Reader’s Den

This week I'd like to focus on the period details of The Servants. Mark has already journeyed into a bygone era of domestic workers who lived and worked in the basement of the homes of the wealthy. The smooth running of the house (and the lives of its owners) depended on their working in tandem. The life of the servants below stairs was strictly structured and hierarchical — the butler, the housekeeper, the cook, and the kitchen maids all observed the traditions and the rules.

By now we are well into The Servants by M.M. Smith. Our protagonist, Mark, is 11 years old and unhappy. Having just relocated to Brighton from London, he has no friends and spends the rainy, chilly days skateboarding by himself. Full of resentment against his new stepfather, David, and confused by his mother's illness, he meets an old lady who unlocks for him a bygone era in her basement flat in the 200-year-old house David owns.

Welcome to the Reader's Den selection for the month of February 2012: The Servants by M.M. Smith. Michael Marshall Smith is generally known for his sci-fi and mystery novels. The Servants — a subtle little ghost story and coming-of-age novel — is a departure from this genre.

Thank you to all the readers and followers of the Reader's Den!

I hope everyone enjoyed The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz and his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. I sure did! I hope all the avid readers will come back for next months Reader's Den and hopefully Anthony Horowitz will continue the Sherlock Holmes series.

I hope everyone has read (or is reading) the newest Sherlock Holmes novel, The House of Silk, and has met (or are meeting) the wonderfully complex characters — including an encore performance from Sherlock's brother, Mycroft Holmes.

"Holmes, you insist upon seeing yourself as a machine... Even a masterpiece of impressionalism is to you nothing more than a piece of evidence to be used in the pursuit of a crime." — Dr. John Watson.

Welcome to the January edition of the Readers Den!

Sherlock Holmes is back and better than ever with the Arthur Conan Doyle Estate's authorization of the novel The House of Silk: A Sherlock Holmes Novel by Anthony Horowitz. This month we will discuss the House of Silk and its similarities/differences to the original series and the spirit of our favorite sophisticated sleuth.

As the year 2011 comes to a close so does this year's season of the Reader's Den, The New York Public Library's online book group. And what an exciting year it was! We visited France and Russia, surfed, talked to authors, recited poetry, and even went digital. We covered a wide variety of themes, including teen books, history, mystery, and a great classic. We even covered the meaning of everything itself!

I would like to thank all the followers and fans of the Reader’s Den. I hope you have enjoyed 97 Orchard: An Edible History of Five Immigrant Families in One New York Tenement just as much as I have. If you are interested in learning more about the people and cultures of the Lower East Side, the following NYPL resources can help you begin your search:

Dorot Jewish Division — one of the world’s great collections of Hebraica and Judaica

Welcome back to week three of December’s Reader’s Den. As I was reading 97 Orchard: An Edible History of Five Immigrant Families in One New York Tenement certain questions came to mind. While these may get you started they are by no means the only ones:

Welcome back to the second week of December’s Reader’s Den. For many Americans, New Yorkers included, the first images of the Lower East Side are that of the Late Nineteenth to Early Twentieth Century. Many of these images of poverty, clotheslines, and pushcarts come from movies, television, literature, or family histories. In her book 97 Orchard: An Edible History of Five Immigrant Families in One New York Tenement by Jane Ziegelman, the author creates for the reader a story where one can almost imagine themselves in that time period with the bustle of crowded streets, the smells of the pushcarts and shops, and what was happening in the 

Welcome to the December edition of the Reader’s Den! For the month of December, we will read 97 Orchard: An Edible History of Five Immigrant Families in One New York Tenement by Jane Ziegelman.

Thank you for all the readers and followers of the Reader's Den! I hope everyone enjoyed Infinity by Sherrilyn Kenyon and enjoyed Nick's adventure with Zombies, Dark-Hunters, and his own dark secret. The adventures continue in the next book of the series, Invincible. 

After reading or while reading Infinity — there are lots of questions that come to mind! I know I certainly had a few! What struck you as you were reading? Here are some questions to get the discussion started, but please don’t feel limited to answering only the questions below. Go ahead and add your own questions or comments.

"I am what I have become because of the interference and secrets of one creature. Had things been done differently, my life would have been a whole other enchilada. I would not be where I am today and I would have had a life worth living instead of the nightmare my life has become.

Welcome to the November edition of the Readers Den! For the month of November, we will be reading Infinity by Sherrilyn Kenyon.

As a little introduction to the book:

But of course it wasn’t finished. It never could be, it never would be, and it never will be.

Welcome back to the Reader’s Den for the final week of our discussion of The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester! The book tells the tale of the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), completed in 1928, but as the author notes at the beginning of the epilogue, it can never really be complete, since the English language itself is forever changing.

Welcome back to the October Reader’s Den! I hope you’ve enjoyed reading The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary as much as I have. I’ve appreciated the vivid portraits of the people involved in the creation of the “Dic,” and Simon Winchester’s literate prose had me running to the OED (the online edition) on a few occasions. I wanted to investigate such lovely but rarely encountered words as “pettifogging” and “gallimaufry.”

Thank you for stopping by the Reader’s Den for the second week of our discussion of The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary. Are you already engrossed in the trials and triumphs involved in the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED)? Did you enjoy the whirlwind tour of the evolution of the English language and its lexicography in chapter one?