Summer Reads for City Wanderers

With the summer solstice now behind us, the days are going to start getting shorter, bit by bit. But don’t despair—there are still plenty of brightly lit evenings ahead! Taking a long, meandering walk is one of the great pleasures of living in a big city, and the extra daylight means this is one of the prime times of year for aimless urban ambling.

If you need a bit of inspiration to get off that couch, we’ve got you covered with this list of books that explore the art of walking in the city. Bon voyage!

Twenty Minutes in Manhattan - One-time Village Voice architecture critic, Michael Sorkin, brings his sharp eye and searing wit to bear on the sidewalks, stoops, and public spaces of Lower Manhattan. Through Sorkin’s account of his short walk to work, he encourages us to see the city in new ways, even when we’re just getting from Point A to Point B. Sorkin describes cities as “juxtaposition machines” that are geared to generate the moments of serendipity and surprise that are the hallmarks of city life—as long as you keep your eyes open.

Wanderlust: A History of Walking - From bustling city streets to the most remote mountaintops, Rebecca Solnit explores the history of how the quotidian activity of walking has shaped our culture and society. Taking a philosophical approach to her subject, the author makes a compelling case for the importance of this easy-to-overlook activity—to our health, wellbeing, and creativity—and the necessity of making time in our busy modern lives to slow down and take in the scene.

The New York Nobody Knows and The Brooklyn Nobody Knows - Before his untimely passing at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, Professor Bill Helmreich had earned a storied reputation among the most avid walking enthusiasts. Over the course of four years, he walked all 6,163 miles of New York City’s streets (around 121,000 blocks), documenting his adventures—and the stories of the many colorful New Yorkers he met along the way—in his 2013 book The New York Nobody Knows. He followed it up with several borough-specific deep dives, starting with Brooklyn in 2016, and followed by Manhattan in 2018 and Queens in 2020.

The Colossus of New York -Two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Colson Whitehead brings the singular dynamism of his hometown to life on the page in this “love letter to New York City.” Organized as a collection of 13 non-fiction essays, the author’s observational eye captures the city in extraordinary and intimate detail, from the Brooklyn Bridge to a saunter down Broadway. You’ll look at the world around you on your walks in a different way after Whitehead is done with you.

On Looking: Eleven Walks with Expert Eyes - Bestselling author Alexandra Horowitz takes readers on walks through some of the world’s great cities (New York included, natch) with an eclectic roster of incisive lookers: everyone from geologists to typographers to curious toddlers. By surveying the urban environment from such a wide range of diverse vantage points, Horowitz beautifully highlights how each one of us views the city through our own unique lens—and how learning to see things differently can transform a well-worn path into a totally new experience.

Walking in the City with Jane: A Story of Jane Jacobs - If you often find yourself out walking with kiddos in tow, here’s one for your next family storytime. Susan Hughes’ new children’s book teaches kids about the life and writings of famed urban observationist and writer Jane Jacobs, who advocated vociferously for—among many things relevant to city-dwellers—the importance of vibrant, people-scaled streets. A lover of urban street life, Jacobs famously described the frenetic activity on city sidewalks as “an intricate ballet,” in which each errand-runner and aimless wanderer plays an essential role.

Open City - This one’s a bit different than the rest on this list, as it’s a work of fiction, but Teju Cole’s arresting 2011 novel will resonate with anyone who has spent long hours navigating the city on foot. There is little in the way of traditional plot, with readers instead following along on protagonist Julius’ introspective “peregrinations” around Manhattan. Cole’s writing perfectly captures the way in which the walking mind wanders as Julius makes his way through the world.

 

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Brendan Crain is the project manager for Culture Pass—a great way to check out museums, gardens, and historical sites you may have never been to before, totally free of charge. If you’re the kind of person who likes to have a destination in mind, Brenden recommends using your library card to reserve one today. He lives in Queens, works in Brooklyn, commutes between them via Manhattan, and thinks the Bronx and Staten Island are pretty cool, too.