I loved this book and its sentiments for New York. The writing was rich and thoughtful and beautiful, and I really liked that each essay stood alone—it made it easy to pick up a few chapters here and there in between reading a novel. I liked savoring the chapters bit by bit, really letting them soak in. Some were funny while others were wistful, but all were poignant + filled with life lessons. I will definitely snagging a copy of this book for my personal library so I can reread these essays ag...

The essays that resonated the most with me were the ones involving ambitious, starry-eyed city transplants who grew up romanticizing the Big Apple from afar as a glamorous, cosmopolitan oasis where anything could happen, only to realize that New York can be hard, overwhelming and—yes—sometimes unbelievably boring. At the same time, however, the hardships and disappointments some of these writers experienced primed them to look for beauty in unexpected places, to start appreciating the city for w...

Totally hit or miss. Few essays were great and touching and some were obnoxious and stupid. I wish the collection was more diverse. It was lacking in that area. List of Essays:New York, in the Mirror - Rosanne Cash Stay Hungry - Jason Diamond New York and the Night - Patricia Engel To Live and Die in New York - Phillip lopateThe Goodbye Girl - Anna Holmes A Guy Named Wade - Jon-Jon Goulian The City Hoarded - Colin HarrisonAll I Really Need to Know I Learned in New York City - Whoopi Goldberg New...

I don't condone stalking. It's a shitty thing to do. However, I also don't condone punishing innocent people for the actions of one guilty person. Other people have given this book one star simply because Kathleen Hale was one of twenty-seven authors to contribute a story to this book, and they have stated so in their reviews and/or that they have not read the book for that same reason.JFC, come on, really? I know people are doing that to the novels Hale wrote, but to attack an anthology on the

Like any collection of short stories: there are good, and there are bad (some in this book fall under very, very bad). The stories I loved were filled with all of the things about New York that I already know, learned from novels and music and TV shows. It's nice to hear the confirmation that yes it is hard but it is still dazzling. I am eagerly awaiting my first real snowfall in the city, the characters on the subway, coming to the realization that I may be a fast walker in my hometown, but I a...

Here’s the thing about New York: It touches you. It’s really that simple and basic. Whether its touch compels you to spend a lifetime in its grip or the touch results in a momentary-lapse-of-logic-temporary sojourn, it doesn’t matter. Once you have set foot on its gum-sticky concrete, you have been affected. That’s the theme that comes across loud and clear in the anthology, Never Can Say Goodbye: Writers on Their Unshakable Love for New York, edited by Sari Botton. This anthology comes on the h...

I would like to point out that several of the one-star reviews here are by people who are targeting just one of the twenty-seven contributors. Some admit they haven't even read the book, but just want to taunt or hurt that writer. There are twenty-six other writers in the book, though. Putting it together and editing it took a tremendous amount of work, and I hope you will keep this in mind when seeing all those one-star reviews that have brought the average star rating so far down. BTW, I am no...

Rosanne Cash is a fantastic writer! Maybe everyone already knew this and I'm the last one to figure it out. Philip Lopate's essay for this collection is great; so is Nick Flynn's and Adelle Waldman's and Owen King's.

i’m pretty sure i have a bit of an obsession with books about new york, even if reading then makes me want to be there so much i ache with it.i didnt love all of the stories/essays(?) in this collection, but i did love a lot of them and also the overall feeling i got from the book as a whole.if you’re even a little bit in love with new york then you should read this!

A motley selection of writers reflects on what New York City has meant to them and why, even if they happen to move away, it often remains an influence on their life and work. “New Yorkers are all collectors,” Jason Diamond observes, “often of things we don’t necessarily want or really need.” Many collect favorite galleries or restaurants; another contributor, Colin Harrison, collects city maps from all eras; but Diamond argues that what most people amass is simply “things to kvetch about.”All t...

A solid read for NYC lifers and transplants alike. Best essays includes those by the editor, Roseanne Cash, Julie Klam, Adam Sternbergh, Brian Macaluso, Elizabeth Gilbert, Maris Kreizman, and Adelle Waldman. The good, the bad and the ugly, it's all here and I love it anyway.

Ugh, I don't know, 2.5 stars. Botton could've done a MUCH better job curating authors for an anthology about loving New York. For one, a few of them have left, which was what her preceding book as about. Two, it is overwhelmingly white and straight (jesus, even the couple who met through a gay and lesbian fiction seminar were straight). I would've loved to have seen types like Samuel Delaney and Sarah Schulman, whose works embody what New York is really about to me, much better than this collect...

This book is similar in several respects to its predecessor, "Goodbye to All That: Writers on Loving and Leaving New York", save for the fact that in the former book, the reader is treated to the perspectives (in essay form) of BOTH men and women writers, actors, and artists who have made New York City their home. Readers who have either - like me - spent time in New York over the years, be it as visitors or residents, OR have come to love the city from afar without having experienced it first-h...

Hit or miss, as most collections tend to be. But for every totally forgettable offering (*cough* Whoopi Goldberg), there's something really compelling balancing things out. Overall, as someone who lives in New York, constantly thinks about leaving and hasn't managed it yet, there was a lot that I could relate to.{Also, if you are one-starring this because of K. Hale's presence, I understand where you're coming from, but she's one of almost thirty contributors and it's kind of shitty to everyone

This is a great read - a variety of excellent writers on one of the most interesting places on earth. I found myself flipping around to different essays depending on my mood. There is a great emotional range in the various essays. I highly recommend this book for any NYC lover!

I bought this book when after 2 years of living in the city, I was feeling the city growing on me. But the book is a disappointment, to say the least. A very depressing book about a very vibrant city :( It is extremely boring, sad & repetitive after the first few essays. Completing this book was an almost year long drag. I did like the (probably the only thing I liked in this book) one-liners interspersed here and there about life in New York City.1. There was clarity inside when there was chaos...

I remember when I first saw New York City from an airplane window and then from the JFK airport on my way to Nashville in 2005. This skyline so familiar —thanks to countless movies and television shows— beckoned me. Sadly the layover was too short to actually leave the airport and venture into the city. It would take another 6 years for me to finally set foot in the city and when I did I instantly fell in love. Maybe it’s because of its Dutch roots, but New York to me felt a lot more like home (...

This book was a revelation for me as it enabled me to discover why so many writers found themselves inextricably linked to the vibrant but demanding city of New York.I am not sure if my engagement was also because I could so readily visualise the East Village, Soho, the West Village, the Upper West and other specific locations that I had just visited while based in this city for a week or so.The writing was compelling and captivating to me and reminded me why so many find it difficult to get thi...

This is a book that I picked up in NYC on my last visit, and follows on from Goodbye to All That: Writers on Loving and Leaving New York, a collection that I also thoroughly enjoyed. This book is more diverse in its writers (both male and female), and again has the common theme of the writers' experiences of the city, either at specific points or during the whole time they have lived there. Naturally right up my street!

I read the majority of these stories just before heading out to church on Christmas Day. Oddly enough, these stories put me in an even more holiday mood. One, because I grew up on Long Island and spent many months after college “hitting the pavement” going on one job interview after another that badly run employment agencies sent me on.Two, because looking back, I was proud of knowing the East side from the West side (anything below 20th street baffled me and i got freaked out when Fifth Avenue