens’s popular novel David Copperfield (published serially in 1849-1850). But Dickens’s name is nowhere to be found on the program.
When Hackett performed as Falstaff in the 1830s, his afterpiece was also an uncredited adaptation. King Henry IV was followed by Nicholas Nickelby, March 20, 1839. The second play, Nicholas Nickelby; or, Doings at Do-the-Boys Hall may have been based on the Edward Stirling adaptation which was performed at the Adelphi Theatre, London, that season, or may have been a native-born adaptation of the novel. It maintains the misspelling of the character's name from the Stirling adaptation.
Something about the dates seemed wrong and we kept double checking that Nickelby appeared on the 1839, not 1869, broadside. It did. But, Charles Dickens’s novel, Nicholas Nickleby, was published serially in chapters 1 – 65 and it was not completely published when the play was done in NY. By even the fastest possible crossing (15 days by steam powered ship), only chapters 1 through 37-39 would have been available in New York for Hackett’s performances. It is amazing what you can find out through NYPL’s electronic resources!
Even assuming that Hackett’s version adapted the Stirling adaptation of episodes in the early chapters, it means that New Yorkers saw the characters before Dickens wrote their fates. Neither Dickens nor Stirling was credited on the program.
Maybe the actors were inspired by Falstaff’s famously loose ethics. Maybe Dickens was right about America's disregard for copyright.
Last week I introduced Melissa, a volunteer with the Music Division, who began a series of three blog posts on the newly available inventory of theMusic Division's Clipping file. Here is part two of Melissa's observations about the Music Division's Clipping File.
I hope you enjoyed the first part of the mini series where you read about a woman USO singer signing a bomb to be delivered to Hitler, a woman writing music for the suffragist movement in England, a piano manufacturer who was running to become mayor of Brooklyn as a prohibitionist, and a music critic who had a barbed pen and was not afraid to use it.
On to part two, the scandals!
The music world is not devoid of its share of scandals. Here is a sample from the “S” boxes of juicy tabloid-worthy articles spanning from 1912–1952. This first article is not exactly a scandal but most musicians in NYC can relate to this problem of practicing in their apartment.
This next article is about a pianist who robbed a bank and played the piano in jail to earn him less jail time in NYC.
Paternity issues arose in 1946:
This is what happens when you lie about knowing your music to the Metropolitan Opera:
We may not have people performing their way out of jail (or maybe we do, as we see in the musical The Producers), but even in 2015, people have sound wars with their neighbors over practicing their instruments, paternity issues, and being called out for not knowing their music. History does repeat itself.
If you are interested in more scandalous music articles, please come down to the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts and have a look at the collection.
Stay tuned for the final blog post of this three-part mini-blog series: Performers and Performances: from the politically incorrect, to just plain weird, to a really cool twist.
With examples from literature, science, history, business, general interest, etc, this fully updated edition provides a reading comprehension tutorial in an easy to use format. This guide helps readers learn how to quickly: get essential information from a passage; find the main idea; increase comprehension and reading speed; identify chronological order; find meaning in a variety of readings; and draw conclusions.
This newly updated travel guide for New York City will lead you straight to the best attractions Manhattan has to offer, from unearthing archeological treasures at The Metropolitan Museum of Art to biking through Central Park to discovering the city's hottest neighborhoods on walking tours. Plus, check out the best of the boroughs with suggested highlights for Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, The Bronx, and upper Manhattan.
The report examined data for up to 178 countries. It reveals that gender employment and wage gaps persist across a wide spectrum of the global labor market. Unemployment gender gaps remain high, especially for young women. Women remain overrepresented as contributing family workers or in other informal work arrangements, denying them access to social protection acquired through employment such as pensions, unemployment benefits or maternity protection.
