New York City souvenirs

I don’t buy cheesy souvenirs when I go to New York City.
Ok, I may have bought a silly keychain the first time I went, but now that I’ve been several times, I don’t bother.
But I still like to come home with something that reminds me of my trip other than just the pictures I took. Since I couldn’t bring back a cupcake from Magnolia, here are the three New York souvenirs that I ended up with:

BOOKMARC Journal
Marc Jacobs is synonymous with New York in my mind, so I always try to get something from his Marc by Marc Jacobs store on Bleecker Street. This time around, I went to his new(ish) bookstore across the street called BOOKMARC.
It had a pretty impressive collection of books and lots of pens and bookish things. I settled on a journal because it’s something I know I will use, and because it made me laugh.

Here is New York by E.B. White
After many unsuccessful attempts to find this book before leaving for my trip, I decided to just get it while in New York since I was pretty sure it would be easy to find. Sure enough, Barnes & Noble had tons of copies ready for me. I read the first page in the store and knew I would love it.
“It can destroy an individual, or it can fulfill him, depending a good deal on luck. No one should come to New York to live unless he is willing to be lucky.”

Bright Lights, Big City by Jay McInerney
One day, while walking down Fifth Avenue from the Met to The Plaza, I came across a guy selling used books on the sidewalk. It didn’t take long for me to grab this book and pay the man.

You can always find what you need in New York.

Gone to New York…

 

“They say life’s what happens when you’re busy making other plans. But sometimes in New York, life is what happens when you’re waiting for a table.”

- Carrie Bradshaw, SATC

 

Five words Fiona Apple taught me

One of my favourite albums of all time is Tidal by Fiona Apple. It was incredible when it first came out in 1996, and it’s still incredible today. The lyrics are all written by Fiona Apple, and they are brilliant. Her songwriting is more like poetry than most female pop stars around now (no offence Katy Perry and Ke$ha), and she uses such a rich vocabulary in her lyrics, which is something you don’t hear very often.
Here are five words Fiona Apple uses on Tidal that I’m pretty sure I had to look up at some point:

Sullen
“Is that why they call me a sullen girl…” (from “Sullen Girl”)

Undulate
“The shades and shadows undulate in my perception…” (from “Never Is A Promise”)

Coercion
“From the roots of my soul come a gentle coercion…” (from “The Child Is Gone”)

Carrion
“Like the carrion of a murdered prey…” (from “Carrion”)

Enrapture
“Oh, it’s evil, babe, the way you let your grace enrapture me…” (from “Shadowboxer”)

Buy the album. Listen to the album. Love the album.

A New York reading list

New York is my second favourite city in the world after Paris, which will always be my true love. New York has something that no other city has, and it’s something that I can’t even begin to describe. Luckily for all of us, there are plenty of writers who have done that job brilliantly.
Here’s a little New York reading list I put together in preparation for my upcoming trip to NYC:

Here is New York – E.B. White
I have to read this on the short plane ride over. It was written in 1948, but its words still ring true:
“The city is like poetry: it compresses all life … into a small island and adds music and the accompaniment of internal engines.”

Bright Lights, Big City and Story of My Life – Jay McInerney
I can’t wait to read both of these. Ideally, I’d like to find a used copy of Bright Lights, Big City while I’m in New York.

The Catcher in the Rye – J.D. Salinger
No explanation necessary here. This is essential on any New York reading list. I’ve read it several times, but I’ll take any excuse to read it again.

There are obviously a lot more books that belong on this list including Breakfast at Tiffany’s, The Great Gatsby, The Bonfire of the Vanities, American Psycho, and of course Sex and the City. And even though nothing is better than actually being in New York and experiencing the city for yourself, sometimes reading about it can be fun too.

Literary Recipes

I didn’t think anything would come up in my search for recipes inspired by literature, but I was wrong.
There is, in fact, an entire book devoted to the subject.
The Book Lover’s Cookbook includes recipes along with passages from the books that inspired them.

These are a few of my favourites:

• Macaroni and Cheese, with passages from The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler and A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway.
• French Onion Soup, with a passage from Les Miserables by Victor Hugo.
• Pooh’s Honey Kisses, with a passage from The Complete Tales of Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne.
• Mr. Wonka’s Strawberry-Flavoured Chocolate-Coated Fudge, from Roald Dahl’s Revolting Recipes. I love that this one says it “makes enough for 10 greedy children.”

It might be a fun idea to host a dinner party using any of the recipes from this book. You could collect some second hand copies of the books used as your inspiration and display them around the room as decoration. You could also send guests home with a customized bookmark as a gift. I would probably choose a book from the  Out of Print selection just so I could wear one of their t-shirts. In fact, since I own this Pride and Prejudice tee, maybe that will be the party theme. As a bonus, we could watch the BBC mini-series. Colin Firth, anyone?