Tag Archives: Book Discussion

Word Up Recirculation: Booked & Unbothered – A Space to Read, Reflect, & Connect

Welcome to Booked & Unbothered
A Space to Read, Reflect, & Connect
A Sunday afternoon dedicated to slowing down, turning the page, and finding community through stories.

The Experience

Bring the book you’re currently obsessed with (or the one you’ve been trying to finish), find a cozy spot, and settle in for an afternoon of reading, reflection, and connection.

Read quietly at your own pace, browse Word Up’s expansive collection of books, and engage in conversations with fellow book lovers throughout the afternoon. Whether you’re discovering a new author, sharing a favorite recommendation, or simply enjoying uninterrupted reading time, the experience is designed to help you slow down and be present.

A soulful instrumental soundtrack will gently fill the room, creating the perfect backdrop for getting lost in a story, exploring new ideas, and embracing the simple joy of reading in community.

Whether you’re an avid reader, trying to build a reading habit, or simply looking for a slower way to spend your Sunday, you’ll find a welcoming community waiting for you.

Admission: Free to attend;. Donations are welcome and help support Culture Lime’s community-driven cultural and wellness experiences.

Book today to reserve your spot.

Hispanic Society: “Gay Liberation–New York City Pride Parades 1975-1976” Book Presentation

Join us for a conversation with internationally recognized multi-media artist Francisco Alvarado-Juárez about his latest book, Gay Liberation: New York City Pride Parades 1975-1976, featuring images from Francisco’s 2025 exhibition, Out of the Closets! Into the Street!: New York City Pride March 1975-1976, which was exhibited at the Hispanic Society in 2025 as the second installation for Arte en el Alto Manhattan. Featuring 18 photographs, this exhibition showcased the racial and ethnic diversity of the early Pride parades and revealed the nuanced bonds of kinship formed among marchers from disparate backgrounds.

The conversation will be moderated by New York Public Library Director of Collection Development and Global Studies, Jason Baumann,

Francisco Alvarado-Juárez is an internationally recognized multi-media New York-based artist originally from Honduras. With over 50 individual and 90 group exhibitions, his oeuvre spans painting, installation, mixed-media, and photography. Francisco’s artwork is represented in museum collections around the world including the Brooklyn Museum of Art, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Everson Museum of Art, the Museo Universitario del Chopo in Mexico, and the Museo Pablo Serrano in Spain. Francisco has additionally won over 25 awards, including grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Pollock Krasner Foundation, the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, the Fulbright Program, and the Monson Arts Center.

Jason Baumann is the Susan and Douglas Dillon Director for Collection Development and Global Studies. He also coordinates the Library’s LGBTQ+ Initiative, for which he has curated a number of exhibitions, including Why We Fight: Remembering AIDS Activism and Love & Resistance: Stonewall 50. He is the editor of Love and Resistance: Out of the Closet into the Stonewall Era and The Stonewall Reader. Baumann received his MLS from Queens College, his MFA in Creative Writing from City College, and his PhD in English at the CUNY Graduate Center.

Fort Washington Library: Book Club “A Guardian and a Thief” by Megha Majumdar

The New York Public Library continues partnering with WNYC to present a book club experience! Each month, we will read a new title leading up to a live conversation, in-person or online, with the author and All of It host Alison Stewart.

This book club will take place IN PERSON at the Fort Washington Library.

The March title is Megha Majumdar’s A Guardian and a Thief – an electrifying new novel in which two families seeking to protect their children must battle each other in a city ravaged by climate change and food scarcity.

In a near-future Kolkata beset by flooding and famine, Ma, her two-year-old daughter, and her elderly father are just days from leaving the collapsing city behind to join Ma’s husband in Ann Arbor, Michigan. After procuring long-awaited visas from the consulate, they pack their bags for the flight to America. But in the morning they awaken to discover that Ma’s purse, containing their treasured immigration documents, has been stolen.

Set over the course of one week, A Guardian and a Thief tells two stories: the story of Ma’s frantic search for the thief while keeping hunger at bay during a worsening food shortage; and the story of Boomba, the thief, whose desperation to care for his family drives him to commit a series of escalating crimes whose consequences he cannot fathom. With stunning control and command, Megha Majumdar paints a kaleidoscopic portrait of two families, each operating from a place of ferocious love and undefeated hope, each discovering how far they will go to secure their children’s future as they stave off encroaching catastrophe.

A masterful new work from one of the most exciting voices of her generation.