In bloom? Books! Story and photos by Sherry Mazzocchi

Kevin Klepper saw opportunity in a pile of discarded books. The Washington Heights resident followed his instincts into the building from which he’d seen the books had been carried out. The super there happened to be a friend and led him into a three-bedroom apartment with a large floor-to-ceiling library. The tenant, an elderly woman, had died. The super had to remove all her belongings. Klepper called his friends and loaded his car with as many books as it could hold. Thus the Concetta T. Briollet Memorial Starbucks Free Library was born. The “library” is a bookshelf in front of Starbucks on 181st Street and Fort Washington Avenue Anyone is free to take and donate books. Klepper said that the inventory turnover is about one to every two days. It’s been so successful that Klepper, a contractor by trade, started a book club.

The NOMAT Book Club, co-hosted by Indira Anico, meets at Le Chéile restaurant (839 West 181st Street). Their next meeting is April 6 at 5:30 p.m. Klepper envisions adding a Spanish language book club, as well as non-book parties with music and food. It’s more about establishing a sense of community and having fun than reading books. “I don’t care if you’ve read the book or not,” Klepper said. “I just want to see you.” Book clubs are blooming all over Northern Manhattan. Word Up Community Book Shop (2113 Amsterdam Ave.) started Novels With A Social Conscience, led by Bob Lamm, which meets the first Sunday of the month at 3 p.m. Lamm, a writer who teaches at NYU, said book clubs were originally an experiment in self-education by women who were denied access to higher education. “It was a radical idea at the time,” he said. “Anyone who’s interested in a book club should honor that they were pioneers.” Their next book is The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz. Lamm said Word Up’s programs attract an interesting mix of people. “I feel honored to be a part of it,” he said. The groups are typically intimate, with about five people attending. “We’ve had very good discussions,” he said.

Moriah Senior Center’s (90 Bennett Avenue) discussions are larger. Director Shuli Gutmann said between 10 and 20 people attend the monthly meetings. Attendees must be members of the Center. Membership is free and open to anyone over 60. Gutmann favors historical fiction. “But I’m open to suggestions,” she said. The book club’s all-time favorite was Me Before You, a novel by JoJo Moyes, about a man who becomes paralyzed and wants to end his life. “It’s very powerful,” Gutmann said. “Every single person in the book club liked it.” Moriah members get a free loaner copy of the book ahead of time, courtesy of the Fort Washington Library. A librarian also leads the discussion. “It’s a wonderful thing that the Library does,” she said.

The Fort Washington Library (535 West 179th St.) also has its own monthly Saturday morning book group. The newly renovat-ed Washington Heights Library (1000 St. Nicholas Ave.) will begin book club programming by the end of April. The Inwood Library (4790 Broadway) also has a book discussion group and also offers a real jewel in its program Shakespeare Saturdays. Local actress, director and composer Donna Kendall Stearns has produced the free afternoon programs since 2004. Last fall she hosted a series of Sonnet Slams.

(continued……)

Moriah Senior Center’s book club discussions often host 10-20 members. Photo: Moriah Senior Center

April 2, 2014