NYPL Centennial Festival
Grand Central Terminal, Vanderbilt Hall and other venues; 5/19–5/22; kickoff 5/19 at 6 p.m.; 42nd Street at Park Ave.
The library celebrates the 100th birthday of the iconic Stephen A. Schwarzman Building with a kickoff event launching their book Know the Past, Find the Future including readings by Martha Plimpton, Wesley Stace (aka John Wesley Harding), and Colum McCann. Many of the weekend’s events are free; check official website for details.
Rob Sheffield
BookCourt ; 5/23 at 7 p.m.; 163 Court St.., nr. Pacific St.., Cobble Hill, Brooklyn; 718-875-3677
Say you’re a music nerd in desperate need of help with the ladies. The Rolling Stone contributor comes to the rescue, reading from Talking to Girls About Duran Duran, his follow-up to Love Is a Mix Tape: Life and Loss, One Song at a Time.
“Open City 2011 Benefit Party”
The Home of Wendy Flanagan and Chris O’Malley; 5/24 at 7 p.m.; 162 E. 92nd St., nr. Lexington Ave.; 212-625-9048
Sam Lipsyte and Amine Wefali read at a party to benefit Open City and to mark the release of an anthology with highlights from the magazine, They’re at It Again: Stories From Twenty Years of Open City. Bonus: the benefit committee includes names like Noah Baumbach and Ben Stiller, so there’s the possibility of a (literary) celebrity sighting.
Anthony Bourdain
Barnes & Noble ; 5/24 at 7 p.m.; 33 E. 17th St., at Broadway; 212-253-0810
The adventurous chef, No Reservations host, and Treme scriptwriter reads from Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook, the sequel to his hit memoir Kitchen Confidential.
Jennifer Egan
Housing Works Bookstore Café ; 5/25 at 7 p.m.; 126 Crosby St., nr. Houston St.; 212-334-3324
Goodreads hosts an evening literary soirée with the Pulitzer-winning author of the rock-and-roll novel A Visit From the Goon Squad, fittingly with a musical performance by Brooklyn teen punk-rockers Care Bears on Fire.
Jimmy Fallon
Barnes & Noble ; 5/25 at 7:30 p.m; 33 E. 17th St., at Broadway; 212-253-0810
Journalist Katherine Lanpher interviews Late Night host Jimmy Fallon about his new humor book, Thank-You Notes. Joining them will be James Poyser, the Grammy-winning writer, producer, and member of Fallon’s house band the Roots, who will also perform.