Sunday Salon: Independent Bookstore Day

 

Yesterday was Independent Bookstore Day, a day to embrace our local indie bookstores and celebrate what makes them special. I went to Princeton, New Jersey, for the day, and went to two indies- The Cloak & Dagger, which was actually participating, and Labyrinth Books, which was not. Cloak & Dagger, as the name suggests, specializes in mysteries and thrillers. Labyrinth is a general-interest indie with a nice selection of rare books, too. Both were fun and I got books at both.

At Cloak & Dagger I bought The Final Silence by favorite Stuart Neville. At Labyrinth I got Seduced by Story: The Use and Abuse of Narrative, by Peter Brooks, and The Oppermanns by Leon Feuchtwanger. I've been to Labyrinth a bunch of times but this was my first time at Cloak and Dagger and certainly not my last.

Cloak & Dagger Bookstore, Princeton, N.J.

Today is a typical Sunday which I started with another episode in my rewatch of My Brilliant Friend alongside my morning bagel and coffee, and which I'll continue with a piano lesson and an online appointment.  

I'm pretty sure I'll have a movie review on Wednesday but I'm struggling to come up with a book review right now. I'm only reviewing books I enjoyed so that is going to limit me somewhat. I'm thinking about a new feature called "In the Interim" where I write about books I read and loved during my lengthy blogging hiatus. We'll see.  I have to work on my Alina Bronsky feature for later this month and I was hoping to have an author interview by now but I have not heard from the publicist in question, so who knows. I've been taking a little time off my own writing because reasons but I plan to plunge back in on Monday. Then I have this and that to finish up for my outside commitments.

So today it's TV, bagels, piano and maybe some reading. Definitely a nap, and probably a movie.

What about you? Have a great Sunday!

The Little Prince at the Morgan Library

Last week a new exhibit opened at the Morgan Library in Manhattan, "The Little Prince: Taking Flight." The Morgan owns original manuscripts and early copies of Antoine de St. Exupéry's classic for all ages, and the museum put together a little exhibit showcasing art and artifacts around the creation of this lovely book.

The exhibit is housed a small gallery on the ground floor and won't take long to peruse. It includes original manuscript pages, unused drawings and alternate pages that didn't make the final cut alongside photos and items from the author's life and times. 

It includes modern and early editions, including an edition from Bolivia that shows how the story speaks to that culture and uses motifs from Bolivian culture to bring its themes to life in a new way.

The Little Prince has the distinction of being the most-translated book in the world after religious texts; there is even a film that was made about all of the translations, 2018's The Miracle of the Little Prince. I have a feeling you may see a post about that soon.

 

I enjoyed the exhibit but I felt like it was very small and I would say that if you are in New York and want to visit the Morgan, definitely check it out but I'm not sure I would recommend making a special trip just for this particular show. There is no audio component or exhibit book. I did learn a little about the story behind the story and I'm glad I went. I enjoyed the artwork, especially the sketches of the little prince with the roses.  The Morgan is a must-visit for bibliophiles; the library itself is amazing and the stories behind it are incredible, and there is always something on offer.  

The Little Prince: Taking Flight is on exhibit through February 5, 2023.

The Book Cellar at the Webster Library

Recently I took an afternoon and visited the Book Cellar used bookstore, in the basement of the Webster branch of the New York Public Library.

Wow!

I found out about the Book Cellar via Instagram- you can visit their page here. They always post really great-looking book stacks and I've been really wanting to get out there but they are located deep in the Upper East Side and only open Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, mostly when I am busy. But my schedule opened up unexpectedly this week so I was able to squeeze in a trip.

 I took the boat over to midtown from Jersey and hopped on the uptown bus to 57th; from there I walked all the way up to the bookstore but not before passing 787 Coffee at 228 E80th Street for one of their legendary coquito lattes. Highly. Recommend.

That done, I wandered down a couple of streets and descended into a wonderland of used books. My haul:

Signed Bowlaway plus a bunch of other cool things!

Fiction of all varieties helpfully curated and separated into general, science fiction, historical fiction and a whole room of mystery. So many cookbooks! So much nonfiction of all varieties. Signed books. Collectibles. CDs. Recent stuff. Older stuff. All in beautiful condition, all sorted and alphabetized and easy to browse. Wow.

 

And the friendliest nicest people run the store, all on a volunteer basis, with proceeds going to the New York Public Library system. I seriously love this place. I hope to come back when I'm in the neighborhood again for my next doctor's appointment or free afternoon. Not to mention those lattes, yum. A perfect afternoon in Manhattan!

They are located at 78th Street and York Avenue. Instagram will have their hours. They are cash-only and they gave me an adorable tote with my over-20-dollar purchase.

James Joyce and Ulysses at the Morgan Library

Published in 1922 Ulysses is on a lot of people's lists of "books I wish I read," or "books smart people read and I would like to think of myself as a smart person so I'll buy a copy but not read it," etc. My own included. I read a book about Ulysses once,

Final proof cover of Ulysses

Kevin Birmingham's The Most Dangerous Book (link to my review), which I strongly recommend.

Little City Books, the independent bookstore in my town, did a giveaway of Ulysses earlier this year so I helped myself to a free copy and of course it's been in my TBR pile untouched since then. 

So last week I finally got around to visiting the Morgan Library in Manhattan for their exhibit on James Joyce and Ulysses, entitled One Hundred Years of James Joyce's Ulysses.  It closes in a couple of weeks so if you're interested, don't wait.

I really enjoyed it. The exhibit talks about Joyce, his family, the various influences on the book, his earlier and later work and goes through the book section by section with historical artifacts like manuscript pages, letters, photos and even an audio recording of Joyce reading. There is also material about the difficulties of publishing the book, Joyce's writing process and the later trial. The exhibit is helped along by the audio tour which you should definitely take advantage of. Colm Toibin does the narration and it added a lot to my experience. 

Early edition of Ulysses

The exhibit is relatively small; you'll find it tucked away on the first floor of the Morgan near the permanent exhibit about the museum itself but it is well worth your time. For me the main takeaway was the impression that the book is a lot more approachable than I thought; maybe I could be the kind of smart person who actually reads the book after all!

I went on Twitter to chat about it later and a friend directed to me to Frank Delaney's podcast about the book, re:Joyce, which does look like it would be a great guide. And I mean, it's Frank Delaney. How can you go wrong? He said, "life is too short for an Irishman not to know Ulysses." Yes I said I will yes.

Sunday Salon - Hugh Jackman is America's Sweetheart

This week was back-to-work-after-vacation, which is always exhausting. There was a lot of catch-up but not as much as I expected. Everything was under control as of EOD on Wednesday- not bad!

Last night marked our triumphant return to Broadway; we saw our first show since the shutdown in March 2020. Right at the end of February we saw an adaptation of Medea starring Bobby Canavale and Rose Byrne. And yesterday we saw The Music Man starring Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster!

I'm a huge Jackman fan and I have to tell you, back in my background days I was lucky enough to be on set with Jackman twice for the movie Bad Education. Bad Education was a movie about a corrupt school administrator who stole millions from a Long Island school system, and one day on set Jackman brought dozens of local lottery tickets he'd bought (because the lottery goes to fund public schools) and passed them out on set to the crew. Adorable! And for what it's worth you can see a scowling Marie in the courtroom scene towards the end of the movie. (I adore Jackman and it killed me to make mean faces at him!)

And there is a whole story about the series of delays in seeing Music Man; it was supposed to be my birthday show in February 2021 but then our tickets were pushed back to September, then again to May; then we were going to take a trip in May and rescheduled our tickets to June. Then the trip was cancelled, but Jackman got Covid and our tickets were pushed back again to July. So we finally got to see it last night and it was definitely worth the wait. He was amazing- the whole cast was. What a night!

Today I'm recovering from being out late with some bagels and coffee courtesy of my husband, who made them in our new air fryer. They are delicious! I'm pretty sure this is the recipe he used.

As far as what's up for today, we're going to hit Barnes and Noble for some funsies and relax the rest of the time. I'm doing some volunteer transcription for a local museum and I have a language book I need to look at for an upcoming class, so that should be fun, along with piano practice and other things.

My Favorite NYC Bookstores

This coming Saturday is Independent Bookstore Day, and I realized I've never talked to you about the bookstores I love here in NYC.

So my favorite bookstore café, and probably my favorite bookstore in NYC full stop, is HousingWorks. Located in an alleyway basically (126 Crosby Street, between East Houston and Prince Streets in Soho), they do good by doing well. Part of a larger organization serving and advocating for HIV+ and homeless New Yorkers, the store is about the best used bookstore I've ever been in. It's huge; it's beautiful; it's well-organized and well-stocked. It almost always has what I'm looking for, or what I didn't know I was looking for. And I can always find a seat in its large café that also serves yummy coffee and treats. It's the perfect destination for bookish me-time.

A few steps away is McNally Jackson Books (52 Prince Street), an independent bookstore whose distinguishing feature is that it organizes its fiction by geographic region. So when you want the latest from Italy, or Japan, or Nigeria, you know just where to head. It's a bookstore for the truly bookish.

Head north a few blocks and you hit the Strand Bookstore (828 Broadways & 12th St.) a legendary landmark featuring new and used books in a multi-floor, semi-labrythine setting. Go early in the day and have the place to yourself.

And hey, there are lots of little bookstores tucked into the village here and there- and to be honest I haven't visited them all. I haven't made it to the new location of Idlewild Books, though it was one of my favorites when it was in the Flatiron district. And I haven't gone to some of the really tiny ones. But I keep them on my agenda.

So we're going to continue to head north and visit Rizzoli Books at 1133 Broadway and 25th Street. Rizzoli used to be located on 57th Street across from Carnegie Hall, but that gorgeous mansion was torn down and the store moved downtown to its present location in a magnificent space not far from Eataly. I love coming here. It's such a pleasure to browse the beautiful coffee-table books and foreign specialties, many of which Rizzoli also publishes.  I don't get here often but I never leave empty-handed.

In midtown proper my favorite bookstore is Kinokuniya (1073 6th Avenue near W42nd St.), the American flagship of the Japanese chain. I buy translated books here as well as manga and anime-related movies and merchandise. They also have a yummy Japanese-food cafe I've been known to nosh at.

Keep heading up Fifth Avenue and eventually you will get to Albertine (972 Fifth Avenue near E.78th St.), a French bookstore housed in the French Cultural Center and child of the French Embassy. It's in another gorgeous 2-floor space and I always leave with something wonderful. Downstairs is mainly fiction but climb the stairs for graphic novels, cookbooks, art books and all kinds of delights.

Out in the boroughs I have to admit I'm not as fluent as I could be with the bookstores. I love WORD Brooklyn in Greenpoint (and their Jersey City branch too). I'm excited about the new Kew & Willow Books in Kew Gardens, Queens, and of course Astoria Books in Astoria, Queens is adorable. But the only one I really make the trip out to visit is Greenlight Bookstore in the Fort Greene and Prospect Lefferts Gardens neighborhood of Brooklyn, at 686 Fulton Street. (They have opened a second branch, on Flatbush Ave., that I have not visited.) Greenlight is probably my favorite bookstore besides HousingWorks. It's beautiful, well-lit, and the selection feels like it was curated just for me. It's irresistible.

And I love Little City Books of Hoboken, of course. Who wouldn't? It's adorable, well-stocked and the perfect neighborhood bookstore.

But I'll browse in any bookstore that's open and on my path. And we do have so many to choose from in this great city!

Another End-of-an-Era in NYC

One of my favorite bookstores anywhere in the world is the Strand Bookstore in Union Square NYC. For years I've made a habit of dropping by any time I visited the city and when I moved here three years ago the realization that I could just get on a subway train and go anytime I wanted was... well, awesome.

And one of my favorite things about the Strand, that made it different from other awesome bookstores, was their "review books" section in the basement, where they had shelves and shelves of half-price new-release hardcovers. I would go in sometimes just to browse that particular section, being as it was a curated and discounted selection of new releases. Located in a corner of the basement level, it was a quiet break from the bustle of the new-books floor above and always promised some treasures.

But now it's gone. I went in to the Strand the other day to sell some books and after getting my freshly-minted store credit slip went downstairs to see if there was anything great to take home. And it was gone! Now over the years the section has become smaller- two aisles at last count, down from four in my time coming to the store. But now it's gone. I asked at the information desk if it had moved (it has in the past), and the bookseller told me the books were still in the store but "reallocated" to their subject sections. So the Strand still has its half-price new releases, but they're all mixed in all over the store now.

I'm sure this integrated arrangement makes more sense for actually selling the books, which is after all the point. In the past, if you went in looking for certain new releases in hardcover, you might not find them in the general new-release section or in the fiction section dominated by older releases and paperbacks, and you might think the Strand doesn't stock them.  The review section was dominated by popular fiction and general nonfiction, books that some readers might not associate with the store. And since most people don't ask if they can't find something, and you might never think to look in the review section, you might just assume you're out of luck. Now, it's right there in alphabetical order. Makes sense, right?

But it also makes me sad, because the review section was, like I said, one of things that made the Strand special, and I'll miss it.

Charlotte Brontë at the Morgan Library

One of Brontë's day dresses

Now through January 2, book lovers have a rare opportunity to view the personal artifacts and early editions of Charlotte Brontë at the Morgan Library in New York City.

The exhibit, called "Charlotte Brontë: An Independent Will," showcases her writing from childhood on, including the tiny notebooks she created with her siblings, her artwork, her early published works including her handwritten manuscript of Jane Eyre, visiting the U.S. for the first time, and personal effects like her writing desk and a day dress. It's an amazing treat.

Brontë's portable writing desk

I went to the show on a busy Saturday afternoon and jostled with fellow Brontë fans for up-close views. Beginning with a portrait of her father Patrick, the exhibit showcases her work in non-chronological order and features several items she collaborated on with her siblings Anne, Emily and Branwell. Visitors can also view several of Brontë's drawings and paintings; like many girls of her social class she was raised to be a competent visual artist. The exhibit ends with the Jane Eyre manuscript, open to one of the most moving and important scenes in the book- Rochester's proposal to Jane. Seeing that scene in Brontë's own hand was a truly emotional experience.

Visitors are allowed to photograph everything but the manuscript. Visitors can also download an app that accompanies the exhibit for transcriptions of some of the handwritten items on display- letters, stories and manuscripts. You'll need those transcriptions- Charlotte and her siblings filled notebooks with handwriting so tiny it's difficult to believe. And the Morgan gift shop offers various Brontë-related souvenirs.

A tiny book Brontë wrote and illustrated

This exhibit comes on the heels of the release of Claire Harman's excellent biography, Charlotte Brontë: A Fiery Heart, and I recommend reading that book whether or not you see the show. The book offers a pretty detailed understanding of the family and having read it enhanced my appreciation of the show, which offers sufficient information to understand what's on the display but can't reach the book's depth.

Overall it was a fascinating, wonderful exhibit and a rare chance to see Brontë's own things, her own writing in her own hand, and gain an insight into one of the most influential writers in English literature. I urge anyone who's going to be in the NYC area between now and the end of the year to check it out!

An Outdoor Reading Room at Bryant Park

So yesterday afternoon on the way to my book club I was walking by Bryant Park and noticed a bunch of book carrels set up and filled with books sitting in a cluster, along with designated tables and some big signage announcing the Bryant Park Reading Room project.

Through August you can come to the park and read from 11am to 7pm daily, and there will be readings and other public events held here throughout the spring and summer.

I took a moment to check out Mort(e), by Robert Repino, a book which had caught my eye at local bookstores. It's a science fiction novel told through the eyes of a cat.

I definitely want to continue reading it, and I love the idea of this kind of open-air library. And Bryant Park is one of my favorite parts of NYC so I'll definitely be back!

If you come here to read, be sure to tweet @bryantparknyc #readingroom and let the folks running this great project know.

Sunday Salon

No new reviews for a couple of weeks; as I say in my "about" page, sometimes my adventures keep me away from review-writing and my adventures and a sort of general fatigue have kept me away from it lately. I've had book club meetings, movies, errands, all the usual stuff. My thing right now is exploring some of New York's coffee shops, like Ralph's Coffee at 711 Fifth Avenue, otherwise known as the Ralph Lauren flagship store. It has a cafe and serves pretty good coffee at that. And it's just so adorably preppy. I'll be back to it, and back to writing reviews, soon enough.

 

Recently I decided to reactivate my presence on GoodReads, the big social media site for readers. I was very active on GoodReads for the first few years I was blogging but deleted my account after Amazon bought the site, because I do not want to give Amazon access to my reviews or reading data. I still feel very strongly about not giving Amazon my information to use but I decided to sign up again only to participate in discussion groups affiliated with my book clubs. I will not be adding books or reviews to my account so if you want to follow me there feel free but there won't be very much to see.

I have mixed feelings about this. I am sort of not pleased to be on it but I do want to participate in my book club's activity there, so for now I'll give it a whirl. I feel uncomfortable with even making that compromise and I may not last long. I do realize that many of you do not share my concerns about Amazon and GoodReads and it's not a subject I really want to discuss or debate. I just wanted to put that out there because some of you know me well enough to maybe be surprised.

This week coming up I'm going to a lecture by a paper artist, attending a book club meeting and visiting a new-to-me movie theater for a French movie. And whatever else comes up along the way. Maybe I'll check out a new coffeeshop. Anything could happen! What are you up to?

Sunday Salon

This week in Marie's Life in New York includes bookstores, food, exploring neighborhoods and finding a new place to hang out. In other words, it was pretty typical. 

I went to the Grolier Club to see an exhibit on "blooks," things that look like books but are not.  The proper title of the exhibit is "Blooks: The Art of Books That Aren't." The items are taken from the private collection of Mindell Dubansky, a cheerful New Yorker with a passion for books. When I visited she was on hand to guide a large crowd through the exhibit and shared stories of her favorite items. Her collection includes things like exploding books, gag books, and just about anything you can imagine shaped like a book, everything from greeting cards and spice containers to banks and flasks and travel souvenirs, jewelry, clothing and more. It was a lot of fun. It's open until March 12 and free tours are offered on Thursdays at 1. More information can be found at the Grolier Club's website.

Otherwise things were pretty routine but we've got some fun things going on this week, including some birthday stuff and a book club meeting. I'm really frustrated because there are three events this week for Muriel Barbery's new book The Life of Elves and I don't think I can make any of them. It's even more frustrating because she will be at at least one event and I would love to get my books signed, but alas, it's not going to happen. Sigh. :( That's what I get for keeping myself busy sometimes!

Today there is some game on the teevee or so I understand. I have a quilt to finish up and photograph, and a couple of other small sewing projects to work on. And I'm starting my new book club book today too. I hope you have a great Sunday whatever you do!

Sunday Salon

So two busy weeks are behind me, and I've got one quiet one before my birthday week. Hooray! Quiet week! This week I accomplished several things. I basted two quilts, one for hand quilting and one for machine quilting. I attended two book club meetings- one for The Prophets of Eternal Fjord at the Scandinavia House, and one for The Galton Case at the Center for Fiction. People had mixed opinions about Prophets- some folks didn't finish it- but overall it was a great meeting and I really liked the people there. I think I'll continue to attend that one for sure. The discussion of Galton was fuller- that club has more attendees- but it's only an 8 week course/club/group whatever, so it will end in April no matter what.

Two big disappointments came down this week. The first is that I was too late in applying to get into a certification program I wanted to do at NYU so I have to wait till the fall. The second is that I found out the Center for Fiction is moving from its midtown Manhattan location to Brooklyn. This basically means that I will never go there again, because half of the reason I joined was to have a place to rest my feet in Manhattan. Honestly I would not have joined had I known this was going to happen, and nobody told me when I signed up.

But! It's not all gloom. My husband and I went to see Misery on Broadway starring Bruce Willis and Laurie Metcalf, and really enjoyed it. The reviews were not kind to Willis's performance and I can understand why. He kind of looked like he was suppressing smiles throughout and you didn't get a sense of desperation from him, although I had never seen or read it before and didn't know how it would end. Metfcalf was great though and it was a fun night out.

Then we got to see two rounds of Oscar-nominated short films at the IFC Center in the West Village, the animated and live-action nominees. So fun. I love that things like this are available here. I just found out they show these in Boston too-what rock have I been under?  The variety of movies you can see in New York is a real perk of living here and I love going to the movies. As for the shorts, they were mostly good, and some of them were very good. I can't wait to see who wins.

That's it for me. What are you up to today? Happy Sunday!

Sunday Salon-Christmas fun in NYC

Decorated home in Dyker Heights, Brooklyn

There's so much to do in New York during the Christmas season. In Boston we had certain holiday traditions- "It's A Wonderful Life"at the movies, Christmas lights, Irish Christmas concert. We can do just about all these things in New York and more, and we got started last week with a screening of IAWL at the IFC Center in the Village, and a Christmas lights bus tour in the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights last night. We have an Irish Christmas concert tonight, then later this week we'll visit a Christmas village in midtown and the Feast of the Seven Fishes later in the week. We'll find some time to visit Rockefeller Center and see the display windows at Saks Fifth Avenue and Macy's too. Basically every spare moment this week will be spent getting as much Christmas out of New York City as we can.

Bay Ridge, Brooklyn

Alongside that life continues. I'm working on my annual round-up post showing some statistics and fun facts about this year. And I'll be doing a wrap-up post for the Europa Challenge, a blogging community challenge that I've run for five years now.

But life seems quiet even with all the activity and running around. We've got the tree up, the apartment decorated and we're just enjoying the season. The one thing I haven't done which I used to do in Boston is the holiday baking. Last year at this time we were 3 months into the move and I was too stressed out to even think about it; we got cards and gifts out late, and barely got the tree up at all, so doing the holiday spread was just a bridge too far. Now I feel more settled here and better able to take on the holiday merriment but I still don't think there are any home-baked cookies in my Christmas this year. Which is kind of sad, because I miss doing that, but maybe by next year I'll be ready again.

In the meantime I hope everyone who celebrates it has a wonderful Christmas and New Year's celebration. And everyone at least have a great week!

Sunday Salon

Happy Sunday!

Well we got our Christmas tree up this week, now we only have to decorate it, lol. That's today's job, and the plan is to start this afternoon and then have a friend over later to help put on the finishing touches. That's after we go to our neighborhood's menorah lighting, so we'll get a little Hanukkah in the mix too.

This past week in NYC news I finally visited the Center for Fiction, a reading and writing space in midtown Manhattan that offers workshops, classes, reading groups and a lending library and bookstore for lovers of fiction- like me. I'm thinking of joining in the New Year and got a little tour and walk around their four floors of bookshop, reading room and library stacks.

I also donated another bag of books to Housing Works Bookstore, my favorite NYC used bookstore, which is also a charity shop supporting Housing Works which works to end AIDS and homelessness. I went there during the week to drop off some books and finish up my Christmas cards (they have a nice cafe), which are now ready to be mailed. Last call for anyone else who wants a card!

While I was there I bought a book of course, Prophets of the Eternal Fjord, by Kim Leine, which is next month's selection of the Scandinavia House book club. Scandinavia House is a museum and cultural center in NYC and since I'm in the market for a new book club I thought I would give this one a shot. We'll see how it goes. It's a big book but arresting so far, full of myth and a rich sense of setting.

In between working on the tree today I'll be reading some more of Flood of Fire, of which I have five chapters left. One of these days I swear I will finish it.

A lot of folks are posting Best-of-2015 lists right now. I'll have one closer to the end of the year.

What are you doing today? Have a happy Sunday!

Sunday Salon: NYC Tenement Museum

So the big thing I did this week was a visit to the Tenement Museum, a fascinating place in the Lower East Side featuring the history of immigration and assimilation in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Using a partially-restored apartment building where immigrants lived, and walking the streets of the Lower East Side, guides tell the stories of real people who lived there and using their stories to illustrate the larger history of the period. My friend and I did the architectural tour and then a building tour. It was so much fun! The guides were really terrific and we learned so much. One of the apartments even featured things that the actual tenants owned, donated by their daughter years later. (We were not allowed to take pictures inside the building or I'd show you.)

But I could take all the pictures I wanted outside, and whenever I take one of these walks, especially on the Lower East Side or the Village, I'm always on the look out for street art. It's not Bushwick, but there's still a lot and it pops up everywhere.

Oftentimes businesses will also feature intentional fun decoration too. I don't keep track of addresses because it's such an ephemeral art form and I feel like that in order to enjoy it properly you should stumble on it- you shouldn't go looking for it in specific places.

That is, unless you're on a tour. Then the guide should know where to find it! But I love the serendipity of it.

Of course that one is my favorite! Anyway it was a really fun afternoon (the whole thing took from 1:30-5:30 so it was a pretty full few hours of walking) and I can't wait to go back and do more.

Sunday Salon

Another week, another- what?

I couldn't even tell you. Event-wise, there were three highlights- my husband's office annual dinner, seeing a Doctor Who episode on the big screen at the Museum of the Moving Image and the annual Momo Crawl.

The Momo Crawl is an event when Queens residents and others gather in the Jackson Heights neighborhood to walk around to the 20+ purveyors of Tibetan food in a six-block radius to eat as many soup dumplings as we can in three hours. Participants include food trucks, sit-down table service restaurants, walk-up counters and basement buffets. This being New York, there is even a Tibetan restaurant inside a cellphone store. My group was the first to pick up maps from organizer Jeff Orlick, who used to conduct food tours in Jackson Heights; this was our second year doing the crawl and at least the third that it's been going on.

Trays of momos awaiting hungry crawlers!

So the way it works is, you pick up a map from Orlick, then go around on a self-guided tour of momo discovery and pay $1 for each momo you eat. Most places had a variety to choose from, usually chicken, beef and vegetarian, and the veggie option could be anything from chives to a mix to potato depending on the place. One restaurant's momos had a kind of curry filling and another had what I swear was lamb. But everything was yummy and one restaurant even had little dessert cakes made from barley flour, yak cheese and butter that they gave out for free. We started early and had about ten momos each.

The annual dinner was fun also. My husband is a First Amendment lawyer and works for an organization that supports journalists; his organization's annual dinner featured documentary films as the subject of a panel and included some very thought-provoking material. Also the food was very good and I got to rent a pretty dress so that was fun.

Later this week we're planning to see "Spotlight," one of the films featured at the dinner, which is about how the Boston Globe broke the story of the Catholic Church sex-abuse scandal in the Boston archdiocese, and get started on Christmas cards. Because it's getting to be that time!

This week I have a bag of books to donate at Housing Works, a big charity bookshop in Soho, and a trip planned to Manhattan's quilt shop, The City Quilter.

What are you up to today?

It's Monday! What Are You Readng?

I almost don't see the point of posting about my reading while I'm in the middle of two chunksters... still reading Flood of Fire, which I'm loving, and The Big Green Tent, which I'm also loving. Those are huge books and wonderful, the kind of books you read slowly because you don't want them to end. So I'm reading both relatively slowly. But enjoying every word and line.

For a treat, I read The Miracle Cures of Dr. Aira, by Cesar Aira, on the subway this week because the purse I was carrying over the weekend was too small fit either of my chunksters and carrying a separate tote for the books was not practical considering what I was doing.

Shot of J.P. Morgan's bookshelves at the Morgan Library

In one case, I visited the Morgan Library and in the other I went with my husband to Korea Town (32nd Street between 5th and 6th) for lunch and a walk around. A friend recommended a coffee shop there (Grace Street Cafe) and then I found an H-Mart and other delights. I went to Grace Street after visiting the Morgan on Friday, then went back to K-Town for lunch at a food court on Sunday.

Sunday's Mexico Independence Day Parade on Madison Avenue

Anyway The Miracle Cures of Dr. Aira is another short but intense read from one of my favorite writers. It's about a doctor known for making miracles who's put to the test by a wealthy Buenos Aires family and it's just great. His books are often difficult to describe and this is no exception, but I always recommend him.

What are you reading this week?

Cats and Italian Food-Or, An Average Week

So last weekend I went with some pals to the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, Queens, to see an exhibit called "How Cats Took Over the Internet." As someone who loves both cats and social media this sounded like an ideal afternoon.

The exhibit consisted of a short film series of cat videos taken from YouTube and a walk-through showing the history of cat photography, cat memes and statistics around the popularity of cats online. The films included an episode of "Henri, le Chat Noir" called "L'Haunting" and "The Internet is Made of Cats," a very catchy song by Rathergood.com, among other things. It was pretty fun. I was surprised to learn that in raw numbers, cats are not more popular than dogs online, but somehow cats and cat videos and memes have taken hold in the public consciousness in a way not reflected in those numbers.

Then yesterday my husband and I went to Soho to walk through the San Gennaro Festival, an annual Italian American saint's feast which culminates on Saturday when the statue of the saint is paraded through the streets of Little Italy. I don't think we'll make it to that, but we had fun eating corn dogs, gelato and arancini. And really it's all about the food.

But it's really about the religion, and I feel like there was a special buzz on the street with the impending visit of Pope Francis to New York City next week. There were pictures of him everywhere at the festival; I think NYC Catholics are really excited about this very charismatic and popular pontiff's visit. I know this Catholic is!

Unfortunately I was not lucky enough to receive tickets to his appearances, but that's OK. I'll watch from home in Queens along with most other New Yorkers. With cats by my side.

Frida Kahlo at the Bronx Botanical Gardens

A couple of weekends ago, I went with some pals to see a beautiful exhibit currently running at the Bronx Botanical Gardens, called Frida Kahlo- Art, Garden, Life.

The exhibit shows several Kahlo paintings and a floral exhibition inspired by her life and work. The art consisted of several paintings, maybe a dozen or so, including Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird, as well as a collection of photos and sketches. We were not allowed to take pictures of the art, so you will just have to take my word that it was stunning. I don't think I'd ever seen her paintings in person before, so it was a treat.

The floral exhibition was housed in the Garden's Conservatory, and was absolutely a feast for the senses.

The Conservatory exhibit included flowers she would have grown, a model of her desk and even a replica of the cactus fence that she and Diego Rivera designed in one of their homes. And we went on a beautiful sunny day so it was just perfect. To top it off, the museum even had a Mexican food truck on the scene so visitors could enjoy a yummy taco or two as they wandered the grounds.

It was a beautiful day, and I got a membership to the Gardens with my New York City ID card, so I'll definitely be back for walks and hiking in the fall!

The exhibit runs through November and on certain evenings they have more food available on the grounds. Here's the website: New York Botanical Garden at www.nybg.org.

Summer Day in New York: Neue Gallerie and Central Park

Yesterday we had what must have been a perfect summer day; hot but not too hot and barely humid, with just a touch of breeze. I had my eye on the weather for the week, trying to pick a nice day to head into Manhattan for lunch and a museum. Thursday was it!

Near the Metropolitan Museum

This week I visited the Neue Gallerie, a German/Austrian museum on the Upper East Side and sitting in the former home of William Starr Miller, a wealthy industrialist. The museum opened in 2001 and houses 20th century art, two cafes and a bookshop.

It's famous for its Gustav Klimt collection, including Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer, that famous woman in a shower of gold. The line outside is always long; on its once-a-month free Fridays, it goes around two city blocks. When I visited I waited about ten minutes to get in but I still think they should institute some single-rider-line-style system so people on their own don't have wait behind big groups. But that's just me.

Anyway I got the audio tour and enjoyed seeing the Klimts, other paintings and the exhibit of Russian Modernism currently on display. Actually the Russian stuff was pretty fascinating even though aesthetically I can't say that it's really my thing. Sometimes art is about the ideas and not about being pretty.

After spending enough time in the museum I took a little walk uptown to visit the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir in Central Park, where I snapped some pictures and had a soft serve ice cream. Then I walked down to the Metropolitan Museum and sat outside for a few minutes people-watching and after that I was ready to head back home. I caught the bus and spent the last few minutes in the city gliding down Fifth Avenue.