Posts by Kerri Wallace

After the unfortunate death of my Sony Reader, I went through the five stages of grief, as the loss of my device was a very dramatic event. I denied that it was broken, I threw a temper tantrum, I told a Best Buy employee that I would do anything to have it back, and I cried on the train, but I finally came to accept that I had sat on my Sony Reader and I alone was to blame. As I browsed sadly through the eNYPL catalog, images of the distinctly curved cracked screen flashed through my head, and 

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

It was 7 a.m. when I arrived in Dublin, and I looked greasy, unrested, and ready to hurl after the vegetarian Indian curry that was my in-flight 3 a.m. "dinner." I unhappily waited my turn through customs and prepared for the official behind the plexiglass panel to ask me the standard questions. I answered the gentleman with the demeanour of a zombie, but suddenly perked up when he made a cheerful, sing-song assumption I wasn't expecting:

"You're here to meet a man!"

I denied his assertion with several tries and laughter, but he 

Cooking is a very stressful situation that I do my best to avoid. I always get really excited and anxious when I decide to cook, but halfway through the process every burner on the stove is on, bowls, plates, and utensils have piled up on the counter, and all I’ve ended up making is a bowl of spaghetti for one. But as Thanksgiving rolls around my mother always asks the dreaded question, "What are you making?" I’m beginning to think that she regrets asking this question because the extent of my culinary assistance on Thanksgiving Day is opening up a can of cranberry 

This past Fourth of July, I decided to explore the Finger Lakes region with my Summer Reading avatar, Confused Misty Stingray. The Finger Lakes are located southwest of Syracuse, New York, and are known for their fertile soil for vineyards. The area is called the Finger Lakes 

"We just passed two huge black bears on the trail. They're not cute."

Photo by Kerri WallaceMy hike in Harriman State Park started off with the only concern being the chance of rain and ticks. I had packed my 99 cent rain poncho and doused myself in OFF bug spray to the amusement of my friends. I could handle seeing snakes, bucks, and other wild animals, but ticks were the last thing I wanted to find on my body or in my hair. My fears soon changed when we passed a father and daughter who 

I would like to introduce you to my summer reading avatar, Confused Misty Stingray. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, then you should swing by the Summer Reading website to create your own avatar and start keeping track of the books you read during the summer. You can keep track of movies, music, and video games as well. Usernames are randomly selected for you by the website, so do look forward to your future avatar's weird name!

I recently moved into a new apartment with a friend of mine from grade school and one of our big splurges was the magical DVR player. For someone who rarely has time to watch TV, I was given a basic lesson by my roommate in how to record shows. As we were scrolling through TV listings, I found myself announcing the shows and movies that were first published as books. And to my roommate's displeasure, I decided to record The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. 

While I may be a beginner 

Thank you for joining this month’s Reader’s Den featuring Muriel Barbery’s The Elegance of the Hedgehog.

Muriel Barbery is a French author who currently lives in Japan with her husband.  Her first novel,

I hope you enjoyed reading The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery this month.  Here are some questions to think about, but feel free to post thoughts and comments about what you liked or didn't like about the novel.

How would you characterize this novel?  What do you think the author's goal was in writing this book? Since the two main characters share the same critique on the upper class in Paris, do you think some New Yorkers may share the same views here? For two people who 

The Elegance of the Hedgehog, or L’Élégance du Hérisson, is a best-selling French novel written by the author Muriel Barbery and was translated into English by Alison Anderson. The novel centers around an upscale apartment in a well-to-do neighborhood of Paris and is alternately narrated by the concierge and a young 

Welcome to this year's edition of the Reader's Den!  In case you're stumbling across this page for the first time, the Reader's Den is an online book discussion group led by New York Public Library's very own librarians and staff.  Each month a book, poem, or short story is chosen and discussed right here on NYPL's website.  Read along each week and post your 

In case you didn’t get alerted by Facebook’s birthday notifications, Friday was Emily Dickinson’s 180^th birthday. Don’t worry, I missed it, too. But that doesn’t mean we still can’t honor the classic poet here on the Reader’s Den!

Emily Dickinson was born on December 10, 1830 in Amherst Massachusetts. After attending Amherst Academy and Mount Holyoke Female Seminary, Emily spent the rest of her life at her family’s house where she lived as a 

I hope you've enjoyed following the spiritual journey of Brida O'Fern in Paulo Coelho's Brida.  The following questions can help jumpstart the conversation about the novel, but feel free to comment on other aspects of the novel that stood out for you.  To avoid any spoilers, follow the link to read more and view the discussion questions.

The novel jumps between Christianity and the occult, do you think there is a balance between the two or do they 

Welcome to September's edition of the Reader's Den!  This month we will be reading Paulo Coelho's novel, Brida.  Brida is the novel of a young, Irish girl on a mystical journey of self-discovery. 

Visit the Reader's Den each week as we discuss the novel.  Feel free to post your thoughts and comments anytime during the discussion.

You can request a copy of

Not having a good book to read can be a crime. Inspired by the new release of Sherlock Holmes starring Robert Downey Jr., here is a list of recommended crime and detective fiction.   

 

The Complete Stories of Dorothy L. Sayers by Dorothy L. Sayers. A collection of stories by Sayers with many featuring two of her detecting sleuths, Lord Peter Wimsey and Montague Egg.

The Hound of the Baskervilles by 

It's year two of the Reader's Den and we have an exciting, diverse selection of books to discuss! For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Reader's Den, "RD" is The New York Public Library's online book discussion group available 24/7.  Each month a different title is selected by one of The New York Public Library's librarians and then discussed on the Reader's Den blog. Posts will feature reviews, summaries, author information, as well as discussion questions.

It's year two of the

Thank you for participating in this month’s Reader’s Den! I hope you enjoyed reading The Heretic’s Daughter by Kathleen Kent. Feel free to come back and post your thoughts and comments about the novel.

If you’re interested in reading other books relating to the Salem Witch Trials, you should try one of these:

I hope you all have been enjoying The Heretic’s Daughter by Kathleen Kent. The following are some discussion questions to help get the conversation rolling! Feel free to post your own thoughts and comments to let us know what you think about the book.

In the novel, Sarah comments on how her mother did not show strong affection towards her little