Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Writers who make you feel like their friend

I love reading writers who have that special gift of making you feel like they are talking to you personally. Rather than curling up with a good book, you feel like you are curling up with a good friend on the couch and having a good ole chat.

I have just absolutely devoured David Lebovitz’s The Sweet Life in Paris. As a devotee to his blog already, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on his book. And it was worth the wait! The book is a funny and insightful collection of his experiences moving from San Francisco to live and work in Paris.

David (I feel we are first name basis now!) is able to poke fun at both the French and American – and some stereotypes
are true! The book is a joy to read; he has such a lightness of touch.

Another writer who has this special gift is Helene Hanff, who is famous for 84 Charing Cross Road. But it is Underfoot in Show Business that really got to me.

Hanff detials in humourous fashion her years as a struggling playwright in New York City in 1940s & 50s. I remember curling up and to this book late at night and being completely transported to the show biz world of New York in the 1940s.
The love she feels towards New York City is palpable in these pages.