Where can you find Paolo Sarpi and Mick Jagger, the earliest book peddlers and Nazi's, comfort reads and medieval marginalia, bouqinistes and UNESCO bookstalls, shy nerds and arrogant pedants? The answer is...in Martin Latham's book. Not only is the subject matter varied, but so too is the wide variety of characters you meet along the …
Tag: new york
Everything’s not copacetic
George Negritsoyski on Pexels.com New York Spring 1953 - two friends sitting at a corner table in a packed bar drinking and smoking talk about their future ROSIE - the girl JEAN - the guy TOM - Rosie's boyfriend THE BARTENDER A COUPLE AT ANOTHER TABLE and roll em... J: Come on Rosie, let's beat …
Before Miss Manners there was Washington
I just finished reading, almost in one breath, The Rules of Civility by Amor Towles. Interesting to the book, after the formidable writing of course!, are photos (found at the beginning of each chapter) taken by Walker Evans (mostly known for his photos of the Great Depression). Between 1938 and 1941 Evans rode the New …
Elizabeth Gilbert’s City of Girls
What a read! A confession of sorts within an answer to a question..."What were you to my father?" A declaration of having existed on this earth and left a mark. The highs are dizzyingly so and the lows are lower than pond scum. Somewhere in between is the exercise of living. Living to do, to …
Vermilyea Avenue
I was hit squarely with the strong distinctive odor of cabbage and fried schnitzel while descending the stairs from my friend's fourth floor apartment. Then, it happened. You see, my nose, having been accosted, sparked the memory which stopped me in my tracks somewhere between the second and third floor... And there we were. My …
Ethan Hawke’s A Bright Ray of Darkness
The sky will not stop sobbing. When Zeus thunders, my dog Charlie follows suit, bursting into aggressive high pitched barks. Candles are lit and soft jazzy tunes play in the background. I am giving it all I have got to remain happy and optimistic on day 4 of unabated downpour after downpour after downpour. Gloom …
Teju Cole’s Open City
modern stream of consciousness I have just shut this book; still warm to the touch. It is the first time I have read this Nigerian-American author's work. Psychiatry, music, history, religion, race are all covered within its pages, but not in the usual vein. It is a multi layered, sophisticated and real read. There is …
I love New York
History and Family Saga If you want to get a good smattering of New York's history under your belt without having to endure a dry read, may I suggest Edward Rutherford's New York. It is a chunky volume (981 pages) that covers the 1600's through to 2001. New York is a fantastic read (think Gone …
Manu writes 