Tag Archives: Brooklyn

Jackie Robinson Biopic 42: A Historical Travelogue to 1940s-Era Brooklyn

Destinations, Movies, New York City, United States, , , , , , , ,

42 PosterWednesday Matinee

By Jane Boursaw

Destination: Brooklyn, New York

Movie: 42

I’ve been racking my brain to try and figure out how to bend the movie “42“ into my Wednesday Matinee column here on A Traveler’s Library. Generally when I write about movies here, they’re filmed in cool locations to which you can actually travel and see cool things. But with “42,” a movie released last week about black baseball player Jackie Robinson’s recruitment into the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1940s, that’s a little different story. Continue reading Jackie Robinson Biopic 42: A Historical Travelogue to 1940s-Era Brooklyn →

Historic Irish Photos Spotlight Angela’s Ashes

Books, Destinations, History, Ireland, , , , , , ,

Today’s Review Does Double Duty. During March we are featuring strong, and unconventional women. And this weekend is St. Patrick’s Day. So we have a strong Irish woman–Angela McCourt, made famous by the childhood memoir of her son, and a new book that illustrates her world.


Book Cover: Through Irish Eyes
Destination: Limerick, Ireland and Brooklyn New York

Book: Through Irish Eyes: Visual Companion (NEW) to Angela McCourt’s Ireland, Compiled by David Pritchard, Foreword by Malachy McCourt

17 years ago, Frank McCourt (1930–2009) surprised the world with his touching, glowing, sometimes funny but also melancholy memoir of an Irish family that moved to New York City, where he was born, but returned to Limerick, where he was raised. The book became a best seller. McCourt won a Pulitzer prize for Angela’s Ashes: A Memoir, and spawned a generation (or two) of people trying to repeat his success by writing their memoirs. Continue reading Historic Irish Photos Spotlight Angela’s Ashes →

How Buddha Came to Brooklyn

Books, Destinations, Japan, New York City, Novel, United States, , , , , , , ,
Japan mountain scene
Japan mountain scene

Destinations: Japan and Brooklyn, New York

 Book:  Buddhaland Brooklyn by Richard C. Morais (NEW July, 212)

This new novel, like meditation, encourages calm thoughts and some new insights into oneself and one’s culture. But it brings  some laughs, too.

I gravitate to books that bring a culture to life, and since I’ve never been to Japan, I appreciated the subtle ways that Richard Morais introduces the Japanese mindset in Buddhaland Brooklyn: A Novel. What we are used to, we assume, is “right” so we have no trouble reading about the culture of Japan–as Americans, comparing it to our own American culture. Continue reading How Buddha Came to Brooklyn →