Posts by Jeremy Czerw

If you're ready for the warmer, laid-back days of summer, you're not alone. We've had a brutal winter in New York, and everyone's sick of avoiding the miserable winds, freezing slush piles, and long, gray evenings of this icy time of year. 

So, a thought exercise.  Pretend it's summer already.  Life is awesome, and you need something fun, fast and funny to read.  Pick up Elliot Allagash, by Simon Rich.  You will love it because:

My copy of Life just arrived, and while it made me doubly sad to have missed NYPL's recent evening with Keith Richards, the book more than lived up to its excellent reviews and all the prepublication hype. Any fan of rock music or great biography (and those of us who love both) should find something to delight in here. 

For true fans of the inappropriately hilarious, a joke just isn't any good unless a baby ends up blenderized, shooting alien pods out of its mouth, or terrorized by an overtly cynical bunny rabbit.  Ahh, what a disgusting life we lead, laughing at poor helpless babies!  We may be few in number, but we happen to be in good company: some of today's most clever graphic novelists and writers share our enthusiasm for the robustly rotten, and you owe it to yourself to check out their work.  So if your humor makes others cringe, cry, or demand your institutionalization, get your evil little paws on these graphic novels.

Ben volunteers at the Battery Park branch and is an expert on all things Rock! Here are two of his recent picks.

Gabriel is a man with a plan: to build his resume by volunteering at the library, and at the same time parlay all of those visits into foursquare mayorship.

Boy Meets Boy is a highly unusual book because it incorporates the romantic plotline used in most teen novels with a new and refreshing look at the genre itself.

Levithan replaces the usual boy-meets-girl scenario with charming insight into the lives of gay high school students in an accepting, almost utopian American small town.

He focuses on what his characters really are: teenagers struggling with questions about their identities and love interests.

The story is told by its quirky and lovable narrator, Paul, who's trying to overcome obstacles to win over Noah from the moment they meet.

For bold, nuanced arrangements, classic songwriting chops, and the richness of gospel-inflected singers working together in perfect harmony, get your ears to Philadelphia.  Well, actually you don't have to leave New York--just listen to The O'Jays, one of the classic 1970s groups that developed Philly Soul.  A stylistic precursor to disco, the Quiet Storm sound, and smooth jazz, Philly Soul is rich, layered, and really, really hard not to dance to.  Ship Ahoy, The O'Jays' second album, is a great choice for listeners looking to explore the musical foundations of modern hip-hop, as well as new and longtime fans of soul and R&B.