*FREE* UWS Central Park Early Autumn Audiobook Walk & Listen!

You’re invited! ​

This very special and off the beaten path (heh) Reading Rhythms free event is a rescheduling of our previously rained out World Listening Day walk! Originally conceived by ecologists, World Listening Day is a day to stop and listen to nature's sounds and ponder what we can do to save the environment on our one and only home planet. We are taking a slight spin off of this by taking a nature walk through one of Central Park's forested areas, The Ramble, and some surrounding landmarks, as well as the Literary Walk (full proposed route laid out below). On our walk, listeners are welcome to exclusively listen to nature, or to pair that with listening to audiobooks! And this time around, what a better time to celebrate nature and its beauty than during the early autumn season!

The planned event structure will be to alternate between time blocks of meandering amongst the trees, and blocks of conversation and reflection at specific landmarks where the party will converge. The full event is approximately 2 hours in length, with an open ended field read at the end, from which point attendees are welcome to stay as long as they like.
Attendees are encouraged to bring something easy to carry to sit on for the field portion of the event, as well as a water bottle for hydration! They are also encouraged to join for as much of or as little of the walk as one likes! We should be easy to find at our gathering points on schedule, so anyone can join anytime. Attendees can either walk with the host, Claire, in separate groups of their own, or alone for maximum peace and reflection. There is no wrong way to do this walk!

The Nature/Audiobook Walk & Listen Route:
• 2:00pm - Start at the field behind Strawberry Fields by the 72nd St park entrance. The host, Claire, will be there at least 15 minutes early with a small Reading Rhythms sign and a dog that looks like a mini husky, and thus should be easy enough to find. Walk north into The Ramble, then stroll through its many paths as desired. (20 min)
• 2:20pm - Meet at the Belvedere Summerhouse, a gazebo-like structure (that is on Google Maps) to the north of The Ramble for a small group discussion of today's reading choices. (10 min)
• 2:30pm - Pass by Belvedere Castle, take an optional loop through the Shakespeare Garden, then move south through The Ramble once more. (30 min)
• 3:00pm - Gather at the northern side of The Mall by Bethesda Terrace to split off into groups to discuss thematic topics and/or suggested questions - groups are welcome to explore the terrace view, the Bethesda Fountain/lake view, or the tunnels underneath the terrace during this period. (20 min)
• 3:20pm - Walk around The Mall and Literary Walk between Bethesda Terrace and the William Shakespeare statue, then head to Sheep Meadow, specifically to a spot across the path from the Le Pain Quotidien/the restrooms. (20 min)
• 3:40pm - Meet in Sheep Meadow across the path from the LPQ/restrooms - Claire will hold her sign again - for a brief reflection on the walk experience, then engage in free discussion and field reading time at your leisure. (20 min or infinite minutes, the world is your oyster at this point).

Please note that the official walking route is about 1.7 miles minimum when always going the most direct way from A to B, which is a minimum of about 39 min of walking time spread across 2 hours. Listen to your body and take care of yourself - while there are official breaks every 20-30 min of walking for 10-20 min at a time, there is also ample time to stop and rest during walking blocks and just catch up at the gathering point for the next discussion block. There are always benches around - even some in The Ramble! - and more time allotted each walking block than it actually takes to get to the next landmark. Pace yourself and don't forget to hydrate!

The route chosen features some potentially less accessible or not accessible areas for some, namely Belvedere Castle, which requires a few steps to reach the main view, the Shakespeare Garden, which can feature a few low steps depending on the path taken and otherwise has a steep incline to pass it on the way to Belvedere Castle, and The Ramble, which sometimes has roots and ground protrusions that could make passage on wheels potentially difficult. Claire advises skipping the Belvedere Castle and Shakespeare Garden interlude and going straight from the the Belvedere Summerhouse gazebo back into The Ramble and onward to The Mall by Bethesda Terrace, where the next pause/meeting spot is.

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Reading Rhythms is a series of welcoming reading parties designed to make it easy for people to gather and read socially. We invite you to bring any book you want and facilitate silent reading periods, as well as 1-on-1 breakouts, and group discussions to pull on the threads of the books that everyone is engaging with.
In a world that can often feel devoid of interest and meaningful connection, we bring readers together to reconnect with our love of learning, to experience the wonder of beautiful venues and curated music, and to gather amongst all of the people who want to be in that very same room.
Our favorite conversations happen in Discord. Join us there → https://discord.gg/8ez5DaQqJV _________________________________________________________________________________
Disclaimer: By purchasing a ticket, you agree to have your photo/video used for social media/marketing materials, both as property of Reading Rhythms and other publications that may be present at our reading parties. Additionally, your purchase is final and no refunds will be given under any circumstances.