Escape the Ordinary with Summer Reading
Don't let the routine get you bored or down! Escape the Ordinary with Adult Summer Reading at the Bronx Library Center. Here's how it works—sign up for Adult Summer Reading at the Bronx Library Center. Collect a few paper logs and log all the adult books you've read (in any language) from June 1 through August 28. Write a brief comment/review of each book. Turn in completed reading logs to the Bronx Library Center by August 28, Friday at 5 pm. The four persons who read the most books will each win a prize. Winners will be announced and prizes awarded on August 29, Saturday at 2:30 pm.
I am escaping the ordinary here in New York by reading Middle Eastern Adrenaline Fiction. Just finished Joel Rosenberg's The Third Target and am currently reading The Tehran Initiative. Before that I read Dee Henderson's Undetected. Have you ever thought what's its like to spend weeks underwater in a submarine? Dee Henderson's Undetected will give you some idea.
Here are some events where you can connect with adult readers and some writers too:
Poetry Workshop
Saturday June 6, 12-2 pm
Reading Hour
Saturday June 20, at 1 pm
Join us and read an except from a book you're currently enjoying.
Book Discussion
Wednesday June 24, at 10:30 am
Tertulia Literaria
Lunes Junio 30, at 6 pm
Book Discussion in Spanish
Creative Writing Workshop
Saturday July 11, 12-2 pm
Reading Hour
Saturday July 18, at 1 pm
Join us and read an except from a book you're currently enjoying
Tertulia Literaria
Lunes, Julio 27, at 6 pm
Book Discussion in Spanish
Book Discussion
Wednesday July 29, at 10:30 am
Writing Workshop
Saturday August 8, 12-2 pm
Reading Hour
Saturday August 22, at 1 pm
Join us and read an except from a book you're currently enjoying
Book Discussion
Wednesday August 26, at 10:30 am
If you're looking for reading suggestions, please see a list below compiled by a group of NYC librarians. Additional reading suggestions can be found at NYPL Recommendations.
NYC Adult Summer Reading 2015 Booklist
These books were selected by librarians at Brooklyn Public Library, New York Public Library, Queens Library, and the NYC Department of Education School Library System
Fiction
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
During World War II, a blind French girl running from the German occupiers meets a German youth pressed into tracking French resistance fighters.
The Case of the Love Commandos: From the Files of Vish Puri, India's Most Private Investigator by Tarquin Hall
Vish Puri, regarded by many (and himself) as the best private eye in India, must reunite young lovers separated first by the caste system, then by the kidnapping of the young man.
The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty
Teenaged future movie star Louise Brooks travels to study modern dance in New York City where her and her thirty-something chaperone’s lives are changed forever.
The Flamethrowers by Rachel Kushner
In New York to pursue a career in the 1970s art scene, Reno falls for an Italian motorcycle heir and then mingles with the elite and radicals in Italy.
The Good Lord Bird by James McBride
A young slave living in Kansas runs away from his master with the abolitionist John Brown, following him and his abolitionist group to the raid on Harpers Ferry.
The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
A desire for freedom inspires two Southern women, a white debutante and her black slave, to take flight, finding courage to defy their restrictions.
Invisible City by Julia Dahl
A young Brooklyn journalist is drawn into her own Hasidic Jewish heritage as she investigates the murder of a Hasidic woman.
Island Girls by Nancy Thayer
Three adult half-sisters work through their old resentments and misunderstandings when their late father’s will mandates a summer together at his upscale Nantucket home.
The Martian by Andy Weir
A stranded and presumed dead NASA astronaut uses all his ingenuity and training to survive in the unforgiving environment of Mars until he can be rescued.
Runner by Patrick Lee
A midnight jog leads to a dangerous encounter between a retired Special Forces operative and a 12 year old girl who possesses an extremely dangerous skill.
The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
A widowed bookstore owner gradually reengages with life while caring for a baby abandoned in his shop.
The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat by Edward Kelsey Moore
Three strong, funny small-town Black women, inseparable lifelong friends, face their most serious personal crises together (with a little help from some friendly ghosts).
Tapestry of Fortune by Elizabeth Berg
Reeling from her best friend’s death, a motivational speaker downsizes her suburban life and becomes the fourth roommate in a beautiful old house in St. Paul.
The Traitor’s Wife by Allison Pataki
Together with her former lover, beautiful socialite Peggy Shippen and her disaffected husband Benedict Arnold hatch a plot to deliver West Point to the British in exchange for fame and fortune.
Vampires in the Lemon Grove by Karen Russell
Whether monster or human, the characters in these short stories go through magical transformations that help them better understand their lives.
Nonfiction
David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell
Much of what is beautiful and important in the world arises from what looks like suffering and adversity. (155.24 G)
Glitter and Glue: A Memoir by Kelly Corrigan
The author gives her perspectives on motherhood, shaped by her job as a nanny for a grieving family and her experiences with her daughters and her own mother. (B CORRIGAN G)
The Promise of a Pencil: How an Ordinary Person Can Create Extraordinary Change by Adam Braun
A privileged young man turned $25 into more than 200 schools around the world and presents the steps anyone can take to lead a significant life. (370.91724 B)
The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolbert
In the last 500 million years, there were five mass extinctions, when the diversity of life on earth suddenly, dramatically contracted. What species will succumb to the mass extinction unfolding before our eyes? (576.84 K)
Wave by Sonali Deraniyagala
A teacher remembers her experiences surviving the 2004 tsunami that decimated her entire family, and recounts her struggles with grief and gradual steps toward healing. (B DERANIYAGALA W)
Read E-Books with SimplyE
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If you don’t have an NYPL library card, New York State residents can apply for a digital card online or through SimplyE (available on the App Store or Google Play).
Need more help? Read our guide to using SimplyE.