Gone to New York: Book One: Armchair Traveler Challenge

Gone to New York: Adventures in the City is a collection of "Talk" pieces from The New Yorker written by Ian Frazier over a period of about 10-12 years. Ian Frazier is one of my super-favorite literary nonfiction writers. He doesn't work for the The New Yorker anymore, and has since written books such as Great Plains, On the Rez, and Family, all of which I've loved.

Gone to New York gives the reader fascinating snippets of New York life as seen from an outsider of sorts. Although Frazier lived there, he was born and raised in Ohio and was constantly amused. He writes about his obsession with bags hanging from trees all through Brooklyn and Manhattan and what he decided to do about it, his description of Canal Street from one end of the island to the other, and a walk he decided to take from his suburban town in New Jersey to Manhattan via Route 3, plus much more. It's a great introduction to Ian Frazier if you've never read him before. It's fascinating facts, interesting people, and great stories.