The end of the year is almost upon us, and with it comes the usual slew of best-of lists for you to base your gift-giving decisions around. This year, instead of coming up with another top-ten list, (there are plenty of those), we decided to let the experts (aka the staff at our favorite bookstores) do the dirty work instead. So without further ado, we present the best books of 2011, according to the people who know best.
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Theresa (Harry Potter devotee—she owns several wands—and Volunteer Coordinator):
Charlotte (Volunteer Program Manager):
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Results tagged “books”
Staff Picks: The Best Books Of 2011
Staff Picks: Powerhouse Arena Tells You What To Read
Welcome to our column Staff Picks, in which we ask the staffers at our favorite book, music, and movie stores around to town to share with us what they're reading, listening to, and watching this week. We figure they're good people to ask. Today we're checking in with the staff at Dumbo's eye-catching independent bookstore/gallery/venue Powerhouse Arena to find out what they've been dog-earing lately.
Adorable Mini Library Pops Up In Williamsburg
Yes, sometimes Williamsburg is so twee it borders on nausea-inducing, but every once in a while, a homegrown project pops up in the neighborhood that's completely adorable without making you feel sick. The K.I.D.S Corner Library is one of those projects.
Staff Picks: Shakespeare & Co. Advises What Thou Must Readeth
Welcome to our column Staff Picks, in which we ask the staffers at our favorite book, music, and movie stores around to town to share with us what they're reading, listening to, and watching this week. We figure they're good people to ask. Today we're checking in with the staff at Shakespeare & Co. Booksellers in Greenwich Village to find out which tomes tickle their fancy.
Alec Baldwin, Sandra Bernhard Talk Travel Tonight In SoHo
Get a temporary cure for your own case of winter wanderlust tonight at McNally Jackson bookstore in SoHo, where a bevy of stars will align to share their tales of travel with the poor souls who can't afford to jet off to Tanzania on a moment's notice. Lights, Camera...Travel! is a new anthology from Lonely Planet, featuring 33 stories from some of the most well-traveled people in the film business, some of whom will be celebrating its release tonight.
Milo-Stone: Brooklyn-Born Phantom Tollbooth Turns 50!
It's hard to believe, but Norton Juster and Jules Feiffer's children's classic The Phantom Tollbooth is turning 50 this year. Millions of children (and adults, too—check out Adam Gopnik reminiscing in a recent New Yorker article) have been enchanted by the surreal tale of Milo and his trip to the Kingdom of Wisdom, but not everyone knows that Juster and Feiffer wrote the book while living in the same building in Brooklyn Heights.
St. Mark's Bookshop Granted Rent Reduction, After All!
After a whirlwind month of back-and-forthing with Cooper Union, the St. Mark's Bookshop in the East Village has been granted a rent reduction from the university, after all!
See Parker Posey, Campbell Scott Read Haruki Murakami Next Week
In the event that you missed WORD's late-night Murakami read-a-thon on the release night of his new novel, IQ84, fret not! You have another opportunity to hear parts of Murakami's eagerly anticipated magnum opus read aloud, this time by some rather famous fans.
St. Mark's Bookshop DENIED Rent Reduction From Cooper Union
The long, sad saga of the St. Mark's Bookshop vs. Cooper Union has come to an end today, as Cooper Union hands down its final word: there shall be no rent reduction.
Is Today Your Last Chance To Save The St. Mark's Bookshop?
Supporters of the St. Mark's Bookshop in the East Village have tried everything from petitioning to sing-a-longs to save the beloved indie bookstore, but the final word has always rested with owner Cooper Union, who is mulling the decision to reduce the store's rent from $20,000 to $15,000. Today, Bookshop champions The Cooper Square Committee is urging residents and readers for one final push, since Cooper Union is apparently set to vote on a decision very, very soon.
The Best Beer Bars In NYC, According To Beer Expert Joshua Bernstein
Like many New Yorkers, Joshua Bernstein drinks a lot of beer. But Bernstein doesn't just drink beer. He knows beer. He knows the history, the traditions, the technique, the brewers, and where to find the best pint. Bernstein has built what many consider a dream career for himself, as a beer journalist and occasional beer tour guide. He's also celebrating the release of his first book, "Brewed Awakening: Behind the Beers and Brewers Leading the World's Craft Brewing Revolution," whose title is fairly self-explanatory. We sat down with Bernstein at one his favorite local haunts, Minor Arcana in Prospect Heights, to talk shop.
Colson Whitehead On Manhattan Being Destroyed By Zombies
Colson Whitehead grew up in Manhattan, now lives in Brooklyn, and has spent much of his career writing ambitious, award-winning novels set around New York or a place that feels very much like it. Now, he's gone and destroyed the whole city for his latest book, Zone One, a post-apocalyptic tale of a Manhattan crippled by a plague and overrun with zombies. But it's so much more than that! One, while ostensibly a horror story, transcends the genre by bringing in elements of some Whitehead favorites, like race, ambition, and societal fear in a post-9/11 world. Also, it's funny! Whitehead, who maintains a hilariously melancholy Twitter feed and is described by his publisher as "the most morose man in Brooklyn," has a delightfully twisted sense of humor that permeates the entire novel...and most of his conversations. We spoke to the author about surviving Comic Con, leaving Manhattan for dead, and go deep into some zombie mythology.
Author Viciously Jerked Around By National Book Awards
Well, this is awkward. An author has withdrawn from the National Book Awards shortlist after she was mistakenly honored by the National Book Foundation, who royally screwed up this year's awards process.
Gossip Girl Goes All Psycho Killer
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is so last season. Want to stay in with the in crowd? Pick up Cecily von Ziegesar’s Gossip Girl, Psycho Killer instead. No, this is not a joke.
Celebrate The Release Of 1Q84 With A Haruki Murakami Read-a-Thon!
If you've been anxiously counting the days until the American release of author Haruki Murakami's epic new novel, 1Q84, this is the event for you: WORD Bookstore in Greenpoint is hosting an after-hours Murakami Read-a-Thon/ release countdown party on October 24! Come together with your fellow Murakami-philes and pass the time from 10:30 p.m. to midnight (when IQ84 is officially released) with round-robin readings of the best Murakami passages from his previous books, and snack on Peter Pan donuts and cheap wine until the magic hour hits.
Everyone Smize: Tyra Banks Makes The NYT Bestseller List
Tyra Banks, bless her, continues her fierce rampage to take over each and every media platform with her latest conquest: the New York Times bestseller list. Yes, that's right, Tyra's young adult book, Modelland, debuted at number two on the list, which makes us alternately pleased that kids are choosing to read and slightly nauseous that this is what they're going apeshit for.
See Henry Rollins Talk Travel With Thurston Moore
Over the years, Henry Rollins has gone from full-throttle lead singer of Black Flag to a sort of punk professor emeritus, who now spends most of his time traveling the world to perform his unique brand of "talking show." Fellow alterna-rock elder statesman Thurston Moore, who's kept a steady gig with Sonic Youth for, oh, about 30 years now, has had his fair share of world travels himself, so it's only natural that the two are pairing up for a special reading this week at Soho indie bookstore McNally Jackson.
Behold: The Ultimate Nerd Guide To New York City
By this point, we've already seen the geography of our fair city repurposed for the Ultimate Manhattan Movie Map and the Ultimate NYC Super Mario Map. Both are nerdy in their own right, but are they... the nerdiest? NO. Because this is the Ultimate Nerd Guide to New York, just in time for Comic-Con!
Staff Picks: Three Must-Reads From Greenlight Bookstore
Welcome to our column Staff Picks, in which we ask the staffers at our favorite book, music, and movie stores around to town to share with us what they're reading, listening to, and watching this week. We figure they're good people to ask. Today we're checking in with the staff at Fort Greene bookstore Greenlight to find out what they've been dog-earing lately.
Michael Moore Heads To Saint Mark's Bookshop Thursday Night (9/29)
The struggling St. Mark's Bookshop is getting an assist from an infamous supporter of the underdog: Michael Moore! The rabble-rousing filmmaker, who spent his Monday night visiting with the Wall Street Occupiers, is planning to visit the bookstore tomorrow night for a signing.
Requiem For Borders: A List Of Grievances By Former Employees
The final remaining Borders Books and Music stores closed last Sunday, after the company filed for bankruptcy and were forced to liquidate completely earlier this year. But some employees got in a last word on the bookstore chain, by posting this airing of grievances about customers. Check out the full list after the jump.
St. Mark's Bookshop Might Make It Out Alive
Ever since word got out earlier this summer that much-loved neighborhood store St. Mark's Bookshop was struggling to stay afloat in the world of Kindles and iPads, lit-lovers have been rallying to save the independent bookstore...and it might actually be working.
Video: Courtney Love Is Reading A Robert Moses Book
Look at Courtney Love: wearing a sophisticated black ensemble, carrying around reading glasses, and shooting off the many, many titles of the books she's reading now... including The Power Broker: Robert Moses And The Fall Of New York. Hey Courtney, call us! We'd love to discuss Moses with you. Anyway, Love rattles off the name of a number of other books she's reading in the below video, and she's got a helpful hint for fellow bibliophiles: put the embarrassing titles you're reading on your Kindle so no one sees them.
Staff Picks: Five Page-Turners From Book Culture
Welcome to our weekly column Staff Picks, in which we ask the staffers at our favorite book, music, and movie stores around to town to share with us what they're reading, listening to, and watching this week. We figure they're good people to ask. Today we're checking in with the staff at Morningside Heights bookstore Book Culture to find out what they've been dog-earing lately.
NJ School Bans Murakami Book With Gay Sex, But Drugs, Suicide Are Okay
A New Jersey school has dropped two popular books with—gasp! Gay sex scenes!—from their required reading lists, and apologized to parents for exposing their children to such a morally reprehensible act. The books? Haruki Murakami's Norwegian Wood and Nic Sheff's Tweak: Growing Up On Methamphetamines . The meth and mental instability and suicide that make up the other major themes in the books? Those are apparently just fine.
How Would You Explain A Kindle To Charles Dickens?
If you're Cardiff School of Art & Design student Rachel Walsh, who was given an assignment to "explain something modern/internet based to someone who lived and died before 1900," you make this clever, visually illustrative guide. The larger book, representing the Kindle, has space carved out for forty miniature books, each rendered with tiny, perfect attention to detail. Dickens himself would surely approve. Well done! This deserves an A. Bonus: it would probably also help us explain the Kindle to our grandparents. [via Laughing Squid]
Staff Picks: Housing Works Bookstore Cafe Tells You What To Read
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Welcome to our weekly column, "Staff Picks," in which we ask the staffers at our favorite book, music, and movie stores around to town to share with us what they're reading, listening to, and watching this week. We figure they're good people to ask. Today we're checking in with the staff at Housing Works Bookstore Cafe to find out what they've been dog-earing lately.
Eddie (former punk, now owner of a bear coat complete with fur and ears on the hood, also an AIDS activist of the old school and an Inventory Specialist):
- The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ by Philip Pullman : Twins. One named Jesus one named Christ. 'Nuff said.
- Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov: I reread this book every few years - now is one of those times. One of my favorites. Do not want to give any hints about this except that it should be read all the way through - including the index!
- Vathek by William Beckford : A very hypnotic and bizarre story of an all-powerful medieval ruler who tries to acquire super powers by sleeping with his mother. Claimed to have been written in a sleepless three days, Beckford, a British aristocrat with a devilish imagination, must have had a lot of fun with gazillions of dollars.
- Uncommon Grounds: The History of Coffee and How It Transformed Our World by Mark Pendergrast: Follows the history of the coffee from bean to cup - from it’s discovery to contemporary coffee culture, Pendergrast explores the good and bad and how coffee has shaped the world we live in.
Theresa (Harry Potter devotee—she owns several wands—and Volunteer Coordinator):
- Confessions of a Conjurer, the amazing memoir by
- Derren Brown, one of the greatest magicians yet living. His brilliance on stage is only heightened by reading the book. He is every bit as smart and strange as I hoped, and even when he reveals the core of a trick, it still seems like magic because it is so difficult for a mere mortal to master.
- Wizard of Oz by Frank Baum and Wicked by Gregory Maguire.
Having only seen the Judy Garland movie before I had to read the original book before seeing where Maguire went with it. If you haven’t, check it out for the Tin Man’s heartbreaking back story, if nothing else. And Wicked! The Wizard as despot, the Witch(es, of West, East, and North) college coeds swept into the politics of a divided nation. Not my usual fare, but I’m enjoying it.
Charlotte (Volunteer Program Manager):
- Dune by Frank Herbert. Said to be the greatest Science Fiction work of all time. Politics, adventure, blue eyed people and giant worms.
Strand Offers Small Consolation For Jilted Borders Customers
Recognizing that it's rough out there for a bibliophile, Strand Books is now offering some small relief, in the form of gifts for former Borders shoppers.
Spotted: Hipster Lit Shelf In Hamptons Bookstore
Attention, hipsters of Sag Harbor (surely there are a few of you, in artfully frayed seersucker?): there is now an entire section of your local bookstore devoted to Hipster Lit, so you may go forth and read in a disaffected manner.
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