City of Girls

By Elizabeth Gilbert,

Book cover of City of Girls

Book description

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!

From the # 1 New York Times bestselling author of Eat Pray Love and The Signature of All Things, a delicious novel of glamour, sex, and adventure, about a young woman discovering that you don't have to be a good girl to be a…

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Why read it?

5 authors picked City of Girls as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

The first thing that drew me in was the format. The entire book, which is 466 pages long, is a response to a letter written on page one by the main character, Vivian. What a neat way to write a book.

In her letter to Vivian, Angela asks, “Vivian, what were you to my father?” It wasn’t the same old “telling” of a story, but Vivian’s detailed response from a historical perspective involving her experiences over the years in love, lust, glamour, and promiscuity and how these affected her life.

Vivian is in her 90s as she responds, and the…

This book was like a big piece of literary chocolate cake. It was a blast from start to finish, set in the 1940s theater world of New York.

Ninety-five-year-old Vivian recounts her time in the theater, looking back on all the pleasure and pain of youth. The theater itself is another character within the novel, and like Broadway itself, the book is littered with eccentrics and phenomenal characters. An absolute jewel.

From Heather's list on a nod to Broadway.

This is the book I wish I had written, because it so well reflects some of the struggles with love I’ve had. It is the story of a woman who lives and makes love according to her own standards. At first, she does it in secret and has no problem ignoring the norms of society. But when her life is turned upside down by these same norms, she is thrown back, feeling numb and doing nothing. I can so much identify with how she handles the dilemma of wanting to follow your own wishes in a culture that sets a…

Book cover of Tap Dancing on Everest: A Young Doctor's Unlikely Adventure

Mimi Zieman Author Of Tap Dancing on Everest: A Young Doctor's Unlikely Adventure

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Author

Mimi's 3 favorite reads in 2024

What is my book about?

Tap Dancing on Everest, part coming-of-age memoir, part true-survival adventure story, is about a young medical student, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor raised in N.Y.C., who battles self-doubt to serve as the doctor—and only woman—on a remote Everest climb in Tibet.

The team attempts a new route up the East Face without the use of supplemental oxygen, Sherpa support, or chance for rescue. When three climbers disappear during their summit attempt, Zieman reaches the knife edge of her limits and digs deeply to fight for the climbers’ lives and to find her voice.


By Mimi Zieman,

Why should I read it?

26 authors picked Tap Dancing on Everest as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The plan was outrageous: A small team of four climbers would attempt a new route on the East Face of Mt. Everest, considered the most remote and dangerous side of the mountain, which had only been successfully climbed once before. Unlike the first large team, Mimi Zieman and her team would climb without using supplemental oxygen or porter support. While the unpredictable weather and high altitude of 29,035 feet make climbing Everest perilous in any condition, attempting a new route, with no idea of what obstacles lay ahead, was especially audacious. Team members were expected to push themselves to their…


I love this book. It’s a great reminder that young people have been feeling the same feelings and taking the same risks since forever. Set in New York City in the 1940s, Gilbert draws an exciting world of vice and art where you feel the bulb burning on every marquee on every playhouse. It’s the story of a young woman, Vivian Morris, who ditches school to pursue the big city life of independence. While reading the book, I worried about her, rooted for her, and couldn’t help but wonder what trouble she was going to get into next.  

There’s sex, flamboyance, partying, nightlife, unconventional characters, and a gritty urban backdrop – exactly what the protagonist Vivian needs in order to find her true self after disappointing her parents and not meeting their expectations. I love stories where the reader gets to experience the protagonist’s journey and evolution, and in this one, I could feel Vivian’s world expand with each chapter. Isn’t that what we all want for ourselves? To get outside of our bubbles and the judgments of others and find love, fulfillment, and an accepting community? 

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