Oh, what a beautiful Sunday morning it is in Vienna. But before I am getting ready to enjoy the sun outside, I have a link-up to host.
The actual topic -
I Love New York City - was a no-brainer for me and long-time readers of Spunkyrella already know my love for this glorious place.
Even before I lived in Brooklyn for almost a year, I devoured books and stories taking place in NYC. I immediately felt a special connection to the characters of a novel when they wandered around the city, had dinner at a special seafood joint in Soho or enjoyed a sunny day in Prospect Park. To me there´s nothing like it!
Maybe you love to read books about Paris or by French authors or you get all giddy when a story takes place in San Francisco, because you´re a California girl by heart. I am sure if you think about your favorite books, you will realize that you already travelled the world, page by page :)
There are many different ways to contribute to this topic and I decided on
New York City Manuals masked as novels. My first NY-centered reads and actually the reason behind my
obsession.
Just picked my two favorites which happen to be German copies as well as a lovely collection of poems.
• Natalie John spent a year in Manhattan and wrote
The New York Manual (translated) for us to read. She describes first-time problems a visitor might have. I especially loved the chapter revolving around the
street-avenue-number system. Here, every street has a name and it´s not easy to navigate at all.
Even though I was standing in Midtown one day and felt totally lost, it made sense quickly. I think every bigger city should be mapped out like that, so you´ll instantly know if you´re going uptown or downtown - simplifying as its best!
The book was published in 2000 and of course it´s a different kind of New York than today or a couple of years ago since I spent some time there....
• Anna Radulescu´s
Two Suitcases in NY (translated) was the very first New York-based book I´ve read. I found it online and wanted to read it so badly but couldn´t find a retailer until I found a used copy on Amazon and got it right away. It was published in the late 90´s and is actually a collection of 55 short stories from the Big Apple. My favorite is called
Sleepless in New York when Anna realizes that she likes to live here but that it´s also exhausting when you need to entertain friends who are visiting and actually want to experience the city that never sleeps; it makes her nervous to know that she misses out on two art shows while attending a one-night-only black and white movie screening because there´s just soo much - too much - to do. It´s funny to read, so if you happen to come around a used copy - grab it!
• "Everyman, I will go with thee and be thy guide, in thy most need to go by thy side" is what you´ll find in bold letters when you open
Poems of New York. I bought this book what feels like decades ago at the Barnes & Nobles on Union Square. This was always my favorite area for no particular reason. I remember that day in June. I had to make a difficult decision and wasn´t quite ready to.
It was warm but not too humid and the sun felt nice. I grabbed a coffee and found a place in the grass to read into this little gem. On page 40 I came across Sara Teasdale and on that day in that book within her lines I found the answer...
Union Square by Sara Teasdale
With the man I love who loves me not,
I walked in the street-lamps´ flare;
We watched the world go home that night
In a flood through Union Square
I leaned to catch the words he said
That were light as a snowflake falling;
Ah well that he never leaned to hear
The words my heart was calling.
And on we walked and on we walked
Past the fiery lights of the picture shows -
Where the girls with thirsty eyes go by
On the errand each man knows.
And on we walked and on we walked,
At the door at last we said good-bye;
I knew by his smile he had not heard
My heart´s unuttered cry.
With the man I love who loves me not
I walked in the street-lamps´ flare -
But oh, the girls who can ask for love
In the lights of Union Square.
• • •
Link up!
Tell us about
your city love and
come back here to link up!
Enter your name and blog title as "link title", email and the url to your post. Make sure to check out other participants posts and feel free to comment and email.
I can´t wait to get to read your posts!
