The Librarian Is In

Latest Episodes:

Pitch Imperfect Dec 20, 2018

Show notes

Aca-scuse me? It's an impromptu celebration of our favorite feel-good a capella movie... and, oh yeah, some book recommendations, too. Frank goes for a soul-searching memoir about spirituality and religion, and Gwen suggests a fantastical flipbook for kids.

The Librarian Is LIVE Dec 13, 2018

Show notes

Welcome to our first-ever live show, recorded in Frank's very own Jefferson Market Library! Gwen and Frank talk to Eric Klinenberg, sociologist and author of a new book about libraries and social infrastructure. Plus: the audience offers an invaluable assist during the guessing game.

Anger Is a Gift Dec 06, 2018

Show notes

Aristotle famously (er, probably) said that anger is a gift, and Gwen's been given one this year: Rebecca Traister's book about the power of women's rage, "Good and Mad." Plus, Frank finds more presents in The New Yorker archives and NYPL announces its year-end Best Books lists.

Check Out This Sculpture Nov 29, 2018

Show notes

We're obsessed with libraries loaning unconventional items: seeds, toys, tools, clothes, games, museum passes... and sculptures. Local artist Wendy Richmond joins Gwen and Frank to talk about her work and her new installation, which encouraged patrons to take home her incredible sculptures of her own hands.

Check out our live show on Dec. 4!

Frank and Gwen will be talking to Eric Klinenberg, author of Palaces for the People, at Frank's own Jefferson Market Library! Tuesday, Dec. 4, at 6:30 p.m. -- click here for all the details.

Keeping You Company in the Kitchen Nov 22, 2018

Show notes

Whether you're cooking turkey for 20 or opting out of Thanksgiving entirely, books about food are always in season. Frank and Gwen talk about their favorite cookbooks and chef memoirs with NYPL's resident foodie, Jeanne Hodesh, and offer some family recipes of their very own.

Check out our live show on Dec. 4! Food memoirs:

The Tenth Muse: My Life in Food by Judith Jones
Memories of a Lost Egypt by Colette Rossant
Blood, Bones, & Butter by Gabrielle Hamilton
Cooking for Mr. Latte by Amanda Hesser
The audiobooks of Anthony Bourdain
Tender at the Bone, Comfort Me with Apples, and Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichel

More recommendations:

The Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen (and the Moosewood archives at Cornell University Library)
Fannie Farmer cookbooks
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
Salt Fat Acid Heat

And few more books that Jeanne wanted to mention:

My Soul Looks Back by Jessica B. Harris
Consider the Oyster and Long Ago in France by MFK Fisher
My Life in France byJulia Child

Pop-Culture Storytime (with Garfield) Nov 15, 2018

Show notes

What makes a good story time? Anthony Murisco, youth librarian extraordinaire, joins Frank and Gwen to talk all things kids and books. Plus: everyone's favorite lazy cartoon cat, a true stumper of a guessing game, and a flurry of pop-culture recommendations.

In This Episode:

Anthony's library: The Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library

NLS: The National Library Service for the blind and physically handicapped

A book Anthony likes for storytime: Jump by David McPhail

NYPL's Best Books for Kids and Teens and Anthony's 2017 list with Bookshare links

"Book That Talk and Books You Touch": Jill Rothstein's TLII episode about technology for print-disabled patrons

Kris Jenner... and All Things Kardashian (and her cookbook)

Fake Blood by Whitney Gardner

Jabberwalking by Juan Felipe Herrera

The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina by Roberto Aguierre-Sacasa (and RIVERDALE!)

Garfield: The Complete Works, 1978-1979 (coming soon to the Library!)

DinosaurDracula.com

Macy's Thanksgiving Day parades on YouTube

The Grinch Menu at iHop

Golden Girls Pez

BiblioSmiles Nov 08, 2018

Show notes

A library podcast about a book about libraries? Sign us up! Frank goes meta this week with an in-depth review of Susan Orlean's new page-turner, and and Gwen sees an author of children's classics in a new light.

Frank & Gwen's Recommendations

The Library Book, The Orchid Thief, and several other books by Susan Orlean

Check out the Library Talks podcast (after Sunday, Nov. 11) to hear an interview with Orlean!

The works of Canadian children's author Robert Munsch:

And "The Story Behind 'Love You Forever' Is Probably Not What You Thought"

The Librarian Is In... the Voting Booth! Nov 01, 2018

Show notes

It's almost Election Day. Do you know where your voting rights are? Christopher Famighetti, professor at Jefferson Market University, joins Frank and Gwen for an in-depth convo about voting — and what libraries have to do with it. Plus: a different take on Tolstoy and the surreal films of Luis Buñuel.

Between Terror and Humor Oct 25, 2018

Show notes

It's almost Halloween, and it got so creepy we scared Gwen away. Frank braves the gore with Isaiah Pittman, horror aficionado and adult services librarian at NYPL. They talk scary books AND movies.

Book Recommendations

Paperbacks From Hell: The twisted history of 70's and 80's horror by Grady Hendrix

The Hungry Moon by Ramsey Campbell

Night Shift by Stephen King

20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill

Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill

Final Girls: A novel by Riley Sager

The series-- Anno Dracula by Kim Newman

You Were Neve Really Here by Jonathan Ames and the film adaptation

Non-Book Recommendations

Kanopy-- stream movies for free with you NYPL card!

Check out Gas Station Horror, the monthly improv show in NYC that turns bad horror movies into comedy.

This Is Not the Foe You're Looking For Oct 18, 2018

Show notes

Gwen and Frank tackle a near-future dystopian novel about space colonization and a sobering work of journalism about the fallacy of modern philanthropy. Plus: why pho is objectively the best food ever.

Frank and Gwen's Recommendations

Haaaave you read "The Yellow Wallpaper" yet? Try the Insta Novel!

Frank's old favorites: Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith, Pure Hollywood and Other Stories by Christine Schutt, I'm Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid

Foe by Iain Reid

Winners Take All by Anand Giridharadas, and his recent conversation with Joy-Ann Reid

His previous book, The True American: Murder and Mercy in Texas, which won NYPL's Bernstein Award in 2015