Delightful! Helene Hanff and friend tour the city of New York, a place they'd lived happily for years but never once explored. Lively and informative! Now offered as a BC BookRing.

Update 15 Oct 06:

Takers:

kitkat8 (UK) <-- Book is here!
Caffy (UK)
AnglersRest (UK)
wyjane (UK)
dschinny (Germany)

PM me if you're interested in this book!

RELEASE NOTES:

This is off ono it's journey to Kitkat8 tomorrow. Enjoy!

Postman has just delivered this to me this morning, good job I decided to go in later because of my streaming cold, and I am so overexcited about this having enjoyed Helene Hanff's other books. Thank you turquoisefloyd I'll start reading this as soon as I finish my other book.

I love this book. Helene Hanff's vibrant personality leaps out at you from every page as she and her friend Pasty ('"I keep telling you its Pat!" she said impatiently. "Patsy doesn't suit me!". Believe me it was about to') journey across 1970s New York, getting lost and introducing each other to new experiences of their home city. I now know the difference between a West and East sider.

I love Hanff's writing so much, thank you turquoisefloyd, that I have just bought a couple more of her books that I will be offering as rings soon. Book is on its way to Caffy today.

Recieved this one safe and sound, will get to it asap.

Received this morning from Caffy. I have 8 or 9 rings here, but several are slim tomes, so should be moving within the month.

A little late with this but just wanted to say how much I loved this little book and to thank turquoisefloyd for starting this ring.

I really enjoyed this book, but then I have enjoyed all the Helene Hanff books I've read. An interesting web site about Helene Hanff is Here

In this one, Helene tours New York, and sees places that she has never seen before, despite living in the City. With her she takes a friend, Patsy, who she had lost contact with, but who she had ran into a week or two before, and together, the two of them tour the city and explore their friendship. On page 32 there is a great description of the World Trade Centre, which for those of us who have never seen the building, never will, so the book, in its own way creates a peice of history.

Having read the book, and not knowing New York (although I would love to visit) I've decided to obtain my own copy and read it clutching a New York map. I'm one of these visual people and I want to "see" the areas that Helene and Patsy walk as they prepare for the book.

I especially enjoyed the details about Ellis Island (pg 118-120). Like so many, my husband has relatives that entered the United States through Ellis Island and if you stop and think about it, those who entered into the US through Ellis Island had closed one chapter of their life and were hopefully opening another. An interesting site about Ellis Island with links to search for those entering through into the US is Here

I have wyjane's address, so the book will be off tomorrow (Friday 29th Dec).
Thanks so much for sharing this book, I loved it!

arrived this morning, thanks Anglersrest. have several rings waiting but this looks an easy read and i have a feeling it won't be here long

I loved this book, I have a feeling I read part of it years ago and had always wanted to read more but didn't know the title. I've been to NY a few times (first before the WTC was built and not again before the Twin Towers were destroyed so I never saw them) and this book makes me want to go again. Like Anglersrest I got out maps of Manhatten to trace Helene and Patsy's journeys the better to visualise it. Strangely none of my 'tourist' maps went far enough north for the Harlem tour that Helene was surprised to be the only Americans on.

I've PM-ed dscinney for the address to send it on its way. Sorry it was here longer than it should have been.

Received today, thanks! Looking forward to reading this.

23.3. Not as good as 84 Charing Cross Road or The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street But still very enjoyable. But maybe that's just because I've never been to New York before and found all the numbered street names very confusing...

10.4. Will be travelling back home today.

Apple of My Eye has returned, complete with little "Thanks for sharing" note! Thanks to everyone who took part in the ring!

RELEASE NOTES:

Passing to Pakasanelly for her own reading purposes!

Somehow TF managed to persuade me to take this because 'it's only a small book'. :o)

But I did enjoy 84 Charing Cross Road so will be interesting to see how this one turns out.

I really didn’t think I’d like this book, having very little interest in New York and a problem with reading historical facts (I blame school for that). But Hanff’s style is so engaging it turned out to be a most enjoyable read!

Some of the nitty gritty New York stuff (all those numbered streets with no proper name!) was a little dull, but the entertainment came from the description of the process Helene and her excitable friend Patsy went through to get the first-hand tourist information needed.

How poignant her words about the World Trade Center have become; I wonder what she would have written about 9/11 (she died in 1997).

’… and I certainly have to go to the top of the World Trade Center! That’s the one Must in a new tourist book about New York!’ Patsy studied the subway floor. ‘I’m afraid of heights’, she said. ‘So am I,’ I said. ‘No, I mean really afraid,’ said Patsy. ‘It’s a phobia.’ ‘I’m just as afraid as you are. Don’t give yourself airs.’ I said.

Taking to the Chelmsford meet tonight, to see if there's any interest.

Picked it up at the meeting at Riverside Inn. I loved 84, Charing Cross Road, so am looking forward to reading this. And as someone said, it's only a small book.

Pleasant, undemanding read, though I liked Charing Cross Road better. I will now take it to Amsterdam, which I'm visiting for the first time this week: seems appropriate as New York used to be New Amsterdam. Not sure yet where I'll leave it.

RELEASE NOTES:

My first visit to Amsterdam, so I'm not sure exactly where I'll leave it, maybe in a cafe or Ladies' loo. It may not even be the 24th October - we haven't worked out our itinerary yet.

Not read it yet

CAUGHT IN AMSTERDAM NETHERLANDS