Summer Reading Challenge: What's the Best Book About or Set in New York?

Summary

Podcast Summary: "Summer Reading Challenge: What's the Best Book About or Set in New York?"

Podcast: All Of It with Alison Stewart (WNYC)
Episode Air Date: August 20, 2024
Theme: Exploring the best books about or set in New York City as part of WNYC's Summer Reading Challenge

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Episode Overview

This episode centers on the Summer Reading Challenge's "book about or set in New York" category. Host Alison Stewart is joined by producer Jordan Lof to discuss their favorite New York books—both classic and modern. The show also features passionate listener recommendations, creating a communal celebration of New York City’s literary landscape.

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What Makes a New York City Book?

Defining the Category – [02:36]

• Books can be set anywhere in New York State, but for today's focus, the conversation zooms in on "the five boroughs."
  • “For the purposes of our conversation, we're just going to talk about books set here in New York City, the five boroughs...for the category in general, I'm counting any book set in the great state of New York.” – Jordan Lof
• “What makes a New York City novel?”
  • Captures a “moment in time” and the unique issues facing New Yorkers—past and present.
  • Modern novels delve into rent prices, young adulthood struggles, work-life balance, class, and racism.
  • “Reading Edith Wharton feels like you're sort of time-traveling to a New York that feels unrecognizable to me today...What’s interesting about modern New York fiction is a lot of it is focused on the issues that I think people today really care about...” – Jordan Lof [03:07]

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Listener Recommendations & Highlights

Contemporary and Modern Picks

• Netherland by Joseph O’Neill [04:07]

  • Caller Will praises this 2008 novel for capturing the post-9/11 “drifty displacement” and the city’s vastness.
  • “There was a sort of drifty displacement on the part of the protagonist. And I think that we were all a little drifty and displaced as we absorbed the shock of what had happened.” – Will [04:07]
  • Notes its unique depiction of South Asian cricket culture in NYC.

• The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt [05:54]

  • Celebrated for its immersive New York scenes, especially set in the Met Museum.
  • “You just feel like you’re right there in the Met and all over, really.” – Stacy [06:11]

• Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann [15:04]

  • Caller Gina highlights the novel’s interwoven New York narratives and its “magical” character studies around the famous World Trade Center tightrope walk.
  • “It goes on to get into these amazing characters, two of which are brothers who were born in Ireland and emigrated to New York. It's really a magical book.” – Gina [15:30]

• My Mrs. Brown by William Norwich [09:47]

  • A quieter novel about transforming one’s life via a trip to Manhattan, recommended by a dental hygienist caller.

• A Hero Ain't Nothin' But a Sandwich by Alice Childress [17:27]

  • Focuses on a boy growing up in the Bronx, struggling with drugs and poverty.
  • “It's about a kid growing up in the poor part of the Bronx and dealing with drugs and getting out of there.” – Peter [17:29]

Classic NYC Books

• Stuart Little by E.B. White [05:09]

  • Cited for its whimsical New York setting that appeals to both children and adults.

• A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

  • Mentioned via text and callers as a timeless favorite.

• The House of Mirth & The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton [06:30]

  • First woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
  • Explores the “perils of upper class society in New York for women at the tail end of the Gilded Age.”
  • “There is no mirth in the House of Mirth, which is true. It is a really tragic story about a woman named Lily Bart who is slowly pushed to the margins of New York high society.” – Jordan Lof [06:30]
  • Recommended for fans of the "Gilded Age" TV show.

• Passing by Nella Larsen [07:24]

  • A 1929 Harlem-set classic on race, identity, and female friendship.
  • “It's a really impactful book for how sparse the pages are.” – Jordan Lof [07:24]

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Curated Recommendations from the Hosts

For the Summer Reading Challenge

• My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh [11:05]

  • “Grotesque” novel set in NYC, featuring a protagonist self-medicating into a coma during the 2000s.
  • “It's not about rest and relaxation, let's just say.” – Alison Stewart [11:18]
  • “I think it's Moshfegh's best use of her sort of grotesque nastiness for a purpose and for commentary.” – Jordan Lof [12:01]

• Luster by Raven Leilani [12:10]

  • Follows a struggling Black artist in Bushwick who gets entangled with a white suburban couple in New Jersey.
  • “It's a book that really encapsulates the difficulties of finding your voice and your path in this city when you know your financial means are not unlimited and you're struggling to find yourself.” – Jordan Lof [12:52]

• Severance by Ling Ma [14:17]

  • Dystopian pandemic novel set in NYC; a meditation on modern work culture and city life.
  • “What this fever does is it causes people to keep repeating routines compulsively until they die.” – Jordan Lof [14:24]

Beyond Fiction

• Ladies and Gentlemen, The Bronx is Burning by Jonathan Mahler [16:43]

  • Chronicles 1977 NYC through baseball, politics, and the city’s social upheaval.
  • “It's not just about baseball. It's also about our city’s history in that year.” – Jordan Lof [17:03]

• The Power Broker by Robert Caro [15:52]

  • Recognized during its 50th anniversary as the tome on urban development and Robert Moses.
  • “If someone out there manages to read the Power Broker in two weeks, I would like you to let us know. Please tag us on social at all of it. Wnyc…Would love to see evidence that you could, that could be accomplished.” – Jordan Lof [16:17]

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Additional Gems & Listener Love

• The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg [13:16]

  • A beloved children’s classic about two siblings camping out in the Met Museum.
  • “That was a favorite of mine as a kid, too, and it used to make me want to hide in the museum at night.” – Jordan Lof [13:42]

• Waterworks by E.L. Doctorow [09:05]

  • A noir set in 19th century NYC with “gritty people in good jobs as policemen” and city transformations.
  • “It was just very interesting how the city becomes part of the book.” – Craig [09:36]

• A Hazard of New Fortunes by William Dean Howells

  • Set in 1890s New York; recommended via text.

• The Assistants by Camille Perri

  • Contemporary NYC novel tackling corporate greed.

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Notable Quotes

• “My favorite part about New York City novels is how they capture a certain moment in time in New York City history.” – Jordan Lof [03:07]
• “I love the book The Alienist. I love for all the details about old New York.” – Alison Stewart [03:52]
• “Where else are you going to find a book where the price of an apartment is the main factor in personal relationships?” – Text message [08:54]
• “He can get in the minds of all of those characters in such a profound way.” – Jordan Lof on James Baldwin [08:37]

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Timestamps to Key Segments

• [01:05] Start of main segment; Alison introduces the Summer Reading Challenge
• [02:36] What “counts” as a New York book and what makes a NYC novel
• [04:07] Listener Will recommends Netherland by Joseph O’Neill
• [05:09] Sally recommends Stuart Little by E.B. White
• [06:30] Discussion of Edith Wharton classics with Jordan
• [07:24] Review of Passing by Nella Larsen
• [08:03] James Baldwin and his NYC literature
• [11:05] Modern fiction: My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh
• [12:10] Luster by Raven Leilani
• [13:16] Children’s lit: The Mixed-Up Files… from Colleen
• [14:17] Dystopian NYC: Severance by Ling Ma
• [15:04] Gina's recommendation: Let the Great World Spin
• [15:52] The Power Broker and feat of reading it in two weeks
• [16:43] Baseball and NYC history: Ladies and Gentlemen, The Bronx is Burning
• [17:27] Peter’s quick pick: A Hero Ain’t Nothin’ But a Sandwich

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Overall Tone

The episode is warm, lively, and highly engaged with New York’s literary culture—reflecting the diversity and specificity of experiences represented in books about or set in the city. Both host and listeners exhibit a genuine love for literature’s ability to reflect, critique, and capture the soul of New York.

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Call to Action

Join the reading challenge and submit your books at
WNYC.org/summerreading
“You've got two weeks. I believe in you.” – Jordan Lof [17:47]

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For more recommendations and to join the conversation, visit the show page and follow along on social media.

Transcript

[Alison Stewart]

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[Caller Will]

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[Jordan Lof]

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[Alison Stewart]

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[Jordan Lof]

This is all.

[Host Alison Stewart]

Of it on wnyc. I'm Alison Stewart. You have less than two weeks left to finish our summer reading challenge. I believe in you, listeners. If you've already finished the challenge, you can now head to wnyc.org summerreading to fill out the form and tell us what you read and we'll send you a special prize. But if you're still looking for some inspiration for that final book, don't worry, we have you covered. As a reminder, you need to read at least four books in any of the seven categories, one book per category. The categories are a classic you've been meaning to get to, something by a debut novelist. Novelist, a book recommended by a friend, a book about or set in New York, a book translated from another language, a book being turned into a TV series or movie, a book you heard about on all of it. Today, we're going to focus on one category, a book about or set in New York. And joining me now to discuss some of our favorite books is all of It. And get lit producer Jordan Lof. Hi.

[Jordan Lof]

Hello.

[Host Alison Stewart]

So, listeners, we want to hear from you as well. What is your favorite book about or set in New York? What do you think is the best New York City novel? Or maybe you want to recommend a new book about or set in the Big Apple, Give us a call. 2124-3396-9221-2433. WNYC. So, Jordan, to clarify, what counts as a New York in this category? What counts as New York?

[Jordan Lof]

Yeah. So for today's segment, for the purposes of our conversation, we're just going to talk about books set here in New York City, the five boroughs. But for the category in general, I'm counting any book set in the great state of New York. So, for example, Gary Steingart's Our Country Friends, that's a book about a group of New Yorkers who the Hudson Valley and. And get up to all sorts of shenanigans during the pandemic that would certainly count in this category. Even though we're only talking about New York City books today, what do you.

[Host Alison Stewart]

Think makes a New York City novel a New York City novel?

[Jordan Lof]

My favorite part about New York City novels is how they capture a certain moment in time in New York City history. Like reading Edith Wharton feels like you're sort of time traveling to a New York that feels unrecognizable to me today, but almost feels like a representation of a city past. And I think what's interesting about modern New York fiction is a lot of it is focused on the issues that I think people today really care about, about rising rent prices and trying to struggle as a young person coming out of college and trying to make it here. Work, life, balance, class issues, racism, all of those things are very much a part of modern contemporary New York fiction. And it's all the issues we care about today.

[Alison Stewart]

I love the book the Alienist. I love. For all the details about old New York, let's take a call. Will is calling from Brooklyn. Hi, Will, thanks for calling all of it.

[Caller Will]

Hi, how you doing?

[Alison Stewart]

Doing great. What are you reading?

[Caller Will]

Well, I read a lot. I actually write book reviews, and I thought this was sort of a sleeper choice. But I thought Joseph O' Neill's Netherland, which was published in 2008, really caught something about the post 911 mood and tone of the city. There was a sort of drifty displacement on the part of the protagonist. And I think that we were all a little drifty and displaced as we absorbed the shock of what had happened. And I also thought it was very New York, that the city was big enough for him to find something kind of weird and offbeat, which was South Asian people playing cricket that this guy could latch onto. And from that he kind of got his heel back on an even setting.

[Alison Stewart]

Thank you so much. Let's talk to Sally from the Upper west side. Hi, Sally. Thanks for calling, all of it.

[Caller Sally/Stacy/Sharon]

Well, I'm no child, that's for sure, but my favorite book about New York has always been Stuart Little by E.B. white. I probably read it or had it read to me when I was five or six. I read it maybe every two or three years. It is so magical. It's got humor, it's got whimsy, and it's got such wonderful common sense as well. There's a lot in it for adults.

[Caller Gina/Colleen]

And it's a fun book to read.

[Caller Sally/Stacy/Sharon]

To A child as well.

[Host Alison Stewart]

Thank you so much for your recommendation. And let's talk to Stacy in Brooklyn. Hi, Stacy, thanks for calling all of it.

[Caller Sally/Stacy/Sharon]

Oh, just a clarification that I'm in New Jersey.

[Host Alison Stewart]

That's okay.

[Caller Sally/Stacy/Sharon]

I love the Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. Have you read that?

[Jordan Lof]

Oh, you have to have a lot.

[Host Alison Stewart]

Yeah. You have a lot of time to read that actually.

[Jordan Lof]

Yeah, That's a big one. I don't know if you'd get in under the two week mark on that one, but it is really good.

[Caller Sally/Stacy/Sharon]

They tried to make a movie, but it didn't, it didn't translate as well. But the book is just magical of New York. You just feel like you're right there in the Met and all over, really.

[Host Alison Stewart]

Thanks so much for calling in Jordan. Let's get to some of your classics. Let's start first with Pulitzer Prize for fiction, Edith Wharton. What do you think?

[Jordan Lof]

Yeah. So she became the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. That's awesome. And she was really writing about the perils of upper class society in New York for women at the tail end of the Gilded Age. Our engineer Juliana is actually currently reading the House of Mirth and she says there is no mirth in the House of Mirth, which is true. It is a really tragic story about a woman named Lily Bart who is slowly pushed to the margins of New York high society.

[Host Alison Stewart]

She looks so sad.

[Jordan Lof]

Yeah, it's a sad. It's a sad one. I can see Juliana shaking her head in the studio. There's also the Age of Innocence, another classic about divorce and a love triangle. So if you're really looking to, maybe you're a fan of the Gilded Age show, if you want to sort of immerse yourself in that time period, any Edith Wharton is going to really do the trick.

[Host Alison Stewart]

Another one which fans of Get Lipped will recognize, passing by, Nella Larson. It's from the perspective of a black woman and tell a little more about it.

[Jordan Lof]

Yeah. So this is a story about two women who were childhood friends. It is published in 1929. It's set in Harlem and one of the woman, one of the women, reconnects with her friend years later to find that her friend is passing for white. She's a black woman who is light skinned enough to sort of pass for white and she's married to a white man who has no idea of his, of his wife's heritage and background. And things go from there. It's a slim novel. So again, if you're looking to really fit it in under the Wire. It's a really impactful book for how sparse the pages are.

[Host Alison Stewart]

And this year we're celebrating the hundredth birthday of James Baldwin. Which of his books would you recommend?

[Jordan Lof]

I would really recommend Another country for the New York feel. That's another one set in Harlem. It's about a bisexual drummer who becomes entangled with a white woman and sort of then the fallout of that relationship. Something that I find so special about Baldwin, as I've been reflecting at this anniversary, is that he was really able to put himself in the shoes of so many different characters. He's not just writing from one perspective. He's writing about women and white people and black people and gay people and straight people. So really, regardless of race and gender and sexuality, even financial status, he can get in the minds of all of those characters in such a profound way.

[Host Alison Stewart]

We've got a text. A tree grows in Brooklyn stands the test of time. That's from Caroline. Slaves of New York by Tama Janowitz. Where else are you going to find a book? Sit where the price of an apartment. Sorry.

[Caller Sally/Stacy/Sharon]

Sit.

[Host Alison Stewart]

Where the price of an apartment is the main factor in personal relationships. Let's talk to Craig. Hey, Craig, thanks for calling in.

[Caller Craig]

How you doing? I don't even know if the book is still in print. It's called waterworks by El Doctoro. Takes place in the 19th century New York. And it's a weird situation that this man goes into. And it's gritty people in good jobs as a policeman and how New York is changing for the worse but for the better at the same time with the industrialism coming to New York. And it was just very interesting how the city becomes part of the book.

[Host Alison Stewart]

Craig, thanks a lot. You have a good voice, good for radio. Let's talk to Sharon calling as well. Hi, Sharon, thanks for calling, all of it.

[Caller Gina/Colleen]

Hello, can you hear me?

[Host Alison Stewart]

Yeah, you're on.

[Caller Sally/Stacy/Sharon]

Okay. Okay, good. My book is by a patient of mine. I'm a dental hygienist. And it's called My Mrs. Brown by William Norwich. And it's about a woman living in a very small town in upstate New England. Sort of never married, no family, and she works at, I think like a Salvation army type of place or a thrift store. And a very rich woman, the only rich woman in her town, passes away and has a huge estate. And all the big estate houses from Manhattan come out to, you know, to take care of her estate. And this woman is kind of part of it because they're going to thrift some of her things and she falls, has a love affair with the woman's clothing, in particular one of the dresses. And it inspires her to come into Manhattan by herself, which she's never done, and have a whole love affair and kind of change her life because of this dress of Mrs. Brown.

[Alison Stewart]

Love the story. Thank you so much for calling in. We've got Jordan Loff in studio. She's all of it and get lit producer. We are talking about the summer reading challenge and we're taking your calls. What's your favorite book about New York about or set in New York? 2124-3396-9221-2433-WNYC. Let's move on to some modern recommendations. What's your first recommendation?

[Jordan Lof]

Yeah, so one of my favorite novels set in New York that was published in the last few years is My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfe, who are familiar with her work. She is a little gross. It's a little grotesque.

[Alison Stewart]

Okay. I read this. This is one of the first books I could read again after my surgery. And I thought, oh, this will be good. No, it's not about rest and relaxation, let's just say.

[Jordan Lof]

No, no, I mean, I mean it is in the sense that this woman puts herself in a coma. Yeah, that's it. So basically it's about a disaffected, bored and depressed young woman in New York City in the early 2000s. She should have everything she wants. She's got a great job, she's got a boyfriend, she's got a beautiful apartment. And for some reason she just can't motivate to do anything. She's so depressed that she starts sort of like self medicating herself into this coma like state and hibernating in her apartment. And things take a turn from there. I think it's Moshfegh's best use of her sort of grotesque nastiness for a purpose and for commentary. And it's a slice of New York in the year 2000. So it's like just before 9 11. So I think it's an interesting time period for this novel to take place.

[Alison Stewart]

Up next, you're recommending a get lit book from a few years ago, Luster by Raven Leilani.

[Jordan Lof]

Yes. So this one is set partially in New York and partially in the New Jersey suburbs. It's about a struggling Bushwick artist. I'm sure some of our listeners might be able to relate to that feeling. She's a young black woman who becomes entangled with A white couple who are in an open relationship, open marriage and their child who all live in the New Jersey suburbs. And she sort of ends up living there with them. And it's a book that really encapsulates the difficulties of finding your voice and your path in this city when you know your financial means are not unlimited and you're sort of struggling to find yourself.

[Host Alison Stewart]

There you go. Let's get a couple of texts in here. A Hazard of New Fortunes, William Dean Howells set in 1890s New York. Just finished the assistance by Camille Perry. Young woman taking on corporate greed in New York City in the background. I went to a bar called Superfine in Brooklyn after it was recommended to me in the book.

[Jordan Lof]

Oh, fun.

[Host Alison Stewart]

Yeah. Let's check in. Colleen. Colleen, thanks for calling in.

[Caller Gina/Colleen]

Hello, I am calling from Sunnyside, New York. I work in children's publishing, so I have a bit of a bias. My favorite book about New York is the Mixed Up Files from the Mixed up files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler about children who run away from Greenwich, Connecticut and spend the night in the Metropolitan Museum.

[Jordan Lof]

That was a favorite of mine as a kid too, and it used to make me want to hide in the museum at night so no one could find me and I would want to sleep on one of those giant four poster like vintage beds. Sounds awesome.

[Host Alison Stewart]

Someone wanted to text at us to say the form is not publicly viewable, but it has been fixed. It's now working again.

[Jordan Lof]

I am sure that our excellent producer Zach has fixed it so it should be working. And that link again, if you need it, is WTF. WNYC.org summerreading Zach, thank you so much for fixing it. It should work now.

[Host Alison Stewart]

You are recommending Severance by Ling Ma.

[Jordan Lof]

Yes. So this is not connected to the Apple TV series, so don't get confused. But it is also a workplace commentary. Like the series, it's set in an alternate version of New York City where the country has been overtaken by something called the Shen Fever pandemic. This was published before 2020, just a heads up. And what this fever does is it causes people to keep repeating routines compulsively until they die. So if you sort of get stuck in a work routine, that's just what you're doing until your body runs out. So our protagonist works in publishing and she's there as the city collapses around her. And it's a lot of sort of observations again about our work life culture, our work life balance, and you know, this sort of dystopian vision of the.

[Alison Stewart]

City let's talk to Gina. Hi, Gina, thanks for calling all of it.

[Caller Gina/Colleen]

Hi, Alison, I love your show. Thank you for taking my call. So my favorite book about New York City and I just started rereading it again in the last week, is Let the Great World spin by Colin McCann. It starts with an amazing description of the man on wire walk between the World Trade Center Towers by Philippe Tieck. And then it goes on to get into these amazing characters, two of which are brothers who were born in Ireland and emigrated to New York. It's really a magical book.

[Alison Stewart]

Thank you so much for calling. In Time and Again by Jack Finney is getting a lot of play. All right. It's the 50th anniversary of the Power Broker by Robert Moses.

[Jordan Lof]

It is.

[Alison Stewart]

Where do you stand on this in two weeks? What do you think?

[Jordan Lof]

In two weeks? I mean, if you just wanna sleep, eat, read, breathe Robert Moses, then go for is, I believe over a thousand pages long. So it would be an immense challenge. But if you have a lot of time on your hands, it's a great time to do it. It is the 50th anniversary. There's a lot of content out there that's sort of like a read along or podcasts you can listen to to sort of help you get motivated. So I believe in our readers. If someone out there manages to read the Power Broker in two weeks, I would like you to let us know. Please tag us on social at all of it. Wnyc, email me, tweet me. I don't know. I would love to see evidence that you could, that could be accomplished.

[Alison Stewart]

You're a big baseball fan. Everybody knows that around here. Any books you'd like to recommend in particular?

[Jordan Lof]

Yeah. So I'm a baseball fan because my dad grew up a Yankee fan and he grew up going to what he called the Bronx Zoo. So Yankee stadium in the 70s was referred to as the Bronx Zoo because it was so nuts. And this book is titled, ladies and gentlemen, the Bronx is burning. 1977. Baseball, politics, and the battle for the soul of a city. It goes into the tumultuous history of New York and that year, from the mayoral race between Ed Koch and Mario Cuomo to the sort of fights between Reggie Jackson and manager Billy Martin to the blackout of that year. So it's not just about baseball. It's also about our city's history in that year.

[Alison Stewart]

Okay, Peter, you've got 15 seconds. What do you say?

[Caller Will]

Hi. A hero ain't nothing but a sandwich.

[Caller Sally/Stacy/Sharon]

It's about a kid growing up in poor part of the Bronx and dealing.

[Caller Will]

With drugs and getting out of there.

[Caller Sally/Stacy/Sharon]

You know, I also love the tree grows in Brooklyn.

[Alison Stewart]

Thank you so much for calling in. Hey, Jordan, thanks for all of the suggestions. Jordan's our all of it and Get lit producer. You want to shout out the website one more time for summer reading?

[Jordan Lof]

Yes. WNYC.org/summer reading. You've got two weeks. I believe in you.

[Alison Stewart]

Coming up on tomorrow's show, actor and now director Zoe Kravitz. She's behind the camera for the new thriller Blink Twice. Yes, I watched part of it through my fingers. Zoe Kravitz joins me to discuss. I'm Alison Stewart. I appreciate you listening and I appreciate you. I will meet you back here next time.

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[Jordan Lof]

You could say, just my luck.

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But you should say, like a good.

[Jordan Lof]

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And we'll help get you back in business. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.

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