what are you reading?

Mary Hanvik, Minneapolis: "McSorley's Wonderful Saloon," by Joseph Mitchell, a longtime writer for the New Yorker. It's a collection of pieces about New York characters from the 1930s and '40s. I lived in New York for many years and know many of the areas these people inhabited. Mitchell is a brilliant writer; when you're done reading, you really feel like you've met these people.

What's on your night stand? Send an e-mail to laurie.hertzel@startribune.com. Or go to startribune.com/books.