New York, New York, Books, Books, and Travel, Travel.

Paris and New York are my two biggest dream destinations. “What about Tuscany?” I hear the Cliche Police ask. Well, maybe when I turn 50 I’ll develop  a sudden urgent and passionate desire to buy a Tuscan farmhouse and make lots of bean soup in it while I write my memoirs (which will consist of a combination of authentic Tuscan bean soup recipes and hilarious anecdotes involving me, the neighbours and a crazy misunderstanding about a goat). 

But for now, my twin destination obsessions are Paris and New York. I’ve been to Paris several times but I’ve never been to New York, so I have to satisfy myself with reading books or watching things that have been set there.  I am actually pretty happy being an armchair traveller at the moment, and particularly enjoy devouring a book set in New York.  

The longevity and richness of New York’s place in culture and literature is a big part of what makes it so mythical and enticing to an outsider like myself. One of my literary heroes, Dorothy Parker, lived and thrived in New York almost a hundred years ago. She was a member of the Algonquin Round Table, a literary salon who met at the Algonquin Hotel to share gossip, barbs and jokes over lunch. 

Perhaps it is this sense of a city that is absolutely dripping with history and culture that makes the idea of it so exciting? Anyway, here is a shockingly biased and incomplete list of books I have read that really evoked a great sense of the place for me. 


The Legacy, Kirsten Tranter
A Fortunate Age and My Salinger Year, Joanne Rakoff
Bright, Precious Days and pretty much anything else by Jay McInerney
Three Martini Lunch, Suzanne Rindall
The Art of Eating In, Cathy Erway


I’ll probably revisit Paris in more detail in future on this blog. For now, I’d love to hear your suggestions for more New Yorky books to read!

Comments

  1. BronaAugust 1, 2017 at 6:22 PM

    Ahhhh New York - I have 2 beauties for your to consider. Insomniac City by Bill Hayes - it's a love letter to Oliver Sacks & NYC - http://bronasbooks.blogspot.com.au/2017/05/insomniac-city-by-bill-hayes.html?m=1

    And The Museum of Modern Love - a love letter to modern art & NYC - http://bronasbooks.blogspot.com.au/2017/05/the-museum-of-modern-love-by-heather.html?m=1

    Both 5 star books for me & I rarely give a book 5 stars.

    It's been a while since I reads you'd Paris one, but a quick easy fix could be a Maigret book.

    ReplyDelete

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