The Book Thief

The book thief steals books to steal back the words, the power, that has been stolen from a society.

Hitler stole the ability to speak freely, act freely, and so much more from the Polish, the Jews and the Germans themselves. That is, he stole their words.

Liesel, our heroine and thief, is a nine-year-old German girl at the start of this novel that opens in 1939 and spans five horrible years. She steal books, starting with The Gravedigger's Handbook, dropped in the snow by the boy who buried her six-year-old brother. She pulls books from crisp piles left from a Nazi book-burning party.

Liesel doesn't understand her compulsion to steal, but we learn she is taking the words back that had been stolen, words that she didn't know how to read at first. She learns to read them, learns their power and ultimately uses them.

Death's Tale

Using Death as the tale's narrator is a technique that works and doesn't at the same time. Death's voice feels heavy-handed in parts, but isn't that what Death is, particularly during the Nazi era? Death hits you over the head with foreshadowing, not just hints, but outright revelations of what's to come in bold, centered type. Oddly, it works.

It's not typical to read about WWII from the perspective of non-Jewish German citizens. I loved that characters reveal themselves to be different from my expectations. And not in that, oh the author knows you are going to expect so-and-so, so he makes the characters be the opposite. The book also makes you understand--even just a little--how a shadow, an evil force can overtake a society.

Plus, you learn a few good German swear words.

Sex and My City

How many Cosmopolitans will be drunk around the nation tonight?

I left work at 1 pm today, a summer Friday, to see "Sex and the City" on its opening day. I never see movies on opening day, or opening weekend, or rarely in the theater at all. For G and me, it's Netflix or nothing.

Exceptions: we saw 1998's "Man on the Moon" opening weekend. And I saw 1990's "Godfather III" on opening night. Burned by GFIII, I never again assumed I need to rush to see a movie because I loved its predecessor.

I rarely watched "Sex and the City" during its small screen run. I liked the show when I came across it, but not enough to remember when it was on. But I was a loyal reader of Candace Bushnell's column in The Observer when I first moved to New York.

The Price of Over-Hype

I saw "Sex and the City," without reading any reviews in advance, but knowing the reviews are mixed. Like many, I went with a girl-group but I skipped the post-movie Cosmos.

The movie was not nearly as bad as the New York Times says, nor as great as the Fox News reviewer thinks. (But remember, Fox can make the Iraq war sound good.)

The movie did not make me sentimental for Carrie and gang; it made me sentimental for New York. Or specifically, how New York felt when I first got here in 1992. Every location in the movie was dizzyingly fantastic. I'm certain I ate in every blurred restaurant they showed, walked on every one of the streets. And what could be better than reuniting on The Brooklyn Bridge, running toward each other, one from each side?

When I first moved to New York, I couldn't say a bad word about it for years. In the movie, Samantha longs to return to New York. Her LA is all about sitting on deck chairs. Miranda flees Brooklyn, for Manhattan. Jennifer Hudson, as Carrie's personal assistant, says she came to New York for Love. To find it, that is. Hudson has all the sparkle of the new New Yorker.

I wish I could get some of that sparkle back. But I felt it, in the theater this afternoon.

Make the Most of Happy Hour

How do people with normal salaries manage to enjoy any of New York's costly charms? Simple charms, like paying your rent and eating.

Sunday's New York Times article, Starting Salaries, but New York Tastes, brings back memories for me that ain't so far behind. The article refers to the "young newcomers to the city of a certain income — that is, those who are neither investment bankers nor being floated by their parents."

That describes me and everyone in my circle of friends when I arrived in late 1992.

I was so naive about the cost of living in New York, I thought I could share a two-bedroom apartment for $500 a month. I quickly upped my price to $650 and two roommates. I got an overdraft line of credit on my checking account. I dipped into it and paid it back every pay cycle.

Here are some other tactics either I or one of my friends resorted to:

• Bringing a flask of vodka to bars (Alexi swill vodka, no less)
  

• Seeking out Happy Hours with free food (a nod to the former Grappino's on 39th Street)

• Giving up blondeness (that wasn't me)

• Joining a group for drinks after they've gone to dinner

• Attending art openings for the free wine

• Putting hot baked potatoes in my pockets to keep my hands warm on the way to school (Wait, I'm misremembering. That was Francie in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.)

The scraping-by syndrome can last much longer than a couple of years out of college, even among professionals who get promotions and raises. People rely on business dinners to experience great New York restaurants for much of their careers. And for some musicians, actors and writers, scraping by is forever.

How New is New?

How does Corcoran qualify an apartment to be listed under "Newest Properties" on its website?

I haven't figured their system out. Are the apartments listed as a "newest property" for a specified amount of time? Or are the parameters more fluid? I'd think Corcoran would want there to be a lot of new apartments popping onto the market all the time.

It's good business for buyers and sellers to feel there's a lot of action. Usually in Manhattan and in desirable Brooklyn neighborhoods, there is a lot of movement.

But last week, Corcoran listed about 575 new properties. I've seen as many as 700 or 800 new properties. Often, every single apartment in a new development is listed separately. That skews any analysis of the amount of listings. Today there are only 423.

There are 511 Open Houses listed on this Memorial Day weekend. A lot for a holiday weekend? Does the ratio of New Properties to Open Houses mean anything?

Trying to find an apartment gem, I scan the new listings trying to match my minimum square footage (750) with my maximum price (around 500K, more or less depending on monthly fees).

The only match I find is an 1000 square foot, two bedroom condo in Kensington, a neighborhood south of Brooklyn's Park Slope. But the open house was today, not tomorrow.

No loss, really, since we visit these apartments only on the web and in our imaginations. Also, we must not forget--our money is imprisoned.

Whacked Out Floor Plan Scores Low

A photography teacher once looked at my work and said I was very recto-linear. I don't think he meant it as a compliment.

But in certain things, recto-linear is an important, positive quality. Like in floor plans.

G and I have looked at luxury apartments in new Battery Park City developments in which a major room is shaped more like a triangle or a parallelogram. In those rooms, you must draw a rectangle inside the unusual shape to calculate the real, or usable, square footage.

A lot of apartments in New York have a weirdly shaped room. But this one looks like a fun house. Every room looks off-kilter. Here is the full listing.

$425K seemed too low for a place of + or - 750 square feet. No wonder it is plus or minus. Who can do the math?

This apartment scores a lunar eclipse for its sheer wackiness. Who plunked down the money for this the first time around, I wonder, and what were they thinking?

Many Moons to Go

G and I intended to check out the Hudson Heights neighborhood last weekend, but we never made it out of the house.

Maybe because our cash is under lock-and-key (read all about auction rate securities) or maybe because NY1 Weather predicts rain every single day of the week. (Watch their television weather report and take note.)

Perhaps our lethargy stems from our brains living in 2003 when one could buy an apartment that was better than ours for $500 per square foot.

In 1999, we bought a downtown Brooklyn co-op for $176 per square foot and sold it in 2005 for $475 sq ft.The current owner could sell it for $725 sq ft based on the listings I have been studying.

I focus on the listings on Corcoran.com way too much. Corcoran's asking prices are generally higher than New York Times listings or other realtor listings. But Corcoran's site is so superior, the information so complete, the photos, the floor plans, the organization. I go back again and again to their Newest Listings.

A little math in that category--price divided by square foot--tells the story. No one has told New Yorkers yet that the market has tanked. At this rate, it will be many moons before we find a place to buy.

Chance of Rain

Chance of Remaining Priced Out

Apartment Watch: One Gone

I can't believe it. This apartment in Prospect Heights is in contract already. It just went on the market.

I criticized its layout, bathroom location and monthly maintenance cost. But the appeal of subway proximity coupled with park proximity trumps many downsides. You don't often get both (or either) in New York.

The Washington Heights apartment I featured is having an Open House this weekend. Too bad I'll be out of town because I think this one is a real deal.

Apartment Worth Watching #4

Take a gander at this pad.

This classic New York apartment belongs to the late socialite Brooke Astor. New to the market today, the $46 million price tag is a little out of reach for us. It will be tough coming up with the $17,000 monthly maintenance. However, all the amenities are there.

The layout could really work for me though G and I don't employ enough maids to fill the three maids' rooms. Also, there doesn't appear to be a way to enter the kitchen except through the Servant's Hall. Since I wouldn't want to go through the Servant's Hall, I guess all our meals would have to be served to us.

Does anyone else think they shouldn't put the Vault on floorplan? Will robbers start going to real estate websites to plan their heists?

Notice that 100% downpayment is required, a polite way of saying cash only. $46 million big ones.

This listing scores a Full Moon in all categories.

Property to Watch #3 - Hudson Heights

The more I look at this listing, the better I like it. This Hudson Heights apartment seems to have it all.

Location

The neighborhood, a subset of Washington Heights, starts at 181st Street and ends at Fort Tryon Park. The buzz says HH is up-and-coming and still affordable. This apartment is one long block from the 1 Train and four blocks from the A Train. Bless my feet! Its four blocks from a park on either side (as if our dog would ever want to go out to a park).

I would have to check out the area myself before I could give it five moons for location. But it may deserve a bump.

Layout

Normally, I would be turned off by the long hallway. The hallway prevents the apartment from being a railroad apartment, but it still seems a little railroady. Conversely, with 920 square feet, you can spare some for a hallway. Plus, the hall creates privacy from one end of the apartment to the other.

Four closets is my threshold of acceptability, but they seem small. A window in the kitchen is a plus that makes an apartment less New Yorky in a good way.

Amenities

I count the number of bedrooms and other physical attributes of the apartment under "Amenities." Therefore, the second bedroom and the four closets keep the rating at three moons rather than two. The good light in the apartment is a plus, but a non-elevator building is a negative.

Price

Ah, the price! G and I can actually afford this place. In fact, the cost-to-maintenance ratio is much lower than our maximum. There is an open house today. Will this one go fast?

Out of Reach on Union Street, Brooklyn

Here's another Prospect Park area apartment that caught my attention.
The location is fantastic, though a little less fantastic than yesterday's Prospect Heights apartment. This one is a block away from the park, rather than right on the park and an avenue's worth away from the subway. (The listing copy says "steps away," but I can count the blocks on the map.) I can't give any apartment the maximum five moons unless it is in Manhattan. But a short walk to the Express 2/3 would zip me to work painlessly.

Layout

The layout is mouthwatering. An eat-in kitchen scores big with me, as it does with most New Yorkers. With wide closets in both bedrooms, a hall closet and a linen closet, G and I just might be able to stash all the guitars out of sight.

Amenities

A non-doorman building is something G and I will always think twice about. New Yorkers order online, thus receiving many more packages than the average person. Someone to accept packages is a quality of life issue. Yes, and the security is important too.

Price

The price would have to come down more than a quarter of a million dollars for us to be able to afford this apartment. No market correction would ever put this apartment within reach. Sigh. I am going to keep my eye on it anyway, but I expect it will move fast.

Questionable Prospect

This Prospect Heights one-bedroom is in an amazing location. Its next to the Brooklyn Library and Grand Army Plaza. Best of all, its right by a subway express stop. Did I mention the apartment is across from Prospect Park?

But check out this floorplan. You must walk through the narrow kitchen to enter the apartment. The living room is a decent size, but smaller than ours. Huge drawback: you must go through the bedroom to get to the bathroom. No more weekend guests. A little light on closets, but I've seen worse.

At 725 square feet, its probably average for a New York one-bedroom, but we need at least 750 or 800 well-laid out square feet. I think at $425,000, you're paying for the location. Maintenance is $972, high for the neighborhood.

Location
Layout
Amenities
Price
Overall