if you visit a local bookstore in new york city you will often find a section dedicated to new
york city books there's so much material out there when it comes to the topic of new york city and
i'm not talking about your average tour guide books or coffee table books with pretty pictures
or your dull general reference manuals i'm talking about books of literary works funny
novels and quirky topics as someone who lives and works in new york city and has a youtube channel
dedicated to new york i consume a lot of media read a lot of books regarding this topic
and i want to share with you my reading experience so in this video i am going to talk about
four books that i recommend that's related to new york city welcome and happy new yorking my name is
thea and you are watching urban caffeine where we talk about anything and everything new york city
which includes urban history transit culture and books worth reading if this is your first time
watching i am so happy you found this channel i invite you to subscribe and hit that notification
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with regards to sharing what i read that's related to new york city today i'm only sharing four books
but i do plan to expand this topic into video series i plan to share more books in future videos
as i find them worth sharing so make sure you subscribe and hit that notification bell so you
won't miss any future book recommendations so let's start with book number one
my all-time favorite new york city book is insomniac city new york oliver and me
by bill hayes there are two love stories going on in this book
the love story between the author and oliver sacks and the love story between an individual
and new york city what i love about this book is that it puts towards what is so
lovable about new york the premise goes that the author moved from san francisco to new
york city because his partner passed away and he needed to reset his life new york city played an
important role in his process of moving on and if you are not in love with new york already
you probably will be after reading this book i recommend it for first time new yorkers those
that are recovering from a breakup and those that find joy and fascination in the simplest things
in our society today dog owners own poop bags and are expected to pick up after their
pets and if you don't you will be given the stink eye and someone might even call you out
so word of the wise pick up after your pet but this wasn't always the case there was
a time where there was dog poop everywhere and nobody picked up after their dogs and by
the time there was talk about putting in a law that required people to pick up after their pets
people were in outrage especially among the affluent how dare would a law make someone pick up
poop the tale of how the poop scoop law came into existence is one of those that is so bizarre that
you just can't make it up and yes there's an entire book dedicated to this topic and
it's not some dinky pamphlet it's actually a decent length book new york's poop scoop
law dogs dirt and due process by michael brando this book is great for pet owners
those interested in the bizarre or those that are interested in new york laws and policies
but if you want a shorter read and enjoy human interest stories then i suggest 10 days in a
madhouse by nellie bly although nellie bly is a pin name her real name was elizabeth cochrane
seaman to put into perspective just how short this book is if your average novel is about 400 pages
this is only about 100 pages long the setting of this book was in 1887 and at the time roosevelt
island had an insane asylum the city asylum is no longer there but part of the original building is
now the entryway of an apartment complex check out my video on roosevelt island where i talk
about the layout of the island and also cover the octagon link is in the description below and our
gal nellie here found a way to get into the asylum so that she could write about it and talk about
what really is happening in the facility and in the end she did affect change there's something
captivating about the writing and the story in a way that it was written in an era where the world
wasn't as formalized as the way it is now for example her process of getting into the asylum
is something you just cannot do today she started with practicing how to be mentally ill in her own
home and then she spent the night at a woman's boarding house where she put to use what she
practiced if someone wanted to be admitted into a mental facility today that's it would include
a lot of legal confetti if someone wanted to be admitted into a mental facility today to do an
expose the process would be way way different but what nellie bly did back then was groundbreaking
there wasn't a name for it yet but today we call it investigative journalism she also did other
exposes in her lifetime she was an interesting woman to say the least this little book is a great
read it's not fussy and clear to the point partly because it was originally published in a newspaper
i recommend this for history buffs and those interested in feminism and mental health activism
the complete opposite of a short read is the goldfinch by donna tartt i no longer have my
copy on me because i gave it away but i promise you it's a pretty hefty book and while we're on
that topic i do have the habit of buying books and giving them away to friends that i think
would like them and it's a great way to invest in friendship imagine going to dinner and then
showing up with a gift and it makes the other person feel like they're in your thoughts and also
it keeps the amount of books in the apartment at bay if i remember correctly the goldfinch is about
800-ish pages but it's not as gruesome as say game of thrones or the current craze right now which
is dune but it is not a dry read despite being this massively long book i could not put it down
what makes this book relatable to new yorkers is that it's set in new york city and by that i mean
not just the physical new york city but also the societal new york city meaning the main character
navigates both the physical new york city and new york city society the premise goes theo was 13 at
the time when he was caught in a terrorist attack at the met museum in manhattan during the events
his mother who was with him died at the scene and he somehow came into possession of this art
piece the story follows him into adulthood during which he ends up living in different locations
after the death of his mother these are a wealthy friend's park avenue family home a place
in the desert of las vegas and then back to new york city in the east village with
an antique furniture maker and dealer and it's the possession of this art piece that pulls him
into the illegal underground world i recommend this for art enthusiasts new york enthusiasts
and those that love coming of age stories like i said i plan to make more videos of new york city
books as i compile the ones that i find worth sharing and recommending is there a book that
you would like to share comment down below i would love to know what that is i also have
affiliate links to all the books that i mentioned in this video they are in the description below
and if you are going to buy these on amazon it would be great if you would use my affiliate
links because it does help out the channel and if you haven't already don't forget to subscribe
and hit that notification bell so that you won't miss future videos don't forget to like this video
so that our channel won't just wither and die and we can continue making new york city videos
with that thank you so much for watching happy reading and happy new yorking