The Librarian Is In

Latest Episodes:

What Makes a Good Beach Read? Jul 26, 2018

Show notes

We're finding our midsummer vacation reading groove! Gwen is spectacularly awed by a debut novel and Frank gets drawn into a thriller (with a dash of reader real-estate jealousy).

Our Book Recommendations

"There There" by Tommy Orange

"One Dark Throne" by Kendare Blake

Transcription by Kate Atkinson

"The Incendiaries" by R.O. Kwan

"The Woman in the Window" by A.J. Finn

Non-Book Recommendations

Frank: The film "Shadow of a Doubt"

Gwen: These seriously comfortable boxer briefs

Memory Lane Jul 19, 2018

Show notes

We're 100 episodes old! Frank and Gwen mark their centennial by responding to listener messages and revisiting some favorite themes. Plus: a list of our favorite episodes for new (or new-ish) listeners.

On Your Mark, Get Set... Jul 12, 2018

Show notes

It's time again for our Summer Reading Challenge! In this mini-episode, Frank and Gwen pick a book to dive into together and invite you to read along with them, so place those library holds for a copy of "America Is Not the Heart" by Elaine Castillo. Discussion to air August 9!

You Can't Always Get What You Want Jul 05, 2018

Show notes

Gwen is so moved by one of the three poems she brings to the studio that she can't even read it (she tried!). And Frank is transported by a novel about a marriage in Nigeria he can't NOT talk about it. Plus: the perils of social media and why Frank feels he is pretty much free of FOMO.

Frank's Book Recommendation

Stay With Me by Ayobami Adebayo

You can also listen to the author discuss this book on the NYPL podcasts here.

Gwen's Poetry Recommendations

"Airplanes" by Maggie Smith, in the Spring/Summer issue of Ninth Letter

"Ghazal: America the Beautiful" by Alicia Ostriker, and the Dear Poet video series of her reading her own work

"Wild Geese" by Mary Oliver

Help Me, Rhonda! Jun 28, 2018

Show notes

Gwen and Frank discover some surprising pieces of family history when Rhonda Evans, Electronic Resources Librarian at NYPL, arrives in the studio with a pile of documents and connects the dots from long-ago paper trails. Plus: Guessing game shenanigans.

Border Stories Jun 21, 2018

Show notes

Frank and Gwen share thoughts and reading recommendations about immigration, families, and children at the border. Plus: Frank asks what-if and Gwen ponders three recent books on motherhood.

Crossing Food Boundaries Jun 14, 2018

Show notes

Dr. Shayne Figueroa joins Frank and Gwen to discuss books and food nostalgia, Amish soul food (it's a thing!), and how NYC's free school lunch program is attempting to lift an age-old stigma. Plus: Frank's secret childhood eating habits and another guessing-game stumper.

May I Remove Your Cravat? Jun 07, 2018

Show notes

Frank and Gwen revisit the recent Booker Prize winner, Lincoln in the Bardo, as Frank gets serious about the afterlife and our understanding of history. Then Gwen turns the studio in a sauna with a gay Regency romance packed with period details and subplots that add depth to the steamy novel.

Call Me, Jason Reynolds May 31, 2018

Show notes

Gwen and Frank get a visit from Elisa Garcia, Supervising Librarian of Teen Services at the Bronx Library Center, who brings the guessing-game drama and recommendations galore. Plus: Elisa talks about moving to and growing up in the Bronx, the global influence of '90s hip-hop, and all around back-in-the-day coolness.

It's Not You, Book, It's Me May 24, 2018

Show notes

Frank confesses his sometimes-complicated relationship with certain books and his bouts of book insecurity. Plus: What happens when Frank and Gwen serendipitously read the same book around the same time but don't quite remember it the same way? And an unpublished work from the early 1930s finallly gets the recognition it deserves.

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