Explore: New York

Explore The World 2022
through books, films, etc. January: New York

READ:

Her Last Breath
by Hilary Davidson
Thriller, Mystery, Manhattan | Published: 2021 | Goodreads | my rating: 4
sister vengeance

Dinner with Edward
A Story of an Unexpected Friendship
by Isabel Vincent
Memoir, Food, New York | Published: 2016 | Goodreads | my rating: 5
delightful friendship with dinners as bonding moments

Going Into Town
A Love Letter to New York
by Roz Chast
Graphic Novel, Humor, Memoir, New York | Published: 2017 | Goodreads | my rating: 5
a humurous inside scoop

WATCH:

tick, tick... BOOM! (2021)
Director: Lin-Manuel Miranda
Screenplay: Steven Levenson
Based on musical by: Jonathan Larson
Stars: Andrew Garfield, Alexandra Shipp, Robin de Jesus
Drama, Biography, Musical | imdb | my rating: 5
amazing playwright with backstory of the infamous musical, Rent
On the cusp of his 30th birthday, a promising young theater composer navigates love, friendship and the pressures of life as an artist in New York City.

Rent (2005)
Director: Chris Columbus
Screenplay: Stephen Chbosky
Based on musical by: Jonathan Larson
Stars: Taye Diggs, Wilson Jermaine Heredia, Rosario Dawson
Drama, Romance, Musical | imdb

This is the film version of the Pulitzer and Tony Award winning musical about Bohemians in the East Village of New York City struggling with life, love and AIDS, and the impacts they have on America.

EAT:

the iconic: bagel and lox cream cheese

FLIP THROUGH:

New York Drawings
by Adrian Tomine
Graphic Novel, Art, New York | Published: 2012 | Goodreads

Tenements, Towers & Trash
An Unconventional Illustrated History of New York City
by Julia Wertz
History, Art, Artchitecture, New York | Published: 2017 | Goodreads

MAGAZINES and PUZZLE: catching up with New Yorker back issues

VIRTUAL VISIT:

Japan Society NY
art exhibit: Shikō Munakata: A Way of Seeing
December 10, 2021 – March 20, 2022 (here)

VISIT bookstore: someday...

Albertine (details)
bookshop in New York devoted solely to books in French and English

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* part of Explore the World (here)

Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan

Manhattan Beach
by Jennifer Egan

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Published: 2017
Publisher: Scribner
Genre: Historical, New York
Hardback: 448
Rating: 4

First sentence(s):
They'd driven all the way to Mr Styles's house before Anna realized that her after was nervous.

Anna Kerrigan, nearly twelve years old, accompanies her father to visit Dexter Styles, a man who, she gleans, is crucial to the survival of her father and her family. She is mesmerized by the sea beyond the house and by some charged mystery between the two men.

‎Years later, her father has disappeared and the country is at war. Anna works at the Brooklyn Naval Yard, where women are allowed to hold jobs that once belonged to men, now soldiers abroad. She becomes the first female diver, the most dangerous and exclusive of occupations, repairing the ships that will help America win the war. One evening at a nightclub, she meets Dexter Styles again, and begins to understand the complexity of her father’s life, the reasons he might have vanished.

With the atmosphere of a noir thriller, Egan’s first historical novel follows Anna and Styles into a world populated by gangsters, sailors, divers, bankers, and union men. Manhattan Beach is a deft, dazzling, propulsive exploration of a transformative moment in the lives and identities of women and men, of America and the world. It is a magnificent novel by the author of A Visit from the Goon Squad, one of the great writers of our time.

My two-bits:

Loved how this story is presented - to the point of feeling an ocean breeze with the characters at the beach and feeling the dark depths of the ocean when down under during a dive.

Got a sense of 1930s and 1940s in New York in relation to some shady business, war work efforts and women's plight.

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* part of Tournament of Books 2018 (here)

Startup by Doree Shafrir

Startup
by Doree Shafrir

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Just released: April 25, 2017
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Genre: Contemporary, Humor, New York
Hardback: 304
Rating: 4

First sentence(s):
They came from all over the city in the predawn hours, a merry band of highly optimized minstrels in purple leggings and shiny headbands and brightly colored sneakers, walking the fifteen minutes from the L train or directing an Uber to the former spice factory in the no-man's-land between Williamsburg and Greenpoint.

Mack McAllister has a $600 million dollar idea. His mindfulness app, TakeOff, is already the hottest thing in tech and he's about to launch a new and improved version that promises to bring investors running and may turn his brainchild into a $1 billion dollar business--in startup parlance, an elusive unicorn.

Katya Pasternack is hungry for a scoop that will drive traffic. An ambitious young journalist at a gossipy tech blog, Katya knows that she needs more than another PR friendly puff piece to make her the go-to byline for industry news.

Sabrina Choe Blum just wants to stay afloat. The exhausted mother of two and failed creative writer is trying to escape from her credit card debt and an inattentive husband-who also happens to be Katya's boss-as she rejoins a work force that has gotten younger, hipper, and much more computer literate since she's been away.

Before the ink on Mack's latest round of funding is dry, an errant text message hints that he may be working a bit too closely for comfort with a young social media manager in his office. When Mack's bad behavior collides with Katya's search for a salacious post, Sabrina gets caught in the middle as TakeOff goes viral for all the wrong reasons. As the fallout from Mack's scandal engulfs the lower Manhattan office building where all three work, it's up to Katya and Sabrina to write the story the men in their lives would prefer remain untold.

An assured, observant debut from the veteran online journalist Doree Shafrir, Startup is a sharp, hugely entertaining story of youth, ambition, love, money and technology's inability to hack human nature.

My two-bits:

This was a good way to get an inkling of what goes on in modern day lives and loves set in the startup and tech worlds.

The story covers three women with different angles of being involved with social media and tech related businesses.

Still Here by Lara Vapnyar

Still Here
by Lara Vapnyar

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Just released: May 2, 2017 reprint
Publisher: Hogarth
Genre: Contemporary Fiction, New York, Russia
Paperback: 336
Rating: 4

First sentence(s):
Promise me you won't call it 'virtual grave,' Vica said as they turned onto the West Side Highway.

Zombie sighting:
She could just eat them in dumb silence like an animal, like a stupid zombie, or she could do the more civilized thing and turn on episode two. -ch 3, page 76

A profound and dazzlingly entertaining novel from the writer Louis Menand calls "Jane Austen with a Russian soul."

In her warm, absorbing and keenly observed new novel, Lara Vapnyar follows the intertwined lives of four immigrants in New York City as they grapple with love and tumult, the challenges of a new home, and the absurdities of the digital age.

Vica, Vadik, Sergey and Regina met in Russia in their school days, but remained in touch and now have very different American lives. Sergey cycles through jobs as an analyst, hoping his idea for an app will finally bring him success. His wife Vica, a medical technician struggling to keep her family afloat, hungers for a better life. Sergey’s former girlfriend Regina, once a famous translator is married to a wealthy startup owner, spends her days at home grieving over a recent loss. Sergey’s best friend Vadik, a programmer ever in search of perfection, keeps trying on different women and different neighborhoods, all while pining for the one who got away.

As Sergey develops his app—calling it "Virtual Grave," a program to preserve a person's online presence after death—a formidable debate begins in the group, spurring questions about the changing perception of death in the modern world and the future of our virtual selves. How do our online personas define us in our daily lives, and what will they say about us when we're gone?

My two-bits:

Delightful read with Russian characters and some scenes in Russia.

The experience of modern day Russian immigrants in the world with social media and apps is explored. Four different perspectives are equally engaging with their issues that intertwine.


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* review copy courtesy of Blogging for Books

The Assistants by Camille Perri

The Assistants
by Camille Perri

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Just released: May 3, 2016
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Genre: Humor, Satire, Women's Fiction, New York
Hardback: 288 pages
Rating: 5

First sentence(s):
You've probably heard of my former boss. And even if you haven't heard of him, he has influenced you, I promise.

Zombie sighting:
He hurled me off him like I was a ravenous zombie. "You're insane," he said. "And I think you need to go."
-chapter 24, page 223

A wry and astute debut about a young Manhattanite whose embezzlement scam turns her into an unlikely advocate for the leagues of overeducated and underpaid assistants across the city.

Tina Fontana is the hapless but brazen thirty-year-old executive assistant to Robert Barlow, the all-powerful and commanding CEO of Titan Corp., a multinational media conglomerate. She’s excellent at her job and beloved by her famous boss—but after six years of making his reservations for restaurants she’d never get into on her own and pouring his drinks from bottles that cost more than her rent, she’s bored, broke, and just a bit over it all.

When a technical error with Robert’s travel-and-expenses report presents Tina with the opportunity to pay off the entire balance of her student loan debt with what would essentially be pocket change for her boss, she struggles with the decision: She’s always played by the rules. But it’s such a relatively small amount of money for the Titan Corporation—and for her it would be a life-changer...

The Assistants speaks directly to a new generation of women who feel stuck and unable to get ahead playing by the rules. It will appeal to all of those who have ever asked themselves, “How is it that after all these years, we are still assistants?”

My two-bits:

Loved it!

This contemporary piece brings elements of the plight of women in the work world especially those just starting out.

Friendship and female bonding for the sake of a common goal play important roles in creating such likable characters. One cannot resist following along in their antics and schemes.

Also, I enjoyed some arm-chair traveling as New York was definitely a character in this story.

Tickled by references to hamburgers.

~*~
* review copy courtesy of Summer Reading Challenge (here)

Meternity by Meghann Foye

Meternity
by Meghann Foye

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Just released: April 26, 2016
Publisher: Mira
Genre: Chick-lit, New York
Paperback: 368 pages
Rating: 4

First sentence(s):
Spoken like a woman without kids.

Zombie sighting:
As I stare at him, I notice his ability to let go. It's sweet. So different from the zombified Patrick Batemen psychos I'm used to dealing with on Tinder. He's actually got a beating heart.
-chapter 3, page 41

Not quite knocked up…

Like everyone in New York media, editor Liz Buckley runs on cupcakes, caffeine and cocktails. But at thirty-one, she's plateaued at Paddy Cakes, a glossy baby magazine that flogs thousand-dollar strollers to entitled, hypercompetitive spawn-havers.

Liz has spent years working a gazillion hours a week picking up the slack for coworkers with kids, and she's tired of it. So one day when her stress-related nausea is mistaken for morning sickness by her bosses—boom! Liz is promoted to the mommy track. She decides to run with it and plans to use her paid time off to figure out her life: work, love and otherwise. It'll be her "meternity" leave.

By day, Liz rocks a foam-rubber belly under fab maternity outfits. By night, she dumps the bump for karaoke nights and boozy dinners out. But how long can she keep up her charade…and hide it from the guy who might just be The One?

As her "due date" approaches, Liz is exhausted—and exhilarated—by the ruse, the guilt and the feelings brought on by a totally fictional belly-tenant…about happiness, success, family and the nature of love.

PeekAbook:



My two-bits:

It was a bit tough reading this big lie that the main character was trying to maintain throughout the story. In a way it was like a thriller in that there was a wait for a dreadful confrontation. However, I loved that her end goal was to travel and get into travel writing.

The characters were likable and the uncertainty of things did move this story along at a brisk pace.

Loved the New York setting and feeling the vibe of it.

Got me thinking of the plight of working women - those with children vs. those without.

About the author:

Meghann Foye is a longtime women's magazine editor, first-time book author, iced coffee enthusiast, and subscriber to the idea that if you do one thing a day toward your goal, eventually it will get done.

She hails from Marblehead, Massachusetts, lives in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and dreams of the day she can say she spends part of her time in Paris and Southeast Asia as well. Strong coffee being the obvious through-line there.

--~ Blog Tour Giveaway ~--
ENTER to win this book here
-offer ends April 30, 2016

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* review copy courtesy of It's Raining Books Blog Tour (details) sponsored by BookSparks

Metropolitan (1990)

Metropolitan (1990)
Directed and Written by: Whit Stillman

Starring:
Carolyn Farina as Audrey Rouget
Edward Clements as Tom Townsend

My rating: 5

Per imdb:
A group of young upper-class Manhattanites are blithely passing through the gala debutante season, when an unusual outsider joins them and stirs them up.

PeekInside:



My two-bits:

The many mentions of Jane Austen and her works was an automatic "Like it" from me. Also, you can see some similar themes in this storyline.

Loved the group dynamic of this crowd of 20 somethings. It was interesting to observe their interactions and conversations as they socialize face-to-face in a subtle search of mates.

While the fashion style of the late 80's was depicted, I was not crazy about seeing it. Funny because that is my generation.

The Year My Mother Came Back by Alice Eve Cohen

The Year My Mother Came Back
by Alice Eve Cohen

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Just released: March 31, 2015
Publisher: Algonquin Books
Genre: Memoir
Hardback: 288 pages
Rating: 4.5

"For the first time in decades I’m remembering Mom, all of her--the wonderful and terrible things about her that I’ve cast out of my thoughts for so long. I’m still struggling to prevent these memories from erupting from their subterranean depths. Trying to hold back the flood. I can’t, not today. The levees break."

Thirty years after her death, Alice Eve Cohen’s mother appears to her, seemingly in the flesh, and continues to do so during the hardest year Alice has had to face: the year her youngest daughter needs a harrowing surgery, her eldest daughter decides to reunite with her birth mother, and Alice herself receives a daunting diagnosis. As it turns out, it’s entirely possible for the people we’ve lost to come back to us when we need them the most.

Although letting her mother back into her life is not an easy thing, Alice approaches it with humor, intelligence, and honesty. What she learns is that she must revisit her childhood and allow herself to be a daughter once more in order to take care of her own girls. Understanding and forgiving her mother’s parenting transgressions leads her to accept her own and to realize that she doesn’t have to be perfect to be a good mother.

First sentence:
One day, my brilliant, beautiful, complicated mother appeared at my kitchen table, thirty-one years after her death.

My two-bits:

A story on relationships between mothers and daughters with more of a mother focus.

I liked how this story was presented. The author tells her tale with a past and present self. Upon reflection of the past, life lessons and advice for the present come forth.

There are touching and poignant moments that got me thinking of the true meaning of motherhood in relation to me and mine.

About the author:

Alice Eve Cohen is a writer and solo theatre artist. Her new memoir, THE YEAR MY MOTHER CAME BACK, is published by Algonquin Books, March 31, 2015. Winner of Elle's Magazine Grand Prize for Nonfiction, Oprah Magazine’s 25 Best Books of Summer, and Salon's Best Books of the Year for her memoir, "What I Thought I Knew" (Penguin).

She has written for Nickelodeon, CTW, and CBS, and has toured her solo shows nationally and internationally. Alice has received fellowships and grants from the NYS Council on the Arts and the NEA. She graduated from Princeton University and got her MFA from The New School. Alice teaches at The New School and lives with her family in New York City. She is currently working on a novel.

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* added this to my Bookish Bingo challenge - square: Memoir

* review copy courtesy of Summer Reading Challenge 2015. It's not too late! You can join the challenge here. @booksparks #SRC2015
Destination: Find the miraculous in Manhattan