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I dropped a book off at the little free library near my apartment and a passerby stopped to ask if it was any good. The novel, Russian Gothic, is dark and horrible. The woman walked away, calling over her shoulder, “I get enough of that in the news!” I commiserated. I had started the month […]

I’m aware that some people cringe at the thought of attending a literary reading. Otherwise sophisticated people have even been known to sneer at the very term reading, particularly when prefaced with poetry, in that voice Giuliani used when he described Obama as a community organizer. But hear me out. Readings—prose, poetry or both; with

What if I told you that Washington Square Park had its own circus? What would it look like? Some people would imagine a giant tent set up over the central fountain; with the water turned off, it already creates a sort of acropolis with raked seating, a stage that is already used by skateboarders bailing

I called my sister to wish her happy Mother’s Day. She has four daughters and nine grandkids. “I know this might sound crazy,” I said, “but I’m really glad Mom is gone and not here for this.” My sister said that she was thinking the same thing. We would be so worried, even though our

Wonder City: How to Reclaim Human-Scale Urban Life By Lynn Ellsworth Fordham University Press, 384 pages, $34.95 If it were not such a spur to anguish, fear and fury, the second Trump administration would be a fascinating social experiment: What does it take to get people and institutions to bend to your will? When do

Why do these milk substitutes often come with a higher price tag? Whether it is soy, almond, oat, macadamia, hemp, or any number of alternative options, why are coffee shops charging between fifty cents and sometimes up to a dollar fifty more for non-dairy choices? In simple terms, alternative milks generally cost more for cafes

With apologies to Jay North, who played “Dennis the Menace” in the old TV show and died recently. This picture of him grabbed my attention when it came up on my phone. It seemed to illustrate the attitude of the current regime, pedaling full tilt into a dysfunctional authoritarian state. The opening quote is from

“Your new review is a great addition to Google. Contributions like this help others make decisions about the things worth doing and the places worth seeing.” I received this message after posting my first Google review. It was for a small restaurant I had popped into, despite not finding it while searching for lunch options

It’s 11:30 a.m. on a chilly Friday, and the small children’s boutique on 9th Street won’t open for another half hour. Still, hundreds are lined up from the building’s entrance all the way down the street and around the corner of 1st Ave. Some have been waiting for over three hours, bringing folding chairs or

I found myself explaining this to several coffee drinking friends of mine recently. It got me to thinking that maybe others are confused too. So, let’s get down to it. Here is an in depth look at what makes each coffee drink unique as well as what the key variations are between the Cappuccino, Flat