Fracking. Marguerite “Missy” Lehand. War on poverty in the 60s. Political views of the Justices. Occupy Wall Street. Religious conversations in the West. Open-water swimmer Lynne Cox. Digital privacy protection. Transformation of SoHo. Diversity and self-publishing. Wright and Johnson’s architectural views. Science behind life coincidences.

We've got a selection of engaging author talks coming up this month at the Mid-Manhattan Library. Come listen to scholars and other experts discuss their recent non-fiction books on a variety of subjects and ask them questions. Author talks take place at 6:30 PM on the 6th floor of the library unless otherwise noted. No reservations are required. Seating is first come, first served. You can also request a library copy of the authors' books from the catalog by using the links below.

	Thursday, September 1, 2016 Frackopoly: The Battle for the Future of Energy and the Environmentwith Wenonah Hauter, founder and Executive Director of Food & Water Watch. This illustrated lecture chronicles the rise of the fracking industry and the growing movement against fracking.
	Tuesday, September 6, 2016 The Gatekeeper: Missy LeHand, FDR, and the Untold Story of the Partnership That Defined a Presidencywith Kathryn Smith, a journalist and writer with a life-long interest in FDR and his circle. This illustrated lecture tells the captivating and forgotten story of an intelligent, loyal, and clever woman who had a front-row seat to history in the making. Dr. Steven Lomazow, co-author of "FDR's Deadly Secret" and an FDR Library Trustee, will introduce Kathryn Smith.
	Thursday, September 8, 2016 Battle for Bed-Stuy: The Long War on Poverty in New York City with Michael Woodsworth, a history teacher at Bard High School Early College, Queens. This illustrated lecture reinterprets President Lyndon Johnson’s much-debated War on Poverty from the perspective of its foot soldiers in New York City, showing how 1960s anti-poverty programs were rooted in a rich local tradition of grassroots activism and policy experiments.
	Tuesday, September 13, 2016 The Future of the Supreme Court in the Post-Scalia World with James D. Zirin, author of Supremely Partisan:  How Raw Politics Tips the Scales in the United States Supreme Court and leading litigator in federal and state courts around the nation. This lecture argues that the Court has become increasingly partisan and explains how we arrived at the present situation.
	Wednesday, September 14, 2016 The Occupiers: The Making of the 99 Percent Movement with Michael A. Gould-Wartofsky, one of the first social scientists on the ground at Occupy Wall Street on September 17, 2011. This illustrated lecture offers a front-seat view of the action in the streets of New York City during and following Occupy Wall Street.
	Thursday, September 15, 2016 Religious Conversion in America Today: Pluralism and Politics with Susan Jacoby, independent scholar and author of Strange Gods: A Secular History of Conversion as well as ten other books. This illustrated lecture offers a provocative and original exploration of the cultural, economic and political forces driving religious conversion in the Western world.
	Monday, September 19, 2016 Swimming in the Sink: An Episode of the Heart with Lynne Cox, who has held open-water swimming records all over the world, swimming without a wetsuit, and who has been inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame. This illustrated lecture is about super athleticism and human frailty, about invincibility and the sudden (mind-altering) repercussions of illness, and about the triumph of spirit, surrender, and love against it all.
	Wednesday, September 21, 2016 Obfuscation: A User's Guide for Privacy and Protest with Finn Brunton, Assistant Professor of Media, Culture, and Communication at NYU, and Helen Nissenbaum, Professor of Media, Culture, and Communication and Computer Science at NYU. This illustrated lecture offers ways to fight today's pervasive digital surveillance -- the collection of our data by governments, corporations, advertisers, and hackers.
	Thursday, September 22, 2016 The Lofts of Soho: Gentrification, Art, and Industry in New York, 1950-1980with Aaron Shkuda, Project Manager of the Princeton-Mellon Initiative in Architecture, Urbanism, and the Humanities. This illustrated lecture explores the transition of the district from industrial space to artists’ enclave to affluent residential area, focusing on the legacy of urban renewal in and around SoHo and the growth of artist-led redevelopment.
	Monday, September 26, 2016 Inclusivity and Indie Authors: The Case for Community-based Publishing. Authors of color who are excluded from the traditional publishing industry are increasingly turning to self-publishing. As an indie author, Zetta Elliott has the freedom to write about the things that matter most to the members of her community, rather than waiting for approval from the gatekeepers who lack the cultural competence needed to truly appreciate the work of non-traditional authors. Ms Elliott’s imprint, Rossetta Press, produces stories that are culturally specific and organic—not forced through a filter in order to be labeled "universal". Diverse books can foster cross-cultural understanding at an early age. At a moment when 75 percent of whites have no friends of color, and public schools are rapidly "resegregating", the need for diverse children’s literature is greater than ever.
	Wednesday, September 28, 2016 Architecture's Odd Couple: Frank Lloyd Wright and Philip Johnson with Hugh Howard, historian, writer, and lecturer. This illustrated lecture traces the historical threads connecting the two men and offers the audience a distinct perspective on the era they so enlivened with their designs.
	Thursday, September 29, 2016 Connecting with Coincidence: The New Science for Using Synchronicity and Serendipity in Your Life with Dr. Bernard Beitman, a Visiting Professor at the University of Virginia, and Jason Flom, American music industry executive. This discussion shares key personality characteristics and situational factors that contribute to the occurrence of meaningful coincidences in our lives.

Don’t miss the many interesting films, book discussions, and computer and technology classes on our program calendar. The theme for Story Time for Grown-ups this month is Ode to the Subway. If you enjoy talking about books, join us on Friday, September 9 for Open Book Night. The theme this month is Game Changers.

All of our programs and classes are free, so why not come and check one out! Hope to see you soon at the library!

Download flyers for the Mid-Manhattan Library's September 2016 book related programs here:

FLYER - SEPTEMBER 2016.pdf

FLYER - Storytime September 2016.pdf

Open Book Night September 2016.pdf

U.S. Census Bureau - Ongoing Recruitment on Monday, September 5,  2016, 8 am - 5 pm for Field Representative (100 P/T Temp openings).  Please contact the Recruitment Department  of the U.S. Census Bureau (212) 584-3495 or E-mail: new.york.recruit@census.gov regarding testing for position.  Location, dates, and times will be given upon applying.

Best Buy will present a recruitment on Thursday, September 8, 2016, 10:30 am - 5:30 pm for Retail Salesperson (10 P/T Seasonal openings these positions include Merchandising Specialist, Multi-Channel Sales Associate, Customer Service Specialist and Sales Consultant) at Best Buy Hiring Center, 610 Exterior Street, Bronx, NY 10451.  

Spanish Speaking Resume Writing  workshop on Thursday, September 8, 2016, 12:30 - 2:30 pm. at Flushing Workforce 1 Career Center, 138-60 Barclay Avenue, 2nd Floor, Flushing, NY 11355.  All interested jobseekers will learn to organize, revise and update resumes.

Basic Resume Writing  workshop on Thursday September 8, 2016, 1:30 - 3 pm at Brooklyn Workforce 1 Career Center, 250 Schermerhorn  Street,  Brooklyn, NY 11201.   Participants will learn the purpose of a resume, chronological and combination resumes and select the appropriate type for their specific needs.

Job Postings at New York City Workforce 1.  

Apprenticeship Opportunities in New York City.

Brooklyn Community  Board 14: Available jobs

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 September 4 become available.

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Edwidge Danticat is a MacArthur Fellow "Genius Grant" recipient and author, best known for her book Brother, I'm Dying. In 2010, she visited the Library to talk about her essay collection Create Dangerously: The Immigrant Artist at Work. For this week's episode of the New York Public Library Podcast, we're proud to present Edwidge Danticat discussing silence, bridging audiences, and participating in stories.

Danticat described returning to an image in her writing. She traced it back to a fascination with silence:

"I feel like that’s always changing, you know, these obsessions, and maybe they’re sort of different formulations of the same obsession, which is—I think it has a lot to do with separation, silence because, you know, for a lot of us, when you were kids growing up in a dictatorship, for example, and my time sort of overlapped, some, you know, some father, some son, you know the father and son Duvaliers, and there’s always, you know, this sort of this code of silence of things that couldn’t slip, so I’m intrigued by silence, silence that’s forced by outside and circumstances, but also you know I grew up with an uncle who had had throat surgery and who maneuvered around silence. He was a minister who couldn’t speak. So sort of the contradiction of that, so silence, I think separation is sort of how families reformulate themselves, and violence, I think this type of violence, too, and how, on some level, how certain people are victims, if you will, of it, or taken up in it or sacrificed in it, but this notion how others who could escape, you know, orphan themselves, and I think that’s why this image of this execution is such a reoccurring puzzle for me."

Danticat spoke of the way in which as a writer, one is often aware that even those with whom one is intimate cannot necessarily participate in one's work:

"Part of one of the clichés of the immigrant dilemma is that if the kids get supereducated, they’re alienated from their community. I’ve never felt that thing, and though I live in a different even country from many of my family members and so forth, so I’ve felt—I mean I feel the privilege of this back and forth, but there is this feeling.  I mean, I don’t think it’s—people often think with me it’s language because I write in English, but I think there’s a feeling that all people who write, for example, must feel this sense that a lot of people won’t be—a lot of people dear to you, you know, in my case, even in my family, won’t be able to participate in the story this particular way."

To Danticat, storytelling offers possibilities beyond the initial composition, narrative circling and morphing beyond the writer:

"There’s a writer like Jacques Roumain, who wrote a book called Masters of the Dew, and it’s interesting this whole journey that Masters of the Dew traveled, because, you know, it’s a novel set in the Haitian countryside by Jacques Roumain, a Haitian writer who was not from the countryside, and then Langston Hughes translated it into English, and then it was made into this radio play that aired on Radio Haiti, and people in the countryside then heard it, and it was if sort of this voice that had traveled through this writer had gone back, and they could recognize it and people named themselves—they named their children after the characters in the novel, which is, you know, I think the height of—it’s probably the greatest honor any writer can have. So there are these possibilities—I mean there are these bridges."

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

If you are among the many readers who read one of The New York Times top five fiction titles and want more of the same adventure or romance or thrills, we have some suggestions for you.

#1 Recommendations for readers who enjoyed A Great Reckoning by Louise Penny, more seriously well-written mysteries,

Surrender, New Yorkby Caleb Carr

City of Secretsby Stewart O’Nan

The Crossingby Michael Connelly

#2 Recommendations for readers who enjoyed The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins, more stories told from multiple perspectives:

And Then There Was One by Patricia Gussin

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

Fates & Furies by Lauren Groff

#3 Recommendations for readers who enjoyed The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman, more historical fiction with a strong sense of place:

Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin

The Sandcastle Girlsby Chris Bohjalian

#4 Recommendations for readers who enjoyed Rushing Waters by Danielle Steel, more novels featuring women and their interpersonal relationships:

The Ten Year Napby Meg Wolitzer

Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld

The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty

#5 Recommendations for readers who enjoyed The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead, more experimental fiction to make you think:

The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolaño

A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing by Eimear McBride

The Emigrants by W.G. Sebald

A request came into Ask NYPL, the Virtual Reference Service of The New York Public Library from The Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site of The National Park Service (that is celebrating its 100th Anniversary this year) for information on the competition for the design of Central Park in New York City: the most famous creation of Olmsted and his later partner Calvert Vaux.

The Central Park Commission of New York had acquired most of the property in central and northern Manhattan that would become Central Park but had not yet chosen a design for the Park. A competition was announced in the fall of 1857 with the first prize to be awarded in the spring of 1858 for the best plan. The holdings of The New York Public Library enable one to see both publicly (and behind the scenes) how this competition was conducted and the reasons why Olmsted and Vaux’s design for Central Park was the winning one.

The initial public proposal for “Plans for the Central Park” is reflected in a small classified advertisement in The New York Times of October 30, 1857 stating: “The Board of Commissioners of Central Park offer the following premiums for laying out the Park … For the first … $2000.” Topographical sketches and certain “particulars” could be obtained at the Board and “must be presented by the First Day of March, 1858.” The public was not apprised of the “particulars” specified for the plans. However, the General Research Division of the NYPL does hold the original: Documents of the Board of Commissioners of the Central Park for the year ending April 30, 1858 that includes: "Document No. 8. Friday, September 11, 1857” requiring that the total cost of the Plans not exceed the amount allocated by The New York State Legislature: "about $1,500,000" (like most public works in New York City, this was akin to the opening bid in a game of chance) and eight initial specifications that all plans submitted to the Board must conform to as well as the Minutes of the Board of Commissioners for 1858. However, further proceedings of the Board appeared in The New York Times of February 3, 1858 that added significant additional environmental and engineering specifications for the Central Park plans and as a consequence the Board extended the deadline for an additional 30 days: until April 1, 1858, as it was expected “many would be unable to complete them.” Olmsted and Vaux would deliver their plans to the Arsenal in Central Park so late on the night of March 31 that they had to leave them with the janitor.

Between late February and March 31, 1858, 35 plans (33 competing and two non-competing) for the design of Central Park were submitted. In fact, although certain authors on Central Park do not believe a record of the competing plans exists: the Microfilms Division of the NYPL does hold the full text of all these plans submitted as: Descriptions of plans for improvement of the Central Park and to fully comprehend why Olmsted’s plan was selected it is necessary to compare it to these others that were passed over. The Commissioners awarded First Prize to “Plan Number 33”: that of Olmsted and Vaux as announced on April 28, 1858 and officially recorded in The Second Annual Report of the Commissioners (1858). Plan Number 33 was sub-titled and would later be famously known as: “Greensward.”

Olmsted had started employment at Central Park in August, 1857 (barely a month before the Competition was announced) and commented: “It would have been difficult to find another body of land . . . upon the Island [with] . . . less of the desirable characteristics of a Park.” He worked under Egbert Viele, the Chief Engineer of the Park. Olmsted at first declined to enter the competition as he feared he would offend his superior whose design of 1856 had been accepted by a previous Park Board and who also planned to enter the 1857 competition. But when Viele contemptuously announced his indifference, Olmsted and Vaux entered the competition. Although party politics certainly played a role in the selection of Greensward (Olmsted’s plan received the votes of six Republicans but also one Democratic vote to win) it almost certainly also reflected recognition of the Commissioners of the merit of the Greensward plan.

Greensward demonstrated a remarkable degree of scope, research, foresight and detail that is simply unmatched in the other plans (the original Greensward plan is 35 pages and its “Particulars of Construction …” is 31 pages). Greensward noted that in every decennial United States Census from 1800 to 1850: “the city’s rate of increase has been found to be overrunning the rate previously established” and that the area of the City around the Park would soon be densely settled and land too costly if not impossible to obtain. This foresight would have consequences for Greensward. Central Park should have a green barrier of trees and shrubs on its perimeter to “plant out” the City in order to create a visual and auditory asylum for the citizens to enjoy. More significantly, the specifications required four transverse roads through the park to carry cross town traffic. However, Greensward (alone among the proposed plans) designed the transverse crossings in cuts below the surface of the ground in order that the Park’s more than 750 acres and 2.5 miles of space not be “broken up” into a series of compartmentalized parks and that the transverses not become: “crowded thoroughfares with nothing in common with the park.”

The specifications also included features that Olmsted and Vaux complied with although they ultimately foresaw a very different use. A “Parade Ground” was required but Olmsted (correctly) hoped it would ultimately become: “a great open common, a place where children may run about and play until they are tired, in nobody’s way and without danger of being run over or injured.” The specifications also required the emplacement of various “buildings and structures” but Greensward stated all buildings should be of “modest dimensions” and: “entirely subordinate to the main idea” of creating scenery. The border plantings, sunken transverses and dress grounds would then enable Olmsted and Vaux to concentrate on the landscape of the park with its carefully structured “circulation system” for pedestrians, riders and carriages that would enable those using one mode of movement to enjoy the scenery of the park (without interfering with the views of others).

Finally, Greensward reflects certain distinct tenets of Olmsted’s personal philosophy and these are reflected in The Papers of Frederick Law Olmsted that are held by the Milstein Division of U.S. History, Local History and Genealogy of the NYPL. Olmsted viewed the development of Central Park as a: “democratic development of the highest consequence” by which he meant that it would disprove the claims of some that it was useless to create parks open to all the citizens of New York City. Central Park, he hoped, would go far to disproving this: “fallacy of cowardly conservatism.” Later Olmsted and Vaux would successfully oppose the construction of imposing gates that they felt might deter common citizens from entering the Park. Olmsted even instructed the force of “Park Keepers” to treat all citizens (even those who committed crimes) with “gentlemanly respect.” In addition, Olmsted designed all the various sections and even the smallest nooks and crannies of the Park in accordance with his deeply held belief in the profound and “unconscious” interplay of sometimes “picturesque” but at other times “pastoral” scenery that he viewed as having a salubrious effect on the urban resident’s psyche. In fact, Greensward sought to facilitate the visitor’s immersion in what Olmsted would term: “unconscious—or indirect—recreation.”

After Greensward’s adoption and later additions, Olmsted and Vaux would have to constantly defend these and other defining features of the Park from attempted revisions by political appointees and cost cutters appointed to the Parks Commission. However, in the 18 months between May of 1858 and October of 1859 that Olmsted served as “Architect in Chief and Superintendent” (with Vaux as “Consulting Architect") he was able to bring the construction of the lower Park to virtual completion and laid the basis for the form of the upper Park by often working 18 hours a day to direct 3,800 men to drain, dig, blast, lay massive amounts of stone and earth and landscape the park. Olmsted requested some of this stone from ongoing City construction projects and also obtained “the liberty to take [vast amounts] of street manure” to fertilize the freshly planted trees and shrubs. Olmsted and then Vaux continued to work (but under ever greater political and financial constraints) until 1863. Olmsted would consult on the Park under various City administrations until the 1870s.

Olmsted later wrote of his role in Central Park: “It is impossible … to estimate the strength of my devotedness to the matter. There was no hope on earth that I would not have sacrificed to my desire to hold that position … A great deal of disappointed love … and downtrodden pride fastened itself to that passion.”

Recommending books by authors of color has always been a big priority of NYPL's Readers Services unit, where our job is to help connect people with the books they want and need.

A long-term debate recently heated up in the bookosphere about librarians’ responsibility to read diversely. That conversation highlighted our commitment to diverse recommendations and reignited our desire to help librarians and patrons alike find books by authors of color.

Below is a list of authors of color in a few popular genres. If you're looking to diversify your reading and/or book recommending, think of this list as a shortcut. It isn't even remotely complete or comprehensive, but it's a starting place for the next time someone asks for good science-fiction or you're in the mood for a mystery.

Keep reading, and don’t be discouraged. Diversifying your reading is totally doable. Becoming an expert on books, as the Book Riot essay suggests, is always a work in progress—and it's worthy work at that.

Have more suggestions? Add them in the comments!

Love Literary Fiction? Try...

• Cristina Henríquez
• Zora Neale Hurston
• Ha Jin
• Helen Oyeyemi
• Arundhati Roy

Love Memoirs? Try...

• Raquel Cepeda
• Pearl Cleage
• Maxine Hong Kingston
• Luis J. Rodriguez
• Esmerelda Santiago

Love Mysteries & Thrillers? Try...

• Tananarive Due
• Shamini Flint
• Gar Anthony Haywood
• Keigo Higashino
• Walter Mosley

Love Romance? Try...

• Brenda Jackson
• Jeannie Lin
• Elizabeth Reyes
• Nalini Singh
• Indu Sundaresan

Love Science Fiction & Fantasy? Try...

• Samit Basu
• Octavia Butler
• Sandra Cisneros
• N.K. Jemisin
• Nnedi Okorafor

Love Young Adult Books? Try...

• Kendare Blake
• Nalo Hopkinson
• Stacey Lee
• Adeline Yen Mah
• Gene Luen Yang

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Have trouble reading standard print? Many of these titles are available in formats for patrons with print disabilities.

Staff picks are chosen by NYPL staff members and are not intended to be comprehensive lists. We'd love to hear your ideas too, so leave a comment and tell us what you’d recommend. And check out our Staff Picks browse tool for more recommendations!

Is there a story in you that needs to be told, but you don't know how to get it out?  

You were able to get your story out on a manuscript... now what's next?

Are you a reader looking to discover your next exciting page-turner?

If any of the above describes you—this event is for you.  On October 8, 2016,  the Bronx Library Center will be joining  libraries across North America  in the Inaugural Indie Author Day—an event  designed to bring the local writing community together. The Indie Author Fair at the Bronx Library Center will occur on October 8, 2016, Saturday from 1-5 PM and  will feature a variety of authors from the Bronx and beyond.  

Here is the event plan for the day:

1-2 PM - Author presentations

2-3 PM - Live Webstream: 

Join industry leaders as they offer up guidance and insight to local writers.

Whether you’re new to the writing world or are a literary veteran, you know that there is much to be learned from people all across the industry. For the first time in a global panel presentation, leaders from the literary technology world, a librarian, a leader in review publications, publishing experts and writers will all come together to offer inspiration and advice to your local indie community.

Moderator:  Jon Fine, a First Amendment attorney, is best known in the publishing industry as the longtime Director of Author and Publisher Relations for Amazon. He left that position at the beginning of 2015 after almost a decade with the company, and now is consulting in professional online and traditional media and e-commerce, both in legal and business affairs.

Panelists:

Robin Cutler - she  began her career in publishing over 30 years ago and is currently the Director of IngramSpark.

Kiera Parrott - Reviews Director for School Library Journal and Library Journal.

Jim Blanton - Assistant Director of the Chesapeake Public Library, Virginia

L. Penelope -  Author of  Song of Blood & Stone,  which won the 2016 Self-Publishing eBook Award from the Black Caucus of the American Library Association.

3-5 PM - Author presentations continue

Some of the participating authors include:

(Bios and summaries provided by the authors)

Annette Libeskind Berkovits

Annette Libeskind Berkovits was born in Kyrgyzstan and grew up in postwar Poland and the fledgling state of Israel before coming to America at age sixteen. In her three-decade career with the Wildlife Conservation Society in New York, she spearheaded the institution’s nationwide and worldwide science education programs. The National Science Foundation has recognized her outstanding leadership in the field. Now retired, she is pursuing her life-long love of writing. 

Her first memoir, In the Unlikeliest of Places, a story of her remarkable father’s survival, was published by Wilfrid Laurier University Press in September 2014. Berkovits has completed two other non-fiction manuscripts and is working on a poetry collection as well as a novel.

Rebecca Brooks

Rebecca Brooks lives in New York City in an apartment filled with books. She received a PhD in English but decided it was more fun to write books than write about them.

She has backpacked alone through India and Brazil, traveled by cargo boat down the Amazon River, climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, explored ice caves in Peru, trekked to the source of the Ganges, and sunbathed in Burma, but she always likes coming home to a cold beer and her hot husband in the Bronx.

Rebecca is the author of Above All, How to Fall, and Make Me Stay, sexy romance novels about independent women who love to travel and the rugged, outdoorsy men they fall for.

Valencia Clay

Valencia D. Clay is a teacher of Humanities in Harlem, NY. She is a co-founder of the Flourishing Blossoms Society for Girls, Inc. and the author of Soundless Cries Don't Lead to Healing. Through social media and her blog, ValenciasGarden.com, she is leading our generation to empower themselves through literacy and learning.

Soundless Cries Don't Lead to Healing: A Critical Thinking Guide to Cultural Consciousness pushes the reader to be honest with who they are and how their personal experiences have shaped their perceptions of others. It is a resource for analyzing current events related to social justice, race, equity, and other provocative topics that one may find themselves in too much of a perplexed state of silence to discuss. It includes tools for self-reflection, inquiry, and engaging in productive discourse.

Marion Cuba

Marion Cuba worked as a writer in advertising, promotion, and nonprofit fundraising. She served as editor of the New York Chapter Hadassah Newsletter. And, for many years, she was an Adult Literacy Tutor. She attended Brandeis University and the University of Michigan, earning a degree in English Literature.

Cuba first learned about the Shanghai Ghetto nine years ago on a trip to China. Born Marion Liniado, she is half-Sephardic (Jews who fled the Spanish Inquisition to such countries as Turkey, Iraq, and Syria). On a ferry bound for Hong Kong, she overheard a conversation about a man named Kadoorie—a name she recognized as Sephardic—who had lived in Shanghai with several other families during World War II. She was fascinated, and did further research upon returning home.  "What ignited me," says Cuba, "was the fateful reason that these 20,000 people happened to be given refuge in this unlikely place." With Hitler having announced the Jews stateless, there was this one haven that would take them without a visa. "I knew I had to explore this in a novel."

Barbara Donsky

When Barbara's mother disappears, no one tells the young girl that her mother has died. Her father is intent upon erasing any memory of his dead wife. Forced to keep the truth of her mother’s existence from her younger brother, Barbara struggles to keep from being crushed under the weight of family secrets as she comes of age and strives to educate herself despite her father’s stance against women's education. A coming-of-age tale of loss and resilience, the memoir shows the healing power of literature to offer hope where there is little.  

Barbara Donsky was honored as ‘Woman of the Year’ by the Boys and Girls Club for her 'public-spirited contributions advancing the general welfare of the community.’ She is working with the National Alliance for Grieving Children to donate a portion of the proceeds from her book sales. She lives in Manhattan.

Martha E. Hughes

M.E. Hughes has guided and edited a small army of writers since receiving her MFA in creative writing from Bennington College. In 1991, she founded the nonprofit Peripatetic Writing Workshop, Inc. She has taught creative writing at New York University for many years and is also a freelance book doctor/editor. She has published two nonfiction books and the novel, Precious In His Sight (Viking Penguin). 

Letting Go is a fascinating collection of life stories told by 30 authors from seven countries. They write of their attempts to move beyond crippling grief, free themselves of haunting memories, get out from under abusive relationships. They tell of their struggles—often painful, sometimes funny—to let go of everything from a fear of horses, to old family homes, and piles of books and papers.  The essays range in tone from comedic to the deeply moving and serious, and the subjects are varied—from letting go of trying to be the "perfect mother," to letting go of early sexual abuse. Others wrote about trying to let go of spouses or children because of divorce or death or children simply growing up and leaving home.

David Lamb

This retelling of A Christmas Carol has nothing to do with the holidays: Ebenezer Scrooge has been re-cast Scrooʝe Ebonyzer, music's biggest superstar and biggest jerk—handsome, brilliant, devious, and obsessed. Belle is a take-no-prisoners legal shark whose beauty causes traffic accidents as she stylishly zips through Manhattan. They never imagined being music's most powerful couple, but that's exactly what happened when Belle fell head over heels and gave the biggest nerd on her campus the ultimate makeover—only to realize too late she'd created a chart topping monster with an unstoppable ego. Now it's been three years since they've spoken, but tonight at Hollywood's biggest red carpet event, they'll be given a second chance. Will Scrooʝe listen to the ghostly advice of Marley, his best friend who (until his untimely drowning at a Brazilian poolside birthday bash) was as big a star as Scrooʝe? Will he finally do right by Cratchit, a genius comedian, whom Scrooʝe invariably rips off every chance he gets? And most important of all—will Belle even give him a chance? Masterfully blending heart, soul, bling and romance, this fresh satire about race, class, and celebrity worship will have readers laughing, thinking, and enjoying themselves from the first page to the last, all year round.

Like Charles Dickens, DAVID LAMB grew up a poor boy in the big city who discovered that the pen really is mightier than the sword. Growing up in New York City, David went on to attend graduate school at Princeton University and NYU School of Law. While working as a lawyer by day, at night David transformed into a writer and eventually wrote and produced the award-winning hit off-Broadway play "Platanos Y Collard Greens."

Carmen D. Lucca

Born in Puerto Rico,Carmen D. Lucca is a bilingual poet, translator of the first collection of Julia de Burgos’poetry. Ms. Lucca, whose poetry has been published in Ireland, Latin America, Puerto Rico and the United States, is listed in the the Directory of American Poets & Writers. Her awards include the Palma Julia de Burgos, a Silver Medal from the Academie des Arts, Sciences et Lettres, Paris, France, a 108th Wing Essential Piece for her contribution to the National Hispanic Heritage Month events honoring Julia de Burgos at McGuire Air Base, and a Disney Teacher Award Nomination. Ms. Lucca’s most recent books are The Sunset Watcher, a collection of poetic meditations based on her observations of life andThe Diary of Julia de Burgos and Other Simple Truths, a book based on research and investigation of the poet’s true biography. The book aims to shatter myths, legends and slander built around the life of Julia de Burgos.

Lavie Margolin 

Lavie Margolin is the author of Winning Answers to 500 Interview Questions, an Amazon Kindle #1 Best Seller for Job Interviewing. Lavie holds a B.S. degree in Marketing from Yeshiva University, and an MA in adult learning from SUNY Empire State. He’s regularly quoted in mainstream media, having been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and CNN.com. Lavie uses his background in marketing and adult learning, his expert knowledge of LinkedIn and over a decade of experience in career coaching to help individuals and businesses identify and reach their goals.

Winning Answers to 500 Interview Questions is a comprehensive resource to job interviewing success. It not only features nearly any question that you can be asked on an interview but insight into why the question is being asked as well as a sample answer for each question.

Stephen Morris

With degrees in medieval history and theology from Yale and St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Academy, Stephen Morris brings his extensive knowledge and meticulous research in medieval magical practices to all his historical-urban fantasy writing. In each of his novels, the magical and fantastic elements are all drawn from authentic occult beliefs and practices from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance or from local legends and folklore. 

"LIBAHUNT!" Alexei breaks the terms of the wolf-magic he inherited from his grandfather and loses the ability to control the shapeshifting. His grandfather's magical wolf-pelt was meant to protect their rural village in 1880s Estonia by fighting the terrible storms in the sky but instead, it drives Alexei to kill, slaughtering his neighbors, his friends —even his family. Heartbroken, Alexei flees his home in search of an enchanter to free him from this hideous curse. Wandering through Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Bohemia, he encounters the Master of Wolves, who forces Alexei to terrorize and murder the local farmers, and the infamous Frau Bertha who traps all those who anger her by turning them into wolves. Will Alexei find a sorceror who can free him?

September is Library Card Sign-Up Month! It couldn't be easier to get your free NYPL library card and take advantage of all the amazing resources it provides. Residents of New York City can apply in person for a New York Public Library card or renew at an NYPL location near you, and residents of New York State who live outside New York City can apply by mail. Learn more about applying for a card. For details on how to renew an expired card, click here.

What can you do with an NYPL library card?

• Browse, borrow, and read more than 300,000 e-books instantly on your phone with SimplyE
• Learn 71 different languages with Mango Languages (or their app!)
• Read over 2,000 newspapers (U.S. and international) with PressReader (or their app!)
• Read current, full-color issues of popular magazines with Academic Search Premier and PressReader 
• Get ready for the TASC, GRE, and SAT exams with prep materials and practice tests from LearningExpress Library
• Learn something new with over 3,000 online classes and over 130,000 streaming videos from Lynda
• Access hundreds of research databases from home

So stop by your local NYPL branch today or apply online if you're a New York State resident and grab your shiny new library card!

Fiber artist, designer, and cultural activist Xenobia Bailey has a favorite institution where she goes for inspiration: the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. With its wide range of original documents, Xenobia says it provides a bird's eye view of the country for use in her work. But beyond the direct artistic value she derives from the Schomburg, Xenobia values the center as a virtual teacher or mentor. She recommends it to others, whether teachers, students, or politicians, to help plan their future.

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.

Like, share, and watch more Library Stories on Facebook or YouTube.

Banned Books Week annually celebrates the freedom to read. Highlighting the value of free and open access to information, Banned Books Week brings together librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types in shared support of the freedom to seek, to publish, to read, and to express ideas. The Library is hosting a series of events September 25-October 1 celebrating the freedom to read with some of your favorite children's authors! 

• Sun September 25: Author Event with Gene Luen Yang 
• Wed September 28: Tough Topics in Middle Grade: Author Panel 
• Thurs September 29: Stranger Things in Middle Grade: Author Panel (at Brooklyn Public Library) 
• Sat October 1: Author Event with Katherine Paterson 

Reading Without Walls: Author Event with Gene Luen Yang (and special guest Walkaround Grover!)

Join the New York Public Library in partnership with Sesame Workshop (the nonprofit educational organization behind Sesame Street!) on Sunday September 25 from 10:30 AM-12 PM (doors open at 10:15 AM), as we welcome the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, Gene Luen Yang, joined by his furry friend, Sesame Street’s Walkaround Grover, to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the Sesame Street classic storybook,The Monster at the End of this Book. Yang will read aloud this time-honored tale (first published in 1971 by Little Golden Books) and will discuss his 'Reading Without Walls' initiative, which encourages readers to explore books of diverse voices, genres, and formats. 

This ticketed event is free and open to the public. Registration required. 

Tough Topics in Middle Grade: Author Panel 

Presented in partnership with iLoveMG please welcome the following guests* to the library Wednesday September 28 from 6-8 PM: 

• Paul Griffin: When Friendship Followed Me Home
• James Howe: The Misfits series 
• Kathleen Lane: The Best Worst Thing
• Nora Raleigh Baskin: Nine, Ten: A September 11 Story
• Rita Williams-Garcia: Gaither Sisters series (One Crazy Summer, P.S. Be Eleven, Gone Crazy in Alabama) 

With special Guest Moderator author Phil Bildner.

*Author Panel subject to change due to author availability 

This ticketed event is free and open to the public. Registration recommended. 

Stranger Things in Middle Grade Author Panel (at Brooklyn Public Library) 

Presented in partnership with iLoveMG please welcome the following guests* to the library Thursday September 29 from 6-8 PM

• Tracy Baptiste: The Jumbies 
• Kelly Barnhill: The Girl Who Drank the Moon 
• Max Brallier The Last Kids on Earth series
• G.D. Falksen: The Transatlantic Conspiracy
• Chris Gabenstein: Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library and Mr. Lemoncello’s Library Olympics
• Doogie Homer: Kid Legend series (Kid Presidents, Kid Athletes, and Kid Artists) 

With Moderator Christopher Lassen from the Brooklyn Public Library and New York Public Library.

*Author Panel subject to change due to author availability 

This ticketed event is free and open to the public. For more information visit: https://goo.gl/iLW2ND 

The Great Gilly Hopkins: Author Event with Katherine Paterson 

Join the New York Public Library Saturday October 1 from 2-3 PM as we welcome Katherine Paterson and her sons, David and John, to discuss Ms. Paterson's enduring young adult classic THE GREAT GILLY HOPKINS and new feature film version of THE GREAT GILLY HOPKINS debuting in theaters and On Demand October 7. 

This ticketed event is free and open to the public. Registration recommended. 

Flyer

Sirena [perevod s angliĭskogo Iriny Kolesnikovoĭ] Сирена

[перевод с английского Ирины Колесниковой]

Cass Kiera,  Кира Касс.

Ей говорили, что она смертельно опасна для людей! Ей внушали, что она оружие! Прекрасное оружие. Она постоянно слышала: «Ты не должна совершать поступков, которые могут выдать нашу тайну. Ты не должна завязывать близких отношений с людьми. Ты можешь общаться только с нами, избранными. Да, ты будешь одинока, но потом тебя ждет великая награда. Послушание и терпение – это путь, по которому уже прошли сотни прекрасных девушек, ставшими сиренами»…  (sentrumbookstore.com)

Wine folly

Вино: практический путеводитель/ Джастин Хэммек

[перевод с английского Екатерины Егоровой]

Madeline Puckette, Мадлен Пакетт.

О ВИНЕ БЕЗ СНОБИЗМА. Идеальный бумажный путеводитель по вину для эпохи цифровых технологий. Ясный, живой, без излишней заумности.

- БАЗОВЫЕ СВЕДЕНИЯ О ВИНЕ

- ОПИСАНИЕ 55 ОСНОВНЫХ ВИН

- СОВЕТЫ ПО ГАРМОНИЧНОМУ СОЧЕТАНИЮ ЕДЫ И ВИНА

- 20 ГЕОГРАФИЧЕСКИХ КАРТ ГЛАВНЫХ ВИННЫХ РЕГИОНОВ. (sentrumbookstore.com)

Kak i︠a︡ voeval s Rossieĭ/ Uinston Cherchilʹ

[perevod s angliĭskogo] Как я воевал с Россией

[перевод с английского]

Winston Churchill, Уинстон Черчиль.

Уинстон Черчилль – «имя Англии» XX века, являлся самым ярким представителем английской политики в двадцатом столетии. Одним из ее направлений была борьба против России с целью не допустить нашу страну в число великих держав или, по крайней мере, ослабить русское влияние в мире. В своих мемуарах У. Черчилль достаточно полно и откровенно описал все стороны этой антирусской деятельности. Двуличная позиция Англии в отношениях с Россией в годы Первой мировой войны, откровенно враждебное отношение к РСФСР и СССР, военные и шпионские операции против советской державы в 1920-е - 1930-е гг., попытки направить первый германский удар на Советский Союз - все это нашло отражение в книге У. Черчилля, представленной вашему вниманию. Кроме того, в ней рассказывается о политике Черчилля в годы Второй мировой войны, когда союзническая помощь Советскому Союзу сопровождалась стремлением затянуть военные действия на Восточном фронте, чтобы обескровить СССР. Наконец, здесь говорится о начале 'холодной войны', в которой У. Черчилль сыграл ведущую роль. Книга содержит множество интересных подробностей, неожиданных фактов, значимых деталей от человека, входившего в высшие круги английского «истеблишмента». (sentrumbookstore.com)

"Ot ott︠s︡a ne otrekai︠u︡sʹ!": zapreshchennye memuary syna vozhdi︠a︡/ "От отца не отрекаюсь!": запрещенные мемуары сына вождя/

Vasiliĭ Stalin,Василий Сталин.

в китайское посольство с информацией об отравлении отца и просьбой о политическом убежище. Вероятно, таким образом эти сенсационные мемуары и оказались в Пекине, где были изданы уже после гибели Василия Сталина. Теперь эта книга, наконец, возвращается к отечественному читателю. Это – личные дневники «сталинского сокола», принявшего неравный бой за свои идеалы.  Это – последняя исповедь любимого сына Вождя, который оказался достоин своего великого отца.  (knigosvet.com)

T︠S︡eĭlon: roman 

Цейлон : роман

I︠U︡riĭ Buĭda,  Юрий Буйда.

Заядлый путешественник Ховский, впечатленный островом Цейлон, по возвращении на родину пытается создать его подобие. Но среднерусский климат не подходит для пальм и оголенных танцовщиц. Мечта о рае на земле заканчивается печально: хозяин повешен, Цейлон сожжен. На его фундаменте возникают сначала приют для душевнобольных, потом тюрьма, а в 1944 – оборонный завод, который возглавляет один из представителей старинного русского семейства – Андрей Трофимович Черепнин. Он, как и его предшественники, тоже служит мечте. Но знает: если ее не держать в ежовых рукавицах, она может разнести вдребезги всё и вся, как это случалось не раз в истории России. Свое отношение к мечте должен определить и внук Черепнина, подступивший к познанию тайн своей семьи и родины.  (sentrumbookstore.com)

These titles have been selected by Irina Tkach, Supervising Librarian, BookOps.

Flyer

Ni zhao liang le wo de shi jie  

你照亮了我的世界 / 虹影著.

Ying Hong, 虹影

18个动人心弦的故事，直击内心深处的黑暗与爱。锋利的解剖、勇敢的坦陈，因为深挚的爱恋，因为无论对自己还是对世界还怀有美好的期待。在残酷的世界里，我们不敢爱，我们需要爱，我们需要救赎。出身于脏污现实的人，挣扎求生，作孽而又向善，我们都和书中那些任务一样，有着黑暗的记忆，然而，又有谁，能照亮你的世界你的心灵？ (dangdang.com)

Shen zhai huo gua 

深宅活寡 / 许开祯著

Kaizhen Xu. 许开祯,

菜子沟下河院是一座拥有百年历史的老宅院，东家庄地为给命悬一线的痴傻儿子治病，决计让儿子命旺娶二十二岁的姑娘灯芯进来“冲喜”。　　在迎亲途中，阴险歹毒的管家六根想方设法想要害死新娘，让“喜”冲不成，让庄地唯一的儿子命旺一命呜呼，他好趁机吞并下河院偌大的家业。　　却不料，新娘子灯芯化险为夷，顺顺利利嫁入下河院，更是用自己雷厉风行的手段，戳穿了管家六根一系列的阴谋……  (dangdang.com)

Shi jing: yue gu lao, yue mei hao. Huan xing xian dai ren chen shui de shi xing he qing gan 

诗经 : 越古老, 越美好·唤醒现代人沉睡的诗性和情感 / 曲黎敏 著

Limin Qu. 曲黎敏,

中国自古就是诗教，诗教是美育，远比德育重要。因为美育源于天性，用美育诗教代替宗教，是中国之圣教。诗教针对的是人心的教化，礼教针对的是人行为的教化。诗教不是背诗，而是要培养诗意的心、诗意的眼——有用之知识，是让你活着；无用之诗，是让你活得美。针对中华民族这个奇特的族群及这个族群人性的复杂性，圣人开出的药方不是宗教，不是哲学，不是政治，而是——诗教。  (dangdang.com)

Cui lou yin / Hudie (Seba) zhu 翠樓吟/ 蝴蝶 (Seba) 著

Hudie,  蝴蝶,

因為嫁妝裡意外發現的頂級玉脈，身兼寡婦與下堂婦的徐二娘，成了讓娘家和婆家爭搶的人物，但商議後的結果竟是將她關在閨望樓，雙方輪流探勘一年。平靜無波的枯燥日子，卻被某夜裡闖入的宮廷暗探打破，以食會友的兩人，透過美食交流漸成知己──吃得下飯，人生就沒過不去的檻。但是，想要跨出閨望樓，這檻就有點難了……  (kingstone.com.tw)

Chao yue dao guo si wei : Li Guangyao de jian guo lu yu liang an qing = LKY whom I knew 

超越島國思維 : 李光耀的建國路與兩岸情 =

LKY whom I knew / 陳加昌著

Chen Jiachang. 陳加昌,.

李光耀傑出可怕，心高氣傲，很有心機，有一口難以應付的辯才，是一個冷靜而有智慧的律師與政治家。李光耀是一個百分之百為新加坡而生，為新加坡而死的人。新加坡的利益永遠是他的第一考慮，他對新加坡的眷戀與熱愛，借用美國學者杭亭頓的話，如果有人詆毀新加坡，他一定從墳墓裡跳出來維護。我個人認為，半世紀以來能贏得世界各國尊敬或推崇的華人政治人物，恐怕只有大陸的鄧小平與新加坡的李光耀。鄧是藉著中國以及中國人的實力，而獲致尊敬。而李光耀則是憑其個人的知識、智慧，遠見與治國經驗而贏得世人的尊敬。(kingstone.com.tw)

These titles have been selected by Maria Fung.

Penny has definite ideas about gender roles, dating, school play misadventures and life in general. She shares her thoughts about these things in her blog under the alias, Girl Online. Anytime something momentous happens in her life, she chronicles the events online.

Traveling to New York from the United Kingdom with her wedding-dress designer mother and family definitely qualified as a newsworthy event. Penny was taken with the glamour and sophistication of the Big Apple, although she did notice the noise and craziness of the biggest city in America. Just when she thought the holidays could not get better, she met Noah, the caterer's grandson. She is lucky to feel an awesome, instant connection with him, which she discusses with her fans. The supportive responses to her blog both buoy her spirits and encourage her to continue her life pursuits. 

Girl Online by Zoe Sugg, 2014

I liked seeing a British perspective of New York City.

• Zoe Sugg's web site
• Books about blogs

Bronx Love: Stories of Change

Attention Bronx locals! (And natives, and transplants!)

The workshop will be held on Friday, October 21, and Saturday, October 22, at NYPL’s Hunts Point branch. For more information about the workshop, and apply to participate.

Welcome to The Librarian Is In, The New York Public Library's podcast about books, culture, and what to read next.

Subscribe on iTunes | Get it on Google Play

Eeyore, Tigger, Kanga, and Roo join Frank and Gwen in the studio this week... just kidding. But we have the next best thing: Michael Inman, curator of NYPL's Rare Book Division, who tells us about the restoration of the Library's historic Winnie-the-Pooh dolls. Plus: children's and YA books galore, and queens of all kinds.

What We're Reading Now

Never Missing, Never Found by Amanda Panitch

I'm Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid

The Waves by Virginia Woolf 

Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake and more of her books, likeAnna Dressed in Blood

RuPaul's Drag Race(and related books at the Library!)

The Amazing Machines picture books by Tony Mitton and Ant Parker

Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk

Guest Star

Michael Inman, curator of NYPL's Rare Book Division

News about the recent restoration of the original Winnie-the-Pooh dolls

Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff

Self-Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson 

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

Anything but Books

Michael: Thelonius Monk on Blue Note Records

Frank: Visiting the 42nd Street Library and the reopening of the Rose Main Reading Room

Gwen: Amazon Prime streaming music

Thanks for listening! Have you rated us on iTunes yet? Would you consider doing it now?

Find us online @NYPLRecommends, the Bibliofile blog, and nypl.org. Or email us at recommendations@nypl.org!

During the week, it can be tough to stay on top of everything. On Fridays, though, we suggest kicking back to catch up on all the delightful literary reading the internet has to offer. Don’t have the time to hunt for good reads? Never fear. We’ve rounded up the best bookish reading of the week for you.

We Read...

Guides to librarians' favorite hobbies besides reading. Francophiles can follow the recipe for a French party and aspiring Stars Hollow inhabitants can get on the ultimate Gilmore Girls reading list.  Kid crafts go beyond macaroni jewelry with Frida Kahlo projects and Geoff Dyer found perhaps the picture of Jack Kerouac.The only thing that could improve it would be Kerouac's signature, like this one from Leo Tolstoy. The Rose Main Reading Room will be reopening October 5. It's about as exciting to us as the revelations of the National Book Awards longlist announcement or that of the Man Booker shortlist. 

Stereogranimator Friday Feels

 
GIF made with the NYPL Labs Stereogranimator

TGIF

No need to get up! Join our librarians from the home, office, playground — wherever you have internet access — for book recs on Twitter by following our handle @NYPLrecommends from 10 AM to 11 AM every Friday. Or, you can check NYPL Recommends any day of the week for more suggestions. 

Back to school and back to books! Tell us a book you liked & we'll recommend another. #FridayReads#TheLibrarianIsInpic.twitter.com/xjzswajX8V

— NYPL Recommends (@NYPLRecommends) September 9, 2016

What did you read?

If you read something fantastic this week, share with our community of readers in the comment section below.

September 19 marks the birthday of Hermione Granger, arguably the finest character in the Harry Potter books, who saves the day countless times with her sharp intellect and careful research.

Hermione is smart, strong, determined, fierce. She’s also sensitive and compassionate, with a real sense of social justice. And she's flawed: She can be a bit of a bossy know-it-all, which just makes us love her more. Author J.K. Rowling called her “me, near enough”—Rowling’s own stand-in in the magical world she created.

There can only ever be one Hermione, but these other brainy, brave heroines from young-adult and middle-grade fiction remind us of her in some important ways.

Can you think of more Hermione-like characters? Let us know in the comments.

Jo March from Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

We’ll get the obvious one out of the way first. Jo is whip-smart, and she has more tenacity than all her sisters combined.

Mary Anne Spier from The Babysitters Club series by Ann M. Martin

She was technically the secretary of the club, but Mary Anne is the guiding voice of reason. She’s responsible, empathetic, and great in a crisis. One of the books is even titled Mary Anne Saves the Day, because of course she does.

Janae from the Blacktop series by LJ Alonge

Janae is like Hermione for basketball, except quieter (but she makes the honor roll, too). She works incredibly hard and plays through tremendous adversity… a Gryffindor if ever there was one.

Annabeth Chase from the Percy Jacksonseries by Rick Riordan

How could the daughter of Athena be anything but wise and brave?

Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins

Katniss is smarter and heartier than most of her male counterparts, and she gets the spotlight that Hermione’s always deserved.

Jen from the Lumberjanes series by Noelle Stevenson and co.

As the counselor in charge of a group of unruly campers, responsible Jen is constantly struggling to keep the girls safe—and help them learn some obscure facts about botany while she’s at it.

Violet Baudelaire from A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket

Violet has a huge vocabulary, and she can be a bit bossy. She loves gadgets and invents things to help herself and her siblings puzzle out mysteries; we’d love to see what she could do with a time-turner.

Penelope Bunce from Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

Brainy, brave, bookish, best friends with a Chosen One who’s destined to save the magical world (and who isn’t as good at magic as she is, and who desperately needs her help).

Harriet from Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh

Intense and sometimes isolated from her peers, Harriet has Hermione’s ability to examine things intently and study situations closely.

Matilda from Matilda by Roald Dahl

She’s not as rule-abiding as Hermione, but Matilda’s love of books and fighting spirit is the epitome of the brains-and-bravery combo.

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Have trouble reading standard print? Many of these titles are available in formats for patrons with print disabilities.

Staff picks are chosen by NYPL staff members and are not intended to be comprehensive lists. We'd love to hear your ideas too, so leave a comment and tell us what you’d recommend. And check out our Staff Picks browse tool for more recommendations!

¡Septiembre es el Mes de inscripción para tarjetas de la biblioteca!

Es muy fácil obtener su tarjeta gratuita de la Biblioteca Pública de Nueva York (NYPL por sus siglas en inglés) y aprovechar todos los increíbles recursos que ésta le proporciona. Los residentes de la ciudad de Nueva York pueden aplicar por una tarjeta o renovar sus tarjetas en persona en cualquiera de nuestras sucursales; residentes del estado de Nueva York, que viven fuera de la ciudad de Nueva York, pueden hacer su solicitud por correo.

¿Qué puede hacer con su tarjeta de Biblioteca de NYPL?

• Explorar, tomar prestados, y leer más de 300.000 libros electrónicos al instante en su teléfono con SimplyE
• Aprender 71 idiomas diferentes con Mango Languages (o con su app!)
• Leer más de 2,000 periódicos (de los Estados Unidos e internacionales) con PressReader (o con su app!)
• Leer ediciones actuales, completas y a todo color de revistas populares con Academic Search Premier and PressReader
• Prepararse para los exámenes de TASC, GRE, SAT con materiales de preparación y exámenes de práctica de LearningExpress Library
• Aprender algo nuevo, con las más de 3.000 clases en línea y más de 130.000 vídeos en línea de Lynda
• Leer libros animados español con sus niños en la Biblioteca TumbleBooks
• Acceder a cientos de bases de datos de investigación desde su casa
• ¡Y muchas cosas más!

Así que visite su sucursal de la Biblioteca más cercana hoy, o solicítela en línea si reside en el estado de Nueva York, y obtenga su tarjeta de la biblioteca!

Enrollment Now Open - SAGEWorks Boot Camp, Monday, September 19 - September 24, 2016, 8 - 9 am at TheSAGE Center, 305 7th  Avenue, New York, NY 10001.  This 2 week training takes place from Monday - Friday, 10/24/16 - 11/4/16, 9:30 am - 2:00 pm. SAGEWorks assists people 40 years and older in learning relevant, cutting-edge job search skills in a LGBT-friendly environment.

U.S. Census Bureau - Ongoing Recruitment on Monday, September 19,  2016, 8 am - 5 pm for Field Representative (100 P/T Temp openings).  Please contact the Recruitment Department  of the U.S. Census Bureau (212) 584-3495 or E-mail: new.york.recruit@census.gov regarding testing for position.  Location, dates, and times will be given upon applying.

The Center's LGBT Career Fair: TGNC Career Ready Group  on Monday, September 19, 2016, 3:30 - 5 pm at The Center,  208 W 13th Street, New York, NY 10011.  Connect with a community of TGNC peers for support, skills building and more during this weekly drop-in group.

The Center's LGBT Career Fair: Career Prep Foundations on Monday, September 19, 2016, 4 - 6 pm at The Center, 208 W 13th Street, New York, NY 10011. The Center Services Computer Lab will host free, open hours with career coaches on hand to offer one-on-one support to enhance your career portfolio, including resumes, cover letters, online profiles, mock interview prep and more.

Garrison Protective Services, Inc. will present a recruitment on Tuesday, September 20, 2016, 9:30 am - 4 pm, for Security Guards (10 F/T & P/T openings), at Flushing Workforce 1 Career Center, 138 - 60 Barclay Avenue, 2nd Floor, Flushing, NY 11355. By appointment only.

The  Center's LGBT Career Fair: Getting a Job the "American " Way: Resume Writing  for LGBT Immigrants on Tuesday, September 20, 2016, 6 - 7 pm, at The Center, 208 W 13th Street, New York, NY 10011.  This Resume Writing workshop blends writing skills and cultural competency in one, taking into account the specifics of American culture when applying for jobs in the U.S.

Retail Sales Job Fair on Wednesday, September 21, 2016, 10 am - 2 pm ,  for Sales Associates, Sales Managers, Customer Service, Cashiers, Stock Associates, and Shift Leaders, at New York State Department of Labor, 250 Schermerhorn Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201.  Participating Businesses: Bob's Discount Furniture , New York & Company, Duane Reade.

Bronx Library Center's 6th Annual Job Expo  on Wednesday, September 21, 2016, 11 am - 4 pm at the Bronx Library Center - Concourse Level, 310 East Kingsbridge Road, Bronx, NY 10458. For all interested jobseekers to meet with over 40 employers.

Basic Resume Writing  workshop on Wednesday September 21, 2016, 1:30 - 3 pm at Brooklyn Workforce 1 Career Center, 250 Schermerhorn  Street,  Brooklyn, NY 11201.   Participants will learn the purpose of a resume, chronological and combination resumes and select the appropriate type for their specific needs.

The Center's LGBT Career Fair: TGNC on the Job: A Panel Discussion on Wednesday, September 21, 2016, 6 - 8 pm at The Center, 208 W 13th Street, New York, NY 10011.   A  panel of out trans and gender nonconforming community members will share their experiences in this panel discussion.

Spanish Speaking Resume Writing  workshop on Thursday, September 22, 2016, 12:30 - 2:30 pm. at Flushing Workforce 1 Career Center, 138-60 Barclay Avenue, 2nd Floor, Flushing, NY 11355.  All interested jobseekers will learn to organize, revise and update resumes.

The Center's LGBT Career  Fair:  LGBT Adult Education Resource Fair on Thursday, September 22,  2016, 4 - 7 pm at The Center, 208 W 13th Street, New York, NY 10011.   At this Education Resource Fair, educational providers will share resources about community college programs, computer skills training, vocational training and certification, ESL classes, financial aid and more.

The Center's LGBT Career Fair: NYU Information Session: Accommodating Generations in Employment (AGE) on Thursday, September 22, 2016, 4:15 - 5:15 pm at The Center, 208 W 13th Street, New York,  NY 10011.  In this information session, participants will be provided with an introduction to current research on aging and the increasingly intergenerational workforce. 

The Center's LGBT Career Fair:  Disabled and Working: A Discussion of ACCES - VR Resources and Disclosure on Thursday, September 22, 2016, 5:45 - 6:45 pm, at The Center, 208 W 13th Street, New York, NY 10011.  This workshop will provide an overview of services available for disabled job seekers in New York City, as well as a discussion....

MTA New York City Transit will present a recruitment on Saturday, September 24, 2016, 9 am - 2 pm for Elevator & Escalator Mechanics, Heating & Air Conditioning Technicians, Ventilation & Drainage Mechanics, Electricians, Electronic Equipment, Technicians, Sheet Metal (Tinsmith), Masons, Heavy Duty Electro-Mechanics, Aircraft Mechanics, at MTA New York Transit, 180 Livingstone Street, 1st Floor Lobby, Brooklyn, NY 11201.

Job Postings at New York City Workforce 1.  

Apprenticeship Opportunities in New York City.

Brooklyn Community  Board 14: Available jobs

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 September 19 become available.