This Week at Commonplace.NYC — Oct 11 – Oct 17
2026-10-11
Pictures from Commonplace.NYC Last Week
This Week's Book Clubs
Oct 11 – Oct 17 — here's what's happening with Commonplace.NYC book clubs this week.
New York Comic Con (Day 4)
A Supergods themed book club at New York Comic Con at the Javits Center. Grant Morrison argues superheroes are the gods a secular culture made for itself. Spend four days in the temple and decide if they're right. Cosplay encouraged.
New York Comic Con (Day 4): Sunday, Oct 11 · 10:00 AM–5:00 PM EDT — 655 W 34th St, New York, NY 10001
Sapiro v. Ford Screening and Talkback
A Henry Ford's War on Jews and the Legal Battle Against Hate Speech focused book club. Victoria Saker Woeste's history is the definitive account of Aaron Sapiro's libel suit against Ford. We will attend Films at the Museum: Sapiro v. Ford at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, a 68-minute documentary with Ben Shenkman as Sapiro, followed by a talkback with director Gaylen Ross and Shenkman.
Sapiro v. Ford Screening and Talkback: Sunday, Oct 11 · 2:00 PM–4:00 PM EDT — Museum of Jewish Heritage, Edmond J. Safra Plaza, 36 Battery Place, New York, NY 10280, United States
APHASIA: A Play in Verse
A Still Alice themed book club at APHASIA, Marc J. Straus's play in verse at The Chain Theatre, three nights only. Straus, a poet and former oncology chair, plays his own mother, Dora, a valedictorian at 76 who wakes from a stroke understanding everything and able to say nothing. Genova's Alice is a linguist losing language to Alzheimer's. Both books are about a sharp mind trapped inside. Tickets from $40.
APHASIA: A Play in Verse: Sunday, Oct 11 · 3:00 PM–4:25 PM EDT — 312 W. 36th Street, 3rd Floor, New York, NY, United States
Sounds of Palestine at RIVAA Gallery
A Children of the Stone focused book club. Sandy Tolan's book follows Ramzi Aburedwan, a boy photographed throwing a stone during the First Intifada who became a musician and founded a music school for Palestinian children. Ramzi is playing bouzouk at this concert. We will attend Sounds of Palestine: Music, Tradition and Contemporary Voices, presented by the Roosevelt Island Chamber Music Society. Suggested donation $25, $15 for students and seniors (donate here).
Sounds of Palestine at RIVAA Gallery: Sunday, Oct 11 · 3:00 PM–4:20 PM EDT — RIVAA Gallery, 527 Main St, Roosevelt Island, New York, NY 10044, United States
A Rational Psychedelic Ceremony
A Philosophy as a Way of Life focused book club. Pierre Hadot argued that ancient philosophy was a set of daily spiritual exercises, and his account of Stoic prosoché (attention) is the backbone of this evening. We will attend A Rational Psychedelic Ceremony, which combines Stoic philosophy, breathwork, yoga, and scientific awe, with no substances. Presented by the Psychedelic Yoga Research Collective with the Brooklyn Psychedelic Society and philosopher Pedro Carta. Tickets. Bring a yoga mat (only ten on site). Go to 35 Meadow St, not 55. Breath retention is included: check with a clinician first if you are pregnant or have a cardiovascular condition, epilepsy, or a history of fainting. Questions: [email protected].
A Rational Psychedelic Ceremony: Sunday, Oct 11 · 6:30 PM–8:30 PM EDT — Matka Studio, 35 Meadow St, Unit 303, Brooklyn, NY 11206, United States
Curator-Led Tour: Goddesses in the Machine
A Silent Stars themed book club on an ArtTable curator-led tour of Goddesses in the Machine: Fashion in American Silent Film with co-curator Emma Cormack at Bard Graduate Center. It's the first major show on how early Hollywood went from actors wearing their own clothes to the costume designer. Basinger profiles the stars who wore them.
Curator-Led Tour: Goddesses in the Machine: Tuesday, Oct 13 · 12:30 PM–1:30 PM EDT — 18 West 86th St, New York, NY 10024
Medieval Gothic Calligraphy Workshop
A Name of the Rose focused book club. Eco's murder mystery centers on a monastery scriptorium where monks copy manuscripts by hand. We will take a Medieval Gothic Calligraphy Workshop at Kiki and Bouba Craft Lab, learning textura quadrata (the blackletter of the Gutenberg Bible) from designer Julian Francis Kelly. Materials provided, and you leave with a finished piece. Currently sold out with a waitlist. Tickets are non-refundable but transferable via [email protected].
Medieval Gothic Calligraphy Workshop: Tuesday, Oct 13 · 6:30 PM–9:00 PM EDT — Kiki and Bouba Craft Lab, 1027 Grand St, Brooklyn, NY 11211, United States
ITMA: Drawing from the Well (Night 1)
A Dubliners focused book club. "The Dead" ends with an old traditional song that brings back a buried memory, the same pull from archive to present that this show is built on. We will attend ITMA: Drawing from the Well at the Irish Arts Center, two nights of live Irish traditional music drawn from ITMA's Across the States: An Irish Cultural Atlas of America, featuring Matt Molloy, Doireann Ní Ghlacáin, Edwina Guckian, and NYC players. Tickets are $25/$58/$68. Currently sold out, so check back for releases. Box office: [email protected], 888-616-0274.
ITMA: Drawing from the Well (Night 1): Tuesday, Oct 13 · 7:30 PM–9:00 PM EDT — JL Greene Theatre, Irish Arts Center, 726 11th Ave, New York, NY 10019, United States
ITMA: Drawing from the Well (Night 2): Wednesday, Oct 14 · 7:30 PM–9:00 PM EDT — JL Greene Theatre, Irish Arts Center, 726 11th Ave, New York, NY 10019, United States
‘I, Too, Sing America’: More Movements and Poetic Multiculturalism
A New American Poetry 1945–1960 focused book club. Donald Allen's anthology gathered the Beats, the New York School, Black Mountain, and the San Francisco Renaissance, the movements this session covers. We will attend session seven of ‘I, Too, Sing America’: a People's History of U.S. Poetry, "1939 to 1980, Part II: More Movements and Poetic Multiculturalism," at the Mulberry Street Library. The series takes its title from the Langston Hughes poem and its subtitle from Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States. Registration is required and covers all eight sessions. In person is limited to 30, and there is a Google Meet livestream. Questions: [email protected].
‘I, Too, Sing America’: More Movements and Poetic Multiculturalism: Wednesday, Oct 14 · 5:30 PM–7:00 PM EDT — Mulberry Street Library, Community Room LL2, 10 Jersey St, New York, NY 10012, United States
Minimum Plot Size Regulations Talk at NYU Marron
A Planet of Cities focused book club. The book is by Shlomo "Solly" Angel, who is presenting this research. It argues that cities should plan for expansion based on measured growth rather than assumptions. We will attend How Stringent Are Minimum Plot Size Regulations in Sub-Saharan Africa? at the NYU Marron Institute, where Angel, Fellow Simon De Boeck, and Gallatin undergraduate Ceci Rodriguez present findings from the Applied Research to Solve Urban Problems course. Marron's programs: urban planning, environmental health, civic analytics, transportation and land use, human trafficking, and public sector performance and innovation. Map. Register on Luma with a personal email and bring a photo ID matching your registered name.
Minimum Plot Size Regulations Talk at NYU Marron: Thursday, Oct 15 · 9:15 AM–10:30 AM EDT — 5 MetroTech Center, LC 400 (4th Floor), Brooklyn, NY 11201, United States
Mock Interviews at Emma's Torch
An Ungrateful Refugee focused book club. Dina Nayeri writes about what refugees are expected to perform in exchange for a new start, including in job and asylum interviews. We will volunteer with New York Cares at Emma's Torch, a nonprofit culinary program for refugees and asylum seekers, running mock interviews with students. Volunteers with 3–5+ years of professional experience in any field are encouraged. Limited spots.
Mock Interviews at Emma's Torch: Thursday, Oct 15 · 2:00 PM–4:30 PM EDT — Emma's Torch, Manhattan, NY (address provided by New York Cares on sign-up)
J-POP Night @ Kodansha House
A Norwegian Wood focused book club. Murakami's breakout novel, published in Japan by Kodansha, is named after a pop song and is full of records and music. We will go to J-POP Night @ Kodansha House for J-pop, J-core, and anime openings (Hikaru Utada, Ayumi Hamasaki, Namie Amuro, Perfume, m-flo, and more) with DJs Aster, Bubucore, Cute Boys, and Gagbert. Presented by Isidcore with Life After Trance. Map.
J-POP Night @ Kodansha House: Thursday, Oct 15 · 5:30 PM–9:00 PM EDT — Kodansha House NY, 508 W 37th St, New York, NY 10018, United States
Through the Mirror at the NY Transit Museum
A Man in the Mirror: Hope, Struggle, and Belonging in an American City focused book club. Anand Giridharadas's new book is the starting point for this panel, and he will be on stage. We will attend Through the Mirror: Homelessness, Healthcare, and Innovation in the NYC Subways at the NY Transit Museum, moderated by Elizabeth Glazer of Vital City, with outreach nurses and leaders from the Department of Homeless Services and the MTA. Free, registration required (Info + RSVP). Directions.
Through the Mirror at the NY Transit Museum: Thursday, Oct 15 · 6:00 PM–7:30 PM EDT — New York Transit Museum, 99 Schermerhorn St, Brooklyn, NY 11201, United States
Still Life with Dowland and Britten (Manhattan)
A February House focused book club. Sherill Tippins tells the story of the Brooklyn Heights house where Benjamin Britten lived in 1940 with W.H. Auden, Carson McCullers, and Gypsy Rose Lee. We will attend TENET Vocal Artists' Still Life with Dowland and Britten, an intimate program for two singers, lute, and harp with Jolle Greenleaf, Haitham Haidar, Amanda Beranek, and Charles Weaver. Choose the Brooklyn night to hear Britten back in the borough. Full details + tickets, $20–$60. Directions to the Manhattan venue.
Still Life with Dowland and Britten (Manhattan): Thursday, Oct 15 · 6:00 PM–7:30 PM EDT — House of the Redeemer/Fabbri Mansion, 7 E 95th St, New York, NY 10128, United States
Still Life with Dowland and Britten (Brooklyn): Friday, Oct 16 · 6:00 PM–7:30 PM EDT — Church of the Ascension, 127 Kent St, Brooklyn, NY 11222, United States
RANCHO: El porvenir at CPR
A Violence and the Sacred focused book club. René Girard argued that vengeance spreads until a community turns on a sacrificial victim, and that observers and participants are harder to separate than we think. Valentina Baché's piece is built on the same blurry line between self-defense and vengeance. We will attend OPEN AiR | Valentina Baché: RANCHO: El porvenir at CPR – Center for Performance Research. Tickets are $0–$25, pay what you can. Map.
RANCHO: El porvenir at CPR: Thursday, Oct 15 · 7:00 PM–8:30 PM EDT — CPR – Center for Performance Research, 361 Manhattan Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11211, United States
Me-Wee's Playhouse
A My Grandmother's Hands themed book club at Me-Wee's Playhouse at Dixon Place, Nicole Hill's part performance art, part play-date for adults. A monster named Me-Wee and a singing pair of clown-tits invite you to laugh at the "United States of Traumatization" and find your own monster. Menakem argues racial trauma lives in the body, so it fits. Six shows, $10 All Skate tickets available.
Me-Wee's Playhouse: Thursday, Oct 15 · 7:30 PM–9:00 PM EDT — 161A Chrystie Street, New York, NY 10002
Me-Wee's Playhouse: Friday, Oct 16 · 7:30 PM–9:00 PM EDT — 161A Chrystie Street, New York, NY 10002
Me-Wee's Playhouse: Saturday, Oct 17 · 7:30 PM–9:00 PM EDT — 161A Chrystie Street, New York, NY 10002
Open House New York: Gravesend Cemetery
An Island at the Center of the World focused book club. Shorto's history of Dutch New Amsterdam explains how an English widow, Lady Deborah Moody, got a Dutch patent in 1643 to found Gravesend, one of the few early settlements led by a woman and one built on religious tolerance. We will join the NYC Parks Urban Park Rangers for an Open House New York tour of the landmarked Gravesend Cemetery, where early settlers and Brooklyn's founding families are buried. Free. Directions. Map data © City of New York © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Open House New York: Gravesend Cemetery: Friday, Oct 16 · 2:00 PM–6:00 PM EDT — Gravesend Cemetery, Gravesend Neck Rd & McDonald Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11223, United States
New York Sign Museum Tour
A Store Front: The Disappearing Face of New York focused book club. James and Karla Murray spent years photographing mom-and-pop storefronts and their hand-made signs before they vanished. We will take a tour of the New York Sign Museum, where over 40 rescued storefront signs are kept inside Noble Signs' working shop, in a prewar factory with glass block walls, art deco tin ceilings, and a working dumbwaiter. Arrive no earlier than 10 minutes before (no lobby), and wear closed-toe shoes. Upstairs is reached only by stairs. No refunds.
New York Sign Museum Tour: Friday, Oct 16 · 2:00 PM–3:00 PM EDT — New York Sign Museum (inside Noble Signs), near Broadway Junction (A/C/J/L) and LIRR East New York, Brooklyn, NY. Exact address TBA by organizer.
Maps, Mobility, & Innovation Mixer
A Power Broker focused book club. Caro's biography of Robert Moses is the classic account of how one person reshaped how New Yorkers move. 370 Jay Street, now NYU's urban tech hub, was once the headquarters of the city's transit authority. We will attend the Maps, Mobility, & Innovation Mixer hosted by CUSP at NYU Tandon, SWARM NYC, and GISMO NYC, with Transit Techies NYC and NASA Space Apps. Includes a presentation from Andrew Kittredge of BetaNYC. Free.
Maps, Mobility, & Innovation Mixer: Friday, Oct 16 · 5:30 PM–8:00 PM EDT — 370 Jay St, Brooklyn, NY 11201, United States
Stargazing at The Evergreens Cemetery
A Cosmos focused book club. Sagan grew up in Brooklyn and wrote that we are made of star-stuff, which makes a Brooklyn cemetery a fitting place to look up. We will join the Amateur Astronomers Association for Stargazing at The Evergreens Cemetery during Open House New York Weekend: telescopes, astronomy activities, no experience needed. Free, no tickets, wheelchair accessible.
Stargazing at The Evergreens Cemetery: Friday, Oct 16 · 7:00 PM–10:00 PM EDT — The Evergreens Cemetery, 1629 Bushwick Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11207, United States
Raptorama! at the Salt Marsh Nature Center
An H is for Hawk focused book club. Macdonald's memoir of training a goshawk while grieving her father is about seeing a wild animal up close and letting it change you. We will attend Raptorama! at the Salt Marsh Nature Center to see live birds of prey with NYC Bird Alliance, American Littoral Society, and the Marine Park Alliance Forever Wild Committee. Free.
Raptorama! at the Salt Marsh Nature Center: Saturday, Oct 17 · 12:00 PM–2:00 PM EDT — Salt Marsh Nature Center, 3302 Avenue U, Brooklyn, NY 11234, United States
Painting the Modern Object at Lista
A Ways of Seeing focused book club. Berger argued that oil painting grew up as a way of celebrating things people own. Painting a balloon-dog figurine is a good way to test that idea. We will take Sunset Park Open Studios: Painting the Modern Object at Lista, a two-hour beginner workshop on shape, color, light, and shadow. $25, materials included.
Painting the Modern Object at Lista: Saturday, Oct 17 · 6:00 PM–8:00 PM EDT — Lista Studios, Sunset Park, Brooklyn, NY, United States
Harmonium Concert: Kedar Naphade with Samir Chatterjee
A Music Room focused book club. Namita Devidayal's memoir is about growing up under a teacher from the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana, the same vocal lineage that shaped harmonium player Kedar Naphade through Smt. Padmavati Shaligram-Gokhale. We will attend a Harmonium Concert by Kedar Naphade with Samir Chatterjee on tabla at the Chhandayan Center for Indian Music. Kedar trained with Shri Dadasaheb Naphade and Pt. Tulsidas Borkar, in the line of P. Madhukar. Tickets/Streaming. Map. Tagged Baithak, Harmonium, Tabla.
Harmonium Concert: Kedar Naphade with Samir Chatterjee: Saturday, Oct 17 · 7:30 PM–9:00 PM EDT — Chhandayan Center for Indian Music, 269 W 39th St, New York, NY 10018, United States
Warm Leatherette at Hart Bar
A Crash focused book club. The Normal's 1978 synth single "Warm Leatherette", the namesake of this party, was written as a response to Ballard's novel about desire, cars, and technology. We will go to Warm Leatherette at Hart Bar for its spooky edition: darkwave, synth, 80s, and 90s with DJs @ivyohwowwee and @dialjess. 21+, no cover, RSVP required.
Warm Leatherette at Hart Bar: Saturday, Oct 17 · 10:00 PM–2:00 AM EDT — Hart Bar, 1 Covert St, Brooklyn, NY 11207, United States
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