i heart ny

Reference: The World in a City: Traveling the Globe Through the Neighborhoods of New New York. By Joseph Berger

I started reading the above book and I am really excited. The book reads like a NY Times feature article (maybe it's a placebo effect--the author writes for the Times). And I am enjoying comparing how many of my observations match his.

The first chapter makes me want to get Kebabs and hummus and lentil soup. yummy. I don't think I had any Mediterranean food in NYC! So I started thinking about Hyde Park food. Ceders and The Nile for Mediterranean food.... but my sensory nostalgia also drifted to the Edwardo's wings, and the Pocket's bread. I miss my comfort food (Soupy Meal... hold the green onions please + Thai iced tea) from Noodles, etc.

Well anyway, I am really excited about the book... I was worried it'd be a very corny one dimensional cheer for multi-cultural-ism. But so far, it's quite sophisticated and lovely. Now is it accurate? I think so... but I don't think I will know for sure until I read about Flushing. If his white person observation comes close for northern queens, I will trust him about the other neighborhoods.

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Reading too much was much warned against in the 18th century... which we today find so silly since reading too little is the epidemic of the day. However, I do wonder if I read too much at times. It's a way to escape and I do often vow to read my sorrows away. Well, to be completely honest, I don't read too much... it's that I spend too much time with books. I just love books. The binding, the paper, the font, the weight, the possibilities.

I was absolutely ecstatic today when I saw, waiting for me on the library shelf, Predictably Irrational. I have been wanting to read that book ever since I read that NYTimes article about keeping too many options open. But I was just waiting for the paperback to come out so that I wouldn't have to pay 20-25 dollars. I do much rather prefer (trade) paperback books. And now I won't buy the book at all. I mean it's probably a fun book, but not something I'd buy to read again. Aww...

Still, I am looking forward to reading the book... but should I read it now or should I wait to finish one of the four books I am currently reading? What do I do when I'd rather read that book more than the four I am currently reading? No no, I'll be disciplined and wait since I know too well that I feel uneasy when I have five actively reading books.

I. am. so. neurotic. Will I always be? Or will I grow old, dull, and, well, stable?