Public LIbrary (2014):
"When it comes to Thanksgiving, librarians enjoy pumpkin pie and the Thanksgiving Day Parade
as much as the next person. But it should come as no surprise that for the librarians at The
New York Public Library, one of the things they’re most thankful for are books.
Lynn Lobash, Manager of Reader Services at NYPL, believes all book people “ask themselves
at some point what it is about reading that is so important to them. For me it is
about transcending the limitation of this one life. When we read we live many lives. We
experience another consciousness, another country, another set of circumstances. I am
also grateful for the act of reading — the familiarity, the quiet, and co-creative process of
spending time in a book. My favorite place to read is at home on my couch. This is what I
imagine when they tell me to go to a peaceful place in yoga class — me on my couch with a book.”
What do you most enjoy about reading?
In celebration of Thanksgiving, below are the books that NYPL staffers are most thankful for....
...I am thankful for the wit and spirit in Edward Abbey’s The Fool’s Progress. Abbey tells the story
of Henry Lightcap, a very semi-autobiographical loner taking one last trip home to his brother
in West Virginia, with little but a failing truck, an old mutt named Solstice, and frequent 6-packs
of beer. He camps and barbecues. He discusses time, history, fate, and liberty with Sollie the
dog. Think Travels with Charley meets A Confederacy of Dunces. Pure Americana.
- Charlie, Inwood Library
My father was a warm intelligent man that I was lucky to call Dad. When he passed away 5
years ago, I was devastated to lose, not only my father, but also a mentor in life. A
friend recommended When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Timesby Pema Chodron,
to help me deal with my sadness. I am eternally grateful for the excellent, heartfelt suggestion
and to Pema Chodron for writing this book. I have in turn passed along this recommendation
to many other friends and acquaintances that have found themselves facing difficult times
both large and small. - Karen, Chatham Square Library
I’m grateful for the fantasy novel The Magicians by Lev Grossman. It’s set in modern day
and focuses on characters that grew up reading magical children’s books. The story follows
a group of young people who apply to the exclusive Brakebills College and discover that
REAL magic isn’t as sweet, uplifting, and easy as they’d imagined. If you grew up reading books
like the Narnia series, the Harry Potter series, and The Once and Future King, this book will
speak to those memories and will remind you of what you wanted magic to be back when
you were a kid. - Andrea, Kingsbridge Library
I’m grateful for the book Dinner: A Love Story by Jenny Rosenstrach. Written in three sections,
it’s part memoir, part cookbook—it begins with Rosenstrach’s cooking life when she first
married her husband, after they had two little girls, and now when their girls are school
age. Warm, funny, and practical, I’ve taken so much inspiration from this book in my own life
with small children, from both the recipes (play date cookies, roast chicken with veggies,
and turkey chili are just a few of my family’s favorites) and the author’s cheerful approach to
family life. I think I’ve tried more recipes from this cookbook than any other!
-Susan, Mulberry Street Library
I am thankful for Gerald Durrell’s My family and other animals. A truly delightful book, I read it at
a time in my life where I was looking for direction. Durrell tells a spellbinding story about his
young life, when his mother uprooted the family from a staid life in England and abruptly
moved them to Corfu. Through Gerald’s young eyes we follow him as he experiences the
world with wonder and curiosity, making friends, discovering the island, and watching his
family very closely, and it is all delivered in prose expressive of remarkable humor and warmth.
It was in Corfu, exploring the tidal pools in his coracle, which he named the “Bootlebumtrinket”, that Durrell began his lifelong commitment to observing and preserving the natural world.
Talk about LOL, this book will make you laugh until you weep.
- Virginia, Special Collections Cataloger
I’d recommend Watership Down by Richard Adams. I’d recommend it anyway, but I think,
in particular, with Thanksgiving coming up. This book is great for fostering gratitude when
the inevitable holiday hectic rush begins. Simply thinking about these brave little rabbits
seeking their true homes is heartening. I’m recommending the book, not the animated
movie, which may be a bit much at this time of year. Also, Jack Kerouac’s The Dharma Bums and
On the Road, mostly for this quotation, which reminds me of Thanksgiving pie: “I ate apple pie
and ice cream—it was getting better as I got deeper into Iowa, the pie bigger, the ice cream richer.” - Jenny, Jefferson Market
I am thankful for two books: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens and The Cross and
the Switchblade by David Wilkerson. Both books show that no matter how depraved and selfish
we are there is hope we can be transformed into loving and kind human beings.
Jean, Bronx Library Center
I am grateful for Donald Hall’s Without, a poetic meditation on his wife Jane Kenyon’s
illness (leukemia and death.) The book was published one month after my brother Scott died
(also from leukemia). His eloquence and ability to put into words his feelings of rage, disbelief,
love and compassion helped me immensely in being able to absorb (more accurate than
“accept”) my brother’s death. Wayne, Selection Team
I am thankful for Lynne Cox’s inspirational Swimming to Antarctica: Tales of a Long-distance
Swimmer. Cox lyrically details her adventures in the water from her record-breaking crossings
of the English Channel, legendary swims in the Cape of Good Hope and Straits of Magellan and
the historic Bering Strait swim in 1987, which opened the border between the United States
& Soviet Union. Equal parts memoir, sports book and travelogue, Cox’s book broadens one’s
view of the world. The author encourages readers to fearlessly and joyfully pursue their dreams. - Miriam, Selection Team"
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Wishing each and every one a Happy Thanksgiving, wishing for you a heart full of gratitude; and feeling a deep thankfulness for all of the discussions, of all of the books, of all of the
sharing that occurs when we come together once a month for our Morning Book Discussion
at CIDL. Blessings, Melinda