"I read this 28 years ago, when I first I moved to New York City. I’d wanted to live here since I was five years old and the book confirmed every dream I had about what life could be like if you surrounded yourself with the right people. I laughed out loud reading this more than almost anything else I can remember."

"This was one of my favorite films when I was in high school. It’s funny and has a great soundtrack. Sal reminded me of my grandfather in his Canarsie store. The film helped humanize the perspective from both sides of the counter. It was the first film I saw that shed light on the African-American experience in a changing New York City."

"I was 16 when I read this and it sure had a hold on me. Schneebaum hitch-hiked from New York to Peru then walked stone naked into the jungle. I’d always wanted to throw everything away and vanish; he did it in the most gonzo, hallucinatory fashion. I adored him for it and still do. A book that challenged and changed me."

"It was my first view, my first idea, of New York as a glamorous place. I also really liked the doll’s pink-and-white-checked apron and the general air of existential blankness. When I tried to read it to my daughter, Coco, I thought, ‘This is so dark and terrifying.’ But I’ve met many women who were influenced by that book."

"Four stories that join forces, set around the day that Phillippe Petit walked between the Twin Towers on a tightrope... Again, the sweltering heat of New York in the ‘70s drew me in with a deep, familiar impression. I gave this book to my brother, who reminded me of it when I was trying to choose books for this project."