Posts by Ryan P. Donovan

Imagine a world gone mad, where everyone seems to be after you behind a backdrop of pointless, unending war. All you want to do is protect your newborn child from danger, but it looms whatever just beyond every path you take.

It’s hard to believe that 2012 is almost over. As we look forward to the new year, I am proud to present our upcoming Reader’s Den online book discussion titles for 2013. With an eclectic mix of book discussion leaders hailing from Jefferson Market, Columbus, Mulberry Street, Spuyten Duyvil, and the Mid-Manhattan Library, this is sure to be our best year yet!

Of all the books in last year's Children's Books: 100 Titles for Reading & Sharing, my favorite title turned out to be Anne Ursu's Breadcrumbs. Anne was nice enough to answer a few questions about the book and provide valuable insight on one of the most imaginative literary works published last year.

Due to the popularity of last month's post, here are six more recent works of comic titles for the young or maybe just the young at heart. The last three titles are also available as eBooks through Overdrive, which you can know check out directly through the library's Bibliocommons catalog interface. Click here to access specific intructions on how to download eBooks to your eReader or visit the Help section on Overdrive's website. I hope that you enjoy these titles as much as I did!

Did you know that for the past few years there have been a great list of annual graphic novel selections for kids on the Children's Books: 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing list? I'm helping out on the committee this year, so I've been reading a bunch of comics aimed at younger readers. While not all of these titles will make our year end list, I thought I might share a few of my favorite books so far. 

Looking for a good guide to get started with everyone's favorite mutant superheroes, the X-Men? Well, the New York Public Library has got a list for you! Explore this annotated list of the X-Men adventures collected in trade paperback format. Sadly, my favorite one-time X-Man Longshot is not featured in any of these stories. Also, join us next month at the Mid-Manhattan Library for Free Comic Book Day! 

Over the weekend, I had my first experience visiting the Angelika Film Center to see Robbie Pickering's film Natural Selection. Pickering, a NYU film graduate, talked about his experiences with filming the movie in over just 18 days and directing a traditionally comedic actress (the film's dazzling lead, Rachel Harris) in a much more serious role.

The film got a lot of buzz at SXSW last year, so I was excited when I found out it would be playing in New York. I would recommend going to see the film at the Angelika while it's still playing there. If you are looking for some other independent film suggestions, here's a list of films and theaters that I've personally 

After reading Greg Rucka's Batwoman Elegy last year, I've been thinking a lot about graphic novels featuring the original Caped Crusader, Batman. Stories involving Batman and the characters in his universe have been published for over seven decades! Since that's a lot of reading to do, I've singled out 10 of my favorite Batman tales, all available to check out or request at your neighborhood library with your library card. Enjoy!

Do you miss the Library's Stuff for the Teen Age list just as much as I do? Are you looking for a few good young adult books to read, but don't know what to check out from your local library? Then look no further! Here are 10 of my favorite books from last year. 

Since I would never make anyone coming into the library do something that I'm not willing to do myself, I had one of my fellow librarians interview me for our monthly anime patron feature. I'm also sad to report that this month's Anime Night is our last, mainly because FUNimation's Operation Anime service has decided to officially shut down. Something tells me that this is not the end, however, so look for more Anime/Manga offerings from the Mid-Manhattan Library sometime in 2012!

When we last left off with our heroine Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev) in the first season of The Vampire Diaries, she was walking into her home after her nefarious vampire doppelgänger Katherine had just brutally stabbed Uncle John. Elena’s arrival probably saves John's life, as she narrowly avoids meeting Katherine for the first time.

We had 14 patrons at last night's anime screening of Kenichi, the Mightiest Disciple. There are many people who work at the Library who help contribute to our regular programs. One of them is Je-Andy, an audio-visual page who helps set up Anime Night every month at Mid-Manhattan Library. I sat down with Je-Andy and asked him some questions.

This past Sunday, I spent the morning in Central Park participating in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. I was not the only librarian there. Turns out, there's a New York Public Library team that walks every year. It was not my first time there, either. This was my third breast cancer walk since moving to New York City three years ago.

So this month, as I asked family and friends for donations, I began thinking about cancer in general. There's a few books that I've read over the last few years that have inspired me to join the fight to end cancer, so I thought I might share a few of these titles with you. While this is by no means a comprehensive list, they are books that will 

Heather, this month's anime patron, joins her sister Erin and her fellow library patrons Anthony, Matt, Bobby, Shanta, and Marcus as one of longest standing Anime Night participants at Mid-Manhattan Library.

Despite faithfully coming nearly every month, Heather recently confessed to me that she wasn't always the biggest fan of anime and manga. I took some time during this month's screening to see if she had changed her mind and find out if she planned on coming to our upcoming screenings of Kenichi in November and MoonPhase in December. 

Imagine being lost in a strange place with no memory of who or what you are. The only thing you know? That luck seems to somehow be on your side. This is life for the mysterious man known only as Longshot.

Destined to become one of the iconic X-Men, Longshot's first self-titled graphic novel details his first trip to Earth. It turns out he ended up here by accident.

Last night, there were 17 people who came out for Mid-Manhattan Library's monthly Anime Night screening. This month, we watched popular game-turned-anime Disgaea. For September's patron feature, we caught up with Marcus. A man of few words, Marcus was nice enough to chat with the Library about why he likes anime and give us a few of his favorite titles. Let's hear what he has to say!

Happy September! As the fall season begins, we must bid farewell to Sci-Fi Summer and all the television we've watched together. I was extremely happy to get the chance to blog about 10 of my favorite science fiction shows. And just in case you missed any of the blog posts, I've put them in a "Top 10" list below with my absoulte favorite series appearing first. Remember — it's all part of Summer Reading 2011.

The summer is almost over! It's sad but true. As we look ahead to the leaves changing colors in Central Park and kids going back to school, let's spend the last fleeting moments of the season talking about the oldest show on our list, Quantum Leap.

There is no discussion about science fiction television without talking about Firefly. This was the brainchild of Joss Whedon, the man who created Buffy the Vampire Slayer, spinoff Angel, and more recently Dollhouse. Following nine people on a small spaceship on the outskirts of civilization, it was essentially what Star Trek was originally intended to be: "cowboys in space." Firefly arguably did a much better job. Their captain actually rode horses and transported cattle on a regular basis.