This is a cool story about reading in a big city. It might require a subscription to view. The photos are great.
Even amid the clamor of a city of millions, New Yorkers have always been able to escape into a good book.
By Anika Burgess
Published Nov. 4, 2021Updated Nov. 5, 2021, 1:39 p.m. ET
On Thursday, May 3, 1979, the New York Times staff photographer Fred Conrad visited the main branch of the New York Public Library. A crowd had gathered on the steps outside — in groups, in pairs, talking, eating. But among this gathering, a few sat slightly apart, heads bent. They appeared oblivious to those around them, unaware of the photographer’s lens. They were reading.
Even in the busiest of places, if you have a good book, you can retreat into solitude. And when you live in a city like New York, a book can be even more than a story at your fingertips. It can also be a respite, an escape, a sanctuary, a diversion and a travel companion.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/04/books/reading-around-new-york.html?searchResultPosition=2