a book should move you, actively and forever after. the words should stick with you, should paint your current reality and all of your memories in a different light. from grieving the loss of a lover to the way the first sip of coffee tastes in the morning. don’t settle for anything less; this is your time and your mental space and your fingers upon those pages. so choose wisely, consume entirely, and get completely lost in this beautiful world at your fingertips. and start here. with stephanie danler’s sweetbitter.

it’s always bittersweet to finish a novel, but i’m confident that the taste of this novel will linger for a long time. these words embody all of the complex contradictions of life in this city. how we walk the gossamer thin line of constant self evaluation and simply blaming the city for any perceived shortcomings. the pleasantness of exchanging a smile across the subway platform is immediately usurped by train traffic delays, a rat on the platform, a homeless man crying out. tiny, vital victories that are swallowed immediately by some reality that was waiting there all along, just masked by a sweet summer day or full coffee card. everything defined by utter gravitas as we all just float along, somehow. sheer joy and earth shattering defeat, the allure of the city of course. it’s what brought us here and keeps us here, somehow.  this work is as stunning, captivating, electrifying, honest as the city it’s set in.

get it. read it. or borrow mine. and fall in lust with new york again as this  cold weather threatens to make bitter all of our sweet sentiments.