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The Librarian Is In

The New York Public Library’s podcast about books, culture, and what to read next.
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The Librarian Is In
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Now displaying: Page 4
Mar 26, 2020

Frank and Rhonda practice social distancing together (but separately!) to discuss the books they've read this week. We hope everyone is staying safe and healthy during this uncertain time. Settle in for a bit and listen to your favorite librarians discuss what they like to read (and listen to!) when they're stuck at home!

Mar 12, 2020

Frank and Rhonda discuss their non-125 list book picks this week!

Feb 27, 2020

Hi all! Thanks for joining us. This week is our inaugural book club episode! As they mentioned last episode, Frank and Rhonda picked Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin off the NYPL's 125 Books We Love list to read and discuss. We hope you had the chance to read along too. So without further ado - click "play" and be transported to 1950s Paris...

Feb 13, 2020

Didja miss us?! We missed you too! Thanks for joining us on the new season of The Librarian Is In. Our good pal Frank joins us again and welcomes our new co-host Rhonda Evans. Longtime listeners will remember Rhonda from her guest appearance on a previous episode! Rhonda shares with Frank some of her librarian background, favorite genres to read, and information about which branch she currently works, The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. 

Frank and Rhonda also discuss their top 5 picks on the New York Public Library's 125 Books We Love List! 

Dec 26, 2019

For the last episode of 2019, Gwen surprises Frank by reading one of his all time favorite books, Frank delves into the world of Trust Exercise and Gwen shares a personal announcement. Stay warm on those windswept moors everybody, and we'll see you in 2020!

Dec 12, 2019

Come stare moodily out a lonely window with us! Frank falls into a book trance after reading a French novel with a double meaning in its title, and Gwen unpacks a heartbreaker about a woman who leaves Jamaica for Brooklyn. 

Nov 28, 2019

Frank is feeling all the feelings about a book of experimental prose poetry, Gwen is charmed by a semi-autobiographical YA story, and everyone has "Let It Go" stuck in their heads now. You're welcome!

Nov 14, 2019

Frank reads 19th-century Russian verse out loud for a solid two minutes. What more could you want in this world? Plus: Ben Platt, call us. Maybe.

Oct 31, 2019

Your hosts wax rhapsodic about two of their mainstay favorite authors. Plus: Gwen takes "cozy intellectual" suggestions from a listener's email and Frank discovers a YouTube celebrity crush. 

Oct 17, 2019

Third time's the charm! Gwen and Frank join the fine folks from the Overdue podcast to discuss Ken Kesey's 1962 novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

Oct 3, 2019

We all love libraries, but what books do you just NEED to own? Frank coins a new genre, Gwen falls for a book about mistakes, and they both share some deep thoughts about the oxford comma.

 

This Week’s Books:

The Grammarians by Cathleen Shine

The Other’s Gold by Elizabeth Ames

Dreyer's English : An Utterly correct Guide to Clarity and Style by Benjamin Dreyer

Sep 19, 2019

Book synergy abounds with two titles that explore the sometimes dark, sometimes funny, sometimes supernatural relationship between parents and children. Plus, a listener question about "leisure reading" proves to be more complicated than it first seems. 

Books Discussed:

Lanny by Max Porter

A Life's Work: On Becoming a Mother by Rachel Cusk

Sep 5, 2019

This week it's Frank and Gwen's turn in the hot seat. They recently joined the Books on the Subway Podcast with Hollie and Rosy for a discussion about all things books and libraries, and we're bringing you that episode this week. Make sure to check them out at www.booksonthesubway.com

Aug 22, 2019

A look at how some libraries reflect the communities they're a part of through their special collections. Plus, Gwen's son weighs in on a children's book with some very un-scary dragons and Frank dives into some mind-bending stories about alternate realities and the nature of consciousness.

This weeks titles:

Rise of the Earth Dragon by Tracey West

Exhalation  by Ted Chiang

Aug 8, 2019

Frank and Gwen do a deep dive into their summer reading pick, Mona Awad's new novel, Bunnya dark satirical take on female friendship, loneliness, desire, and creative writing MFA programs. Alert: spoilers! tons of 'em! 

Tell us what everybody's talking about in your world of books and libraries! Suggest Hot Topix(TM) by email or voice memo to podcasts[at]nypl.org or call 507-NYPL-LIB.

Jul 25, 2019

Do you dog-ear? Use bookmarks or sticky notes? Write notes in margins? Or do you—heaven forbid—underline? We delve deep into the ethical implications of leaving your mark on library books. Plus: two new summer reads and one musical cue.

Suggest Hot Topix(TM) or tell us what you think about summer reading!

Email podcasts[at]nypl.org or call 507-NYPL-LIB.

Jul 11, 2019

To prequel or not to prequel? Frank and Gwen debate the new installment of the Hunger Games franchise and two very different books about life in two very different places.

Suggest Hot Topix(TM) or tell us what you think about summer reading! Email podcasts[at]nypl.org or call 507-NYPL-LIB.

Jul 4, 2019

Frank and Gwen announce their return date plus reveal their Summer Reading Challenge

Jun 27, 2019

What's the opposite of a book slump? We're calling it a flare, and Gwen is on one. She and Frank have a flurry of adult book recommendations, from dystopian novels to innovative science fiction. 

What we are reading now

The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer

Red Clocks by Leni Zumas

Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi

Semiosis by Sue Burke

Neverworld Wake by Marisha Pessl

The Sparsholt Affair by Alan Hollinghurst

Jun 20, 2019

Another crossover episode with our fine friends from the Overdue podcast! Frank and Gwen join Craig and Andrew in Philadelphia to discuss the 1956 novel Peyton Place. Is it a classic? A soap opera? A groundbreaking statement about sexuality? Is it “ripe, hotly passionate, but fickle” — the first line of the book? You decide.

Peyton Place by Grace Metalious

More Peyton Place...

If you liked this episode, check out our first TLII/Overdue collab: "Lord of the Guys," back in January 2017!

Jun 13, 2019

This week we take you back to our first-ever live show, recorded in Frank's very own Jefferson Market Library! Gwen and Frank talk to Eric Klinenberg, sociologist and author of a new book about libraries and social infrastructure. Plus: the audience offers an invaluable assist during the guessing game.

Guest Star: Eric Klinenberg

Palaces for the People by Eric Klinenberg

More of his work in our catalog and on his website

$2.00 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America by Kathryn Edin

Books by Barbara Ehrenreich

O Cafe in Greenwich Village (and pão de queijo)

Jun 6, 2019

It's the first-ever Reading Challenge episode! Gwen and Frank assigned books to each other to read and discuss on the air. Hijinks ensue...

Book Recommendations 

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling

Ava Gardner: 'Love Is Nothing' by Lee Server

Also mentioned: 

Our fourth episode, when Gwen flipped out on Frank for not having read Harry Potter.

Several of Ava's movies, available from NYPL:

The Golden Girls of MGM by Jane Ellen Wayne

Pottermore online

That great tweet about girls with frizzy hair (warning: language!)

May 30, 2019

This week: a rebroadcast of one of our favorite episodes. Gwen and Frank take a deep, emotional dive into Nobel Prize winner Kazuo Ishiguro's 'Never Let Me Go.'

May 23, 2019

This episode is brought to you by our soon-to-be-rival podcast, dreamed up by YA librarian Crystal Chen—who's also this week's guest! All rights reserved by her! We talk musicals, poetry, what it really means to create a list of "best" books, and professional development for library staff members.

Book Recommendations

NYPL's Best Poetry Books (and our most recent best books lists)

Red Notice: A True Story of High Finance, Murder, and One Man's Fight for Justice by Bill Browder

Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief by Lawrence Wright

Bad Blood  Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou

Kiss Number 8 by Colleen A.F. Venable

Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino

 

Also recommended:

The Woodstock Library in the Bronx

ASMR, or autonomous sensory meridian response

"VEEP" and "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend"

May 16, 2019

Gwen and Frank tackle one book that feels comforting and homey; one that's distinctly unsettling; and one that's somewhere in between. Plus: A stranger on the train helps us deconstruct the genius of J-Patt.

Book Recommendations

Your Duck Is My Duck: Stories by Deborah Eisenberg

The Farm by Joanne Ramos

 

Also mentioned:

Mary Poppins Returns

Emily Blunt and the rest of the cast going down the bathtub slide!

Everything Doris Day

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