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Arts & Entertainment

The NYPL Is Leaving These Free Books On Park Benches


By

Jen Carlson

Published May 12, 2011

Modified May 13, 2011


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By

Jen Carlson

Published May 12, 2011

Modified May 13, 2011


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The New York Public Library is all about free books, and now they're going to give you one that you don't need to return! The book features photos of "100 Luminaries And Their Favorite Items From The New York Public Library," including Stephen Colbert (who cried reading J.D. Salinger's letters), Mayor Bloomberg, John Lithgow, Vampire Weekend, The Harlem Globetrotters, The Rockettes, and even Parker Posey... which means a brief intermission from this post, to revisit Party Girl:

Okay, back to that free book, which is called "Know The Past, Find The Future," and has been created in honor of the 100th Birthday of The Library’s Landmark Stephen A. Schwarzman Building. Next Thursday, May 19th, the book will be distributed in a handful of subway stations, and the following day they will be found on park benches, select bookstores and in all NYPL branches!

In addition, the public is invited to the official book launch event on the 19th from 6 to 8 p.m. at Vanderbilt Hall at Grand Central Terminal. Colum McCann, Martha Plimpton, Wesley Stace (AKA John Wesley Harding) will be on hand for a reading and signing. There will also be a New Orleans-style jazz group to get you all festive.

And for what it's worth, our favorite item at the library is this cat paw that Charles Dickens had mounted to his letter opener.

Tagged

book

book drop

free

new york public library

nypl


Jen Carlson

Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.

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