Staff Picks
The Strand wouldn't be the Strand if it weren't for its staff. The Strand employs some of New York's most talented and creative people, all of whom are voracious readers. Click on a Staffer's image to see their recommendations and read their latest book review.
Chris L.
Library Services Assistant
As a two year old, Chris L. wanted to be a chef. He even wore a paper chef's hat for Halloween that year. After abandoning that and several other careers, he stuck with what he knows: books. (He had to fill his dreams with something.) His book jobs have run the gamut, from the front desk to the office, where he now works in library services. He still cooks, though now he picks up after himself and buys his own groceries.
Kate G
Events Department Staff
Kate G. mostly likes to read classic French tales of perversion and overly-theorized narrative structures. One day she'd like to combine those two elements into one epic masterpiece where the characters are always playing chess and dressing real fancy. (It won't happen.) (But isn't that a delightful thought?) In her free time she mostly hangs out with her very fluffy kitten and makes pretty little things for her sweetheart.
Courtney H.
Books By The Foot Associate
Courtney came to New York from Athens, where she graduated from the University of Georgia with degrees in Journalism, Latin, and Ancient Greek. She will read anything once, but has a special passion for ancient history, Latin rhetoric, Greek philosophy, modern horror and fantasy, 19th-century Russian novels and contemporary investigative journalism. In her spare time, she reads books, enjoys freelance writing, and eats as much food as possible.
Colin M.
Art Department Staff
Your average Colin M. is a little over six feet tall, covered in thorns and lives on a diet consisting of tree bark and cheap beer. They can often be found amongst the funny-books selection of your local book store. Once thought only to live in Texas, they are now known to dwell in Brooklyn, where they can often be seen drawing their own funny-books and painting. If you find one of these Colin M. in the wild, stay calm and alert the proper authorities. If you do not know who the proper authorities are, just stay calm. They're mostly harmless anyways.
J A.
Art Department Staff
J graduated from the University of Hawai'i in 2008 with a BFA in printmaking. After driving cross country a few times he just ended up in New York. He admits to never touching fiction and to always riding his bike. Besides books and bikes he really enjoys listening to 90's straight edge vegan hardcore despite the fact that no one else can.
Abigail M.
Web Editor & Trainer
A passionate bibliophile with a long history of working in bookstores, Abigail has more areas of interest than time in which to pursue them. A graduate of Oberlin College, where she majored in Classics, she enjoys reading in the fields of history (both ancient and modern), philosophy (with a particular emphasis on the development of the idea of human rights), literature, and linguistics. The latter has led her to study—although perhaps not to master—languages as diverse as German and Amharic, Classical Greek and Mandarin Chinese. Currently, she is taking an evening class in Irish at NYU’s Ireland House.
With such varied interests, it can be a challenge to focus on any one field, but for the last few years Abigail has primarily devoted herself to her true passion—the critical study of children’s literature—which she hopes to pursue in graduate school. When not working, reading and studying, or swimming, she can be found listening to an eclectic mix of music, from classical to traditional folk music from around the world. Recently, in an effort to broaden her horizons, and to move from solely scholastic endeavors to more artistic ones, she has taken up the hammered dulcimer.
Olivia R.
Main Floor Staff
Olivia R. graduated from Barnard College in 2009 with a B.A. in English. When she's not shelving fiction at the Strand, she writes freelance and serves as assistant editor for The New Inquiry. She likes magical realism, long Russian novels filled with intellectual angst, short stories that evoke a world in a few pages, and poetry about nature. You can follow her blog, Fiction on Foot, in which she writes stories based on walks she takes around the city. You can also follow her on twitter @fiction_on_foot.
Jenny M.
Books by the Foot & Accounts Manager
Jenny M. came to New York from New Orleans Louisiana, where she earned her BA in English Literature and Philosophy at Loyola University. She has been a part of the Strand’s team since 2005 creating custom libraries and managing large accounts. Some of Jenny’s favorite books include the classics To Kill A Mockingbird, The Color Purple, In Cold Blood, The Awakening, and Lolita. Titles lining the shelves of her personal home collection include an assortment of New Orleans architecture books, literary classics and her prized selection of golden era crime fiction.
