Midtown Scholar Bookseller and York College Professor Share Their Holiday Reading Picks
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Asia Tabb
AIRED; December 2, 2025
Listen to the podcast to hear the full conversation.
Holiday book shopping is in full swing at Midtown Scholar, where families, students, and solo readers fill the aisles each December. On The Spark, bookseller Catherine Lawrence described the season as one of the most joyful times in the store. “It’s definitely folks coming in to find books, yes, for themselves and also for their friends and family,” she said. She added that the holidays bring “multi-generational visitors… parents bringing their parents and their kids and all coming together to hang out and trade books and ideas.”
Lawrence said one of the biggest appeals of the season is the search for the perfect gift, something the bookstore’s wide range of genres makes easier. From poetry to graphic novels to young adult fantasy, she said the store “offers that wealth of choice that can make it easy to find just what your friend or partner or loved one wants.”
York College professor Travis Kurowski shared his own holiday reading list this year, which spans fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. He admitted that even as a literature professor, talking books with Lawrence is energizing. “I always have these conversations and think I read a lot. I’m not reading enough. I’m not buying enough books,” he joked. Kurowski said he gravitates toward books that represent “made up stories, true stories, and then… art made out of words.”
Some of the books on his list are old favorites, but many are new reads or titles he’s still making his way through. Kurowski referenced Walter Benjamin’s idea that a good bookshelf is full of unread books, saying he loves having books around with the intention to read them. This year, however, he has made steady progress, saying, “I think I got fifty-one read so far this year.” He is currently immersed in Michael Thomas’s memoir, which he called “heartbreaking and amazing,” and one he tries to savor late at night despite occasionally losing focus after long days.
The holiday season continues to bring life to Midtown Scholar’s shelves as readers trade suggestions, browse new titles, and celebrate the joy of gifting stories to others—and themselves.
