Short cuts

Beg, Borrow, Steal
By Michael Greenberg (Other Press, $24.95)

He found fame in 2007 with Hurry Down Sunshine, the excellent memoir about his daughter’s madness, but this city-bred boho and inveterate hustler has been at the writing game for years. In this collection of short columns, he again finds his material right in front of him. He visits a few odd places, like Hart Island, the most populous cemetery in the U.S. But most of these pieces are about New Yorkers—friends, neighbors, an ex-wife, former classmates from a Far Rockaway yeshiva. Greenberg’s literary snapshots come with a layer of grit: Some of these real-life characters are rude, eccentric, even quarrelsome. Thankfully, you get the sense that Greenberg wouldn’t have it any other way.

Buy Beg, Borrow, Steal on Amazon.com | Buy it on BN.com

Twenty Minutes in Manhattan
By Michael Sorkin (Reaktion, $27)

This book captures architect Sorkin wandering through lower Manhattan, where even the most banal-seeming sights send the author into casually fascinating digressions about urban planning, the history behind New York’s grid, stoops and parks. After looking at the city through this ambler’s eyes, you’ll never look at a tenement building—or a stairwell—the same way again.

Buy Twenty Minutes in Manhattan on Amazon.com | Buy it on BN.com

Lost and Found
Edited by Thomas Beller (Mr. Beller’s Neighborhood, $15.95 paperback)

Here, Jonathan Ames, Meghan Daum, Rachel Sherman, Charles D’Ambrosio and many other authors known and unknown offer a welcome reminder to writers living in New York City: You can find a story at almost any street corner, any address.—Michael Miller

Buy Lost and Found on Amazon.com | Buy it on BN.com

See more Book reviews

Time Out New York / Issue 726 : Aug 27–Sep 2, 2009

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