futurejournalismproject:

Underground New York Public Library is an awesome new Tumblr featuring photos of people reading while they wait for the subway. The arresting photos speak for themselves.

Long train commutes make New York one of the most literary cities in the U.S. And because New York as one of the fashion capitals of the world,  you have all the ingredients you need for one very stylish documentary project.

H/T: In Other News

Welcome!

"To me, it’s too much work. I’m a different generation. The women stay home and take care of family and the man. Heck no. If a man asked me for a cup of coffee, I’d say, ‘Well, there’s the kitchen.’"

The most gangster 80-year-old woman in the world, on why she doesn’t date, as featured in Arianne Cohen’s new book, The Sex Diaries Project. See: What 1,500 Bedroom Diaries Can Teach Us About Sex (The Daily Beast)

newsweek:

Friend of Newsweek tumblr Amanda McCall (The Wendy Williams Show) and Parks and Recreation funny-guy Ben Schwartz (Jean-Ralphio!) have new book out this week, Looking on the Bright Side with Baby Animals, which is a follow up to their second book, Asking Awkward Questions with Baby Animals, which followed their first best-seller, Breaking Bad News with Baby Animals, all of which we have long fantasized about plastering all over the office doors of high-level Newsweek executives. Anyway: we asked them to answer some of our burning questions about baby animals, because, well, we think they’re funny. Also, because Amanda once wrote a book called, “Hold My Gold: A White Girl’s Guide to the Hip-Hop.” Please love them.

NWK Tumblr: Do you really think our leg will grow back?
Ben:  Well, that’s the best part of our new book. It prevents you from ever having to ‘think’ about things like that. In fact, it prevents you from having to think about anything at all!

Is there a particular baby animal that’s best for breaking bad news?
Amanda: When we started writing our first book, and even into our second book, we thought all baby animals were equally helpful. But now we know that every baby animal has its own particular skill set.

Ben: For example, kittens are good for relationship problems, while puppies are better for medical emergencies. For crime and other legal matters? Baby bunnies. God, they’re good.

Could your new book help Barack Obama handle the economy?
Ben: If Obama used baby animal postcards instead of talking, every political problem, from the economy to healthcare, would be solved.

Who would i give this book to as a gift?
Amanda: Our books are for everyone. Even Kardashians. In fact, I’m convinced that if this book came out a month earlier, Kim and Kris would still be together.

What’s the most over-rated animal?
Ben: Humans.
Amanda: Well, between us, cute little baby bears can be real divas.

Buy this!

Love, love a good card catalog.

In a makeshift courtroom in downtown LA, librarians are being interrogated I LA Times

Here’s a fun factoid from the book I’m currently reading:

The average gay penis is 6.32 inches. The average straight penis is just 5.99.

Who’s effeminate now?!

mycardcatalog:

Butler card catalog

This is really awful. California library to stop carrying books.

Oh, Sweet Valley, you’re back, and I love you, even if I’ve seriously outgrown you. And since I tried my very best to (unsuccessfully) convince the non-80s-reared editors in my office that you were a REAL phenom among us Gen X/Millennial gals, three interesting factoids from my profile of Francine Pascal, in advance of her latest, Sweet Valley Confidential:

1. Francine Pascal had never set foot in California when she birthed the Sweet Valley series. A lifelong New Yorker, she grew up in a Jewish family in Queens.

2. In 1985, Sweet Valley High was the first teen fiction to ever appear on The New York Times paperback bestsellers list, alongside John Updike and Norman Mailer.

3. In the beginning, Sweet Valley was deemed too “commercial” for many booksellers, who refused to stock it. The Times snubbed the series (despite it appearing on their bestseller list), and librarians fought to keep their stacks free of the “skimpy-looking paperbacks,” as one library journal put it. Nevertheless, the series became a case study in how to get young girls to read.

And now, all the 1980s chick-lit nostalgia to bring you back, in one tidy Daily Beast gallery.

Pretty pumped for this… Just sayin.