A Love Letter to NYC

This book combines two of my favorite things: New York City and celebrities. An embarrassing confession: whenever I see a celebrity on the street I immediately text a friend (who is also celeb-obsessed. Seriously, she can list the names of every celebrity child-- in the correct birth-order. It's a true gift...) with the details: Where did I spot them? What were they wearing? How did they look?

Jeryl Brunner's book, MY CITY, MY NEW YORK makes my celebrity stalking so much easier. She went straight to the source and asked famous New Yorkers: Where are your favorite spots in the city and why?

So now I know:

-Glenn Close likes to walk her dogs in Central Park, near the West 81st entrance

-Anthony Bourdain celebrates with meals at Masa

-Joan Rivers loves the top of 30 Rock (and she was a NYC tour guide during college--who knew?!)

This book not only satisfies my celeb-obession, but it has shown me how little I know about "the city". I have a whole new list of places I need to visit. First stop, the restaurant Veselka, to hang out with Jon Stewart!

GHOSTS IN THE FOG: The Untold Story of Alaska's WWII Invasion by Samantha Seiple is on sale this week!

This is a non-fiction book for young adult readers, but anyone who is interested in history will enjoy it.

Did you know that the Japanese invaded (and occupied!) Alaska during WWII? Admittedly I'm no history buff, but I'd never heard about this. In GHOSTS IN THE FOG, Samantha Seiple takes a closer look at this little-known bit of history. She tells the story of the Americans who were taken prisoner by the Japanese, along with the soldiers (on both sides) who fought in this very bloody battle. Samantha does an incredible job of making history come alive.

And this book really got me thinking about the other parts of U.S. history that's been forgotten....