Why am I passionate about this?
My love of New York City began at a young age–my parents were from Queens and the Bronx, and they always spoke about it with such adoration. As a young person in high school, I ached to get out of South Florida and find my way to the city they described in such loving detail. I began reading about it within the topics that interested me–music, art, fashion, performance, and more–and this beautiful world opened up, full of creative possibilities. I moved to New York in 2010 and have been writing about it and photographing it ever since for a host of publications.
Elyssa's book list on living a glittering life in New York City
Why did Elyssa love this book?
This book became a bible for me as a young person deciding what my future would look like, and I never forgot, as a suburban high school student, how magical New York felt on the page and how much I wanted to be there with this cast of characters.
The New York that lives on these pages, all guts and grunge and glitter, is the New York I see in my dreams and was delighted to cite in my book as well.
6 authors picked Please Kill Me as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.
This is the true story of a misunderstood culture phenomenon, one embracing Andy Warhol, Jim Morrison, Lou Reed, David Bowie, Patti Smith, The Sex Pistols, Iggy Pop, The New York Dolls, The Clash and The Damned. It is a story of sex, drugs and rock and roll, documenting a time of glorious self-destruction and perverse innocence - punk was possibly the last time so many people will have had so much fun killing themselves. Legs McNeil, founder of "Punk" magazine has interviewed those who were members of the punk scene, from the brightest stars to the most observant groupies.