Bronx Library Center

Alvaro Fernandez, co-founder and CEO of SharpBrains and co-author (with Elkhonon Goldberg) of The SharpBrains Guide to Brain Fitness: 18 Interviews with Scientists, Practical Advice, and Product Reviews to Keep your Brain Sharp will be discussing the growing field of research in this area at two NYPL locations this coming week: Wednesday, September 23, 10 A.M. at Bronx Library Center, 310 East Kingsbridge Road; and, Friday, September 25, 1:30 P.M. at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street. By presenting the results gleaned from recent research and scientific studies, Fernandez aims to help us make informed decisions about brain health and cognitive fitness.

In partnership with the local chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, The Library recently held three film screenings/discussions focused on Alzheimer’s disease. One thing I learned is that there is no known way to prevent or delay Alzheimer’s disease: no “gold standard.” On the other hand, based on evidence we can say that engaging in mentally stimulating activities through education, jobs, and leisure activities lowers the probability of developing Alzheimer’s symptoms. And for some reason, the building up of a Brain Reserve helps people, even with the same Alzheimer's pathology (which cannot be delayed/ prevented), to withstand the effects of that pathology and to delay the appearance of symptoms.

I asked Alvaro for a few books he would recommend on the topic of brain fitness. Here are some of his suggestions and comments:

Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School, by John J. Medina, “A fun and accessible overview of the research and implications, written with a younger/ business audience in mind"; A User’s Guide to the Brain, by John J. Ratey. “An excellent introduction to how the brain works and important concepts such as perception, cognition, attention, emotions.”

He also recommended a few websites- Cognitive Daily and Mind Hacks.

For more about Alvaro and SharpBrains, see my earlier post here.

I hope you can join us for Alvaro’s *free* presentation—your brain will thank you for it!

Please join us this month as we discuss Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird.

The Bronx is currently having its first ever NEA Big Read hosted by the Bronx Council on the Arts and the New York Public Library’s Bronx Library Center. The title – To Kill A Mockingbird.

To Kill a Mockingbird was first published in 1960. Since then it has won a Pulitzer and has been translated into more than 40 languages.

"That rare literary phenomenon, a Southern novel with no mildew on its magnolia leaves. Funny, happy and written with unspectacular precision, To Kill a Mockingbird is about conscience—how it is instilled in two children, Scout and Jem Finch; how it operates in their father, Atticus a lawyer appointed to defend a Negro on a rape charge, and how conscience crows in their small Alabama town." —Vogue

"All of the tactile brilliance and none of the precocity generally supposed to be standard swamp-warfare issues for Southern writers... Novelist Lee's prose has an edge that cuts through cant, and she teaches the reader an astonishing number of use truths about little girls and about Southern life... Scout Finch is fiction's most pealing child since Carson McCullers's Frankie got left behind at the wedding." —Time

On a personal note, this is my third reading of To Kill a Mockingbird and with each new reading I am captivated all over again as if I am reading it for the very first time.

To Kill A Mockingbird is a novel about race, childhood and community in the American South. Scout and her brother Jem live with their father Atticus Finch, an attorney. Scout, Jem and their friend Dill are obsessed with the whereabouts of their strange neighbor Boo Radley, who has not come out of his house for years. The children spend their days acting out scenarios of Boo Radley’s behavior. Their life however, took a turn when their father was appointed to defend the black man accused of raping a white girl. The children were finally able to meet Boo Radley, but through circumstances, they had never imagined...

Stay tuned during the entire month of May for discussion questions and feel free to comment with your thoughts on To Kill a Mockingbird at any time!

Spring beckons: warmer weather teases; suggestions of summer intrude; promises to self to get out and exercise are made.

Yes, this is the year to start seriously walking, even hiking, maybe camping! And how about trying some bicycling, tennis, or canoeing. . .

I’ll do it—I’m going to the library!
Whaaat??? Who thinks of the library when they decide to get some exercise? Well, you should..

Allow us to be your friendly guide for your forays into fitness. Over the next four weeks the New York Public Library will be hosting four 50+ Fitness Fairs, at which we plan to introduce you—especially if you’re 50 or over—to organizations in New York City that provide free and low-cost opportunities to become more active and physically fit, while having fun.

More than a dozen organizations will be sending representatives to one or more of the fairs to distribute literature and give brief presentations on fitness activities in the metro NYC area. These include: the Outdoors Club, Inc., whose members lead walks and hikes in and near New York City; the Appalachian Mountain Club, known mostly for hiking and camping and which I was surprised to learn is involved with many other activities as well; and the Shorewalkers, who not only sponsor the Great Saunter every spring but have many walks along Manhattan’s coast. You can find out how to start a walking club in your neighborhood, or how to join one that already exists.  read more »