Telephone Call From The Past
Writer pens ode to 100th Street phone booth
By Reid Spagna
Born in Pittsburgh, Peter Ackerman received a Bachelor’s degree in English from Yale and attended The American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco to study acting. Among other works he is the co-author of Ice Age and Ice Age 3.
The writer met his wife when she starred in his play, Things You Shouldn’t Say Past Midnight. The couple settled down on West End Avenue and has two sons.
Most recently, he is the author of The Lonely Phone Booth, his newly released children’s book. Read more
Uncovering Lost New York
West Side author brings the city’s history to life
To talk with West Sider Kevin Baker is to glimpse the New York City of the past, before glass towers and high-rise condos threatened to swallow the island.
Best-selling author of the City of Fire trilogy, Baker writes mesmerizing prose about the city during pivotal moments in its history. Dreamland focuses on Coney Island and the infamous Triangle Fire of 1911. Paradise Alley takes place during the draft riots of the 1850s and Striver’s Row is set in the Harlem riot of 1943. Read more
Sfoglia’s Ron Suhanosky Hits the Books
Since opening Sfoglia on a barren stretch of Lexington Avenue in 2006, husband-and-wife owners Ron Suhanosky and Colleen Marnell-Suhanosky have been inundated with hungry Upper East Siders who were thrilled to have a sought-after pasta joint in the neighborhood. Read more
Summer Guide 2010: Books
KGB’s Fantastic Fiction
Speculate about the mysteries of life and science over some cheap beer while you listen to some good fiction this summer. A mix of veteran and up-and-coming writers of speculative fiction (science fiction, fantasy and horror) read excerpts and short stories once every month for this free event. This summer, highlights include Jack Ketchum and Scott Edelman on June 16 and, for the July 21 reading, M.K. Hobson and Lucius Shepard.
Third Wednesdays, KGB Bar, 85 E. 4th St. (betw. 2nd Ave. & Bowery), 212-505-3360; 7, Free. Read more
It Takes Two
By Kevin Filipski
As a twin whose sister writes for the New York Times, Abigail Pogrebin seems uniquely qualified to author a book titled One and the Same: My Life as an Identical Twin and What I’ve Learned About Everyone’s Struggle to Be Singular. But she didn’t think so at first.
“It was percolating in a way I didn’t necessarily confront, and every time I considered exploring it, it got so personal that there was no way to separate approaching it as a journalist and as a twin,” said Pogrebin, an Upper West Side native and former 60 Minutes producer. “I finally decided to not be frightened by the fact that it would be personal.” Read more
Speed Reads
September’s literary landscape at a glance
By Jeffrey Cretan
A Gate at the Stairs
By Lorrie Moore, Out Sept. 1
Moore’s first novel in 15 years is a coming-of-age story set in a Midwestern college town, half a continent away from New York but still living in the shadow of 9/11.
To Sound in the Know: Known more for her short stories, Moore published her first collection at the age of 26.
Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters
By Jane Austen and Ben H. Winters, Out Sept. 15
In the follow up to Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Austen’s Dashwood sisters search for love on an island after their father is killed by a shark.
To Sound in the Know: Winters didn’t write P&P&Z. That was by Seth Graeme Smith, who apparently is too busy working on Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter to pen another Austen. Read more
August Shrink Book Round-Up
Soothe your turbulent psyche on the cheap
By Susan Shapiro
“I feel like I just got a hundred grand worth of your therapy by osmosis,” said a friend who read my debut novel, Speed Shrinking. With therapists away in August, abandoned patients are freaking out. Yet in this lousy economy, there are cheaper ways to soothe your turbulent psyche than handing over your hard-won cash to an overpriced Jungian partying in Southampton. Here this longtime shrinkoholic and former book critic lists the best fiction filled with shrink wit and wisdom you can suck in for just the price of a paperback: Read more
An Idoit’s Guide to Manhattan
By Heather Peterson
In Jeff Nichols’ memoir Trainwreck: My Life as an Idoit, the stand-up comedian divulges his problems growing up with ADD and dyslexia—before he gets into the dirty bits about bong smoking and prostitutes. His story—both troubling and funny—was optioned and recently made into a movie. Sounds like he’s made the most of his dysfunction—but then it turns out the film might not be released. But he was still happy to talk about The Odd Couple, his transsexual eye doctor (and tennis pro) Renée Richards and why he’s glad he didn’t end up working at a hedge fund. Read more
