Book Review: Two Pocket Guides
Wallpaper* City Guide: New York, by the editors of Wallpaper* (Amazon) and New York's 50 Best Places to Find Peace and Quiet by Allan Ishac (Amazon).
At first, these pocket books appear to be two incompatible guides to New York City, the former looking at the stylish and trendy side of the city and the latter finding those out-of-the-way places devoid of crowds and noise. But in a way these two books are complementary. The places in Peace and Quiet are a perfect antidote to the crowd spots in the Wallpaper* City Guide. After a long day of shopping on Fifth Avenue, one can step over to Paley Park and relax under the trees as the waterfall masks the sounds of the city. Or one can change pace from the gallery-hopping in Chelsea on the General Theological Seminary's landscaped grounds.
The Wallpaper* guide will be very familiar to people who read the glossy love-it or hate-it (for me, depending how much $$ is in my bank account) magazine. Both may push a jet-setting, socialite, spendthrift lifestyle, but that doesn't mean the appeal is limited to this albeit small contingent. Style need not be limited to those with the money to wear it or be seen in it. Many of the places in the guide don't even require spending, like the listings in Architour and Landmarks sections (each section is conveniently accessible by tabs), among others. Perhaps the most valuable insight into the Wallpaper* ... is the handy 24 Hours section which starts with some (window) shopping on Bleeker Street and moves to Chelsea for brunch and some aforementioned gallery-hopping, before making way to Midtown for a visit to MoMA, a movie, and a Japanese dinner. Sure, this 24 hour stroll isn't cheap but it definitely isn't typical. It doesn't push a visit to the top of the Empire State Building or a stroll around the historicized commercialism of South Street Seaport or other touristy itineraries that not only drain time but also insulate the visitor from the real life of the city. Wallpaper* gets one out on the streets and in the right places.
But what's a person to do when they want to take a break, preferably without spending ten dollars for a movie ticket or twice that for what ends up being a tiring stroll around a museum? Ishac's book presents not 50, but 65 places for peace and quiet, helpfully indexed by neighborhood. It offers some well-known spots like Paley Park mentioned above and the Isamu Noguchi Museum but primarily little known gems that even natives might not be aware of, like the New York Earth Room in Soho and the Lotus Garden on the Upper West Side. Unlike the Wallpaper* guide, Peace and Quiet is a personal account of the city, an insider's glimpse into a side of the big city that many people may never see otherwise.
At first, these pocket books appear to be two incompatible guides to New York City, the former looking at the stylish and trendy side of the city and the latter finding those out-of-the-way places devoid of crowds and noise. But in a way these two books are complementary. The places in Peace and Quiet are a perfect antidote to the crowd spots in the Wallpaper* City Guide. After a long day of shopping on Fifth Avenue, one can step over to Paley Park and relax under the trees as the waterfall masks the sounds of the city. Or one can change pace from the gallery-hopping in Chelsea on the General Theological Seminary's landscaped grounds.
The Wallpaper* guide will be very familiar to people who read the glossy love-it or hate-it (for me, depending how much $$ is in my bank account) magazine. Both may push a jet-setting, socialite, spendthrift lifestyle, but that doesn't mean the appeal is limited to this albeit small contingent. Style need not be limited to those with the money to wear it or be seen in it. Many of the places in the guide don't even require spending, like the listings in Architour and Landmarks sections (each section is conveniently accessible by tabs), among others. Perhaps the most valuable insight into the Wallpaper* ... is the handy 24 Hours section which starts with some (window) shopping on Bleeker Street and moves to Chelsea for brunch and some aforementioned gallery-hopping, before making way to Midtown for a visit to MoMA, a movie, and a Japanese dinner. Sure, this 24 hour stroll isn't cheap but it definitely isn't typical. It doesn't push a visit to the top of the Empire State Building or a stroll around the historicized commercialism of South Street Seaport or other touristy itineraries that not only drain time but also insulate the visitor from the real life of the city. Wallpaper* gets one out on the streets and in the right places.
But what's a person to do when they want to take a break, preferably without spending ten dollars for a movie ticket or twice that for what ends up being a tiring stroll around a museum? Ishac's book presents not 50, but 65 places for peace and quiet, helpfully indexed by neighborhood. It offers some well-known spots like Paley Park mentioned above and the Isamu Noguchi Museum but primarily little known gems that even natives might not be aware of, like the New York Earth Room in Soho and the Lotus Garden on the Upper West Side. Unlike the Wallpaper* guide, Peace and Quiet is a personal account of the city, an insider's glimpse into a side of the big city that many people may never see otherwise.
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