Pandemic Fiction Hits a Little Too Close to Home

Welcome back to Books and the City! Get excited to hear about the horrifyingly stressful way that Kayla got a second-degree burn. Before we dive into what we’re all reading, we’ll address some of your burning questions, such as: is Jim Belushi a wizard? And how does everyone feel about ranch dressing? But seriously, in this episode we discuss some “controversial” books: Becky gives 5 stars to a novel that Kayla DNF’d, plus we discuss a book that Libby and Emily loved and Becky decidedly did not. Read on for all our recent reads and the best places in NYC to dive into them! Got a perfect bar + book match in your city?? Send it to us at [email protected] -------------> Becky just read: Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/239452/station-eleven-by-emily-st-john-mandel/ The main characters in Station Eleven know: “Survival is insufficient.” In this novel, they take their show on the road performing Shakespeare’s plays from town to town after the collapse, so The Shakespeare in the William Hotel in Murray Hill is the perfect bar to dive into this one. Up next: Girl in White Gloves by Kerri Maher Kayla just read: The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/576767/the-sun-down-motel-by-simone-st-james/ Employees Only in Greenwich Village is the perfect place to enjoy this haunting book. The building has been around since the 1820s and was allegedly home to a murderer in the early 1900s. There was a ghost sighting when a bartender saw a little girl in a white dress, crying at the top of the basement stairs. Grab a drink there at your own risk! Up next: Code Name Helene by Ariel Lawhon Emily just read: Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi https://groveatlantic.com/book/freshwater/ Read this book before setting off for a night at House of Yes in Williamsburg. This performance space meets night club is the perfect place to test out all the aspects of your identity in a safe space. Maybe you'll even get in touch with your inner god or goddess! Up next: The Idea of You by Robinne Lee Libby just read: Normal People by Sally Rooney https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/592625/normal-people-by-sally-rooney/ Didn’t finish reading Normal People at Dublin House (our rec from the first bonus episode?) Head down to the Financial District’s Dead Rabbit Grocery and Grog, an Irish bar with sawdust on the floor, live music and cocktails that are so good, they’ve been named the best bar in the world multiple years in a row. Up next: Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel Music by EpidemicSound, logo art by @niczollos, all opinions our own.

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