Literary lights

Bryant Park  Reading Room

Fri
Writing about Times Square, G.K. Chesterton proclaimed, “What a glorious garden of wonders this would be, to any who was lucky enough to be unable to read.” Literate New Yorkers head elsewhere. In the afternoon, pretend you’re lounging in the Tuileries at the shade-dappled outdoor Bryant Park Reading Room (42nd St side of park -between Fifth and Sixth Aves, bryantpark.org; closes at 5pm). Then follow Library Walk, 96 bronze sidewalk plaques with quotes (41st St between Fifth and Park Aves), to the deluxe Library Hotel (299 Madison Ave at 41st St; 212-204-5498, libraryhotel.com), which has book-themed rooms organized according to the Dewey decimal system. Truman Capote might have approved of the cocktail named after him (gin, Cointreau, lime juice and orange bitters; $12); sip one in the rooftop Bookmarks Lounge.

Sat
Take the 2 or 3 train to the NYPL’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture (515 Malcolm X Blvd [Lenox Ave], enter at 103 W 135th St; 212-491-2200, nypl.org), which has more than 10 million books, manuscripts and photos. Then drop by the hot spot Hue-Man Bookstore and Café (2319 Frederick Douglass Blvd [Eighth Ave] between 124th and 125th Sts; 212-665-7400, huemanbookstore.com). You may know about  the -Algonquin’s “Round Table” legacy, but have you made it to the Lenox Lounge (288 Malcolm X Blvd [Lenox Ave] between 124th and 125th Sts; 212-427-0253, lenoxlounge.com)? End your day withcrab cakes and cool jazz at the former hangout of James Baldwin and Langston Hughes.

Sun
Get jump-started with a latte and a granola bar at Housing Works Used Books Cafe(126 Crosby St between Houston and Prince Sts; 212-334-3324, housingworks.org), which hosts great events —and  benefits homeless New Yorkers living with HIV. Some of the city’s best reading series (Happy Ending, KGB Bar, Pete’s Candy Store) are on summer vacation, but the Bowery Poetry Club(308 Bowery -between Bleecker and Houston Sts; 212-614-0505, bowerypoetry.com), is still a good bet. Check out Taylor Mead (July 21) and Amiri and Amini Baraka (August 19).

Finally, imbibe like a literary legend at Chumley’s (86 Bedford St between Barrow and Grove Sts, 212-675-4449). Striking book jackets and photos line the walls at this hidden Prohibition-era speakeasy, including shots of Ring Lardner Jr. and J.D. Salinger.—Gabriel Cohen