Reading In The Park
Springtime is when Bryant Park wakes up again. The fashion show is over, the lawn is re-sodded, and the carousel is happily a-twirl. Soon, no doubt, the movies and concerts will return, and this year, as you know, we've got hawks to watch as well. I regularly eat my lunch out in the park, usually with a book in hand, and this summer I hope to have the company of more like-minded readers than usual, as Bryant Park is once again getting a reading room!
The Bryant Park Reading Room, without a doubt the largest in the city, will lend reading material from its rolling carts. Some of the books can be brought home, others can be traded for, and all can be enjoyed in the comfort of the park. Surprisingly enough, this is not the birth of a great idea but rather the rebirth, hearkening back to the Bryant Park Open-Air Reading Room which operated for eight years during the Great Depression, until it finally lost its staff to the war effort. It's been sixty years gone now, far too long for such a good idea, and I'm thrilled about its return. Together with the coming Coliseum Books store across the street, it's going to be a great summer for readers!
Thanks, languagehat, for this good news!