We Have An Eye For Great Books: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Bespectacled folks are often seen as studious types who are quick to silence the faintest of whispers when they’re head-down in their favorite place—a book. And while we might not go around shushing people, we are a bunch of book-loving eyewear enthusiasts who love meandering through library stacks, ready to whip out that trusty card when the right cover or title hits us just right. There’s something so satisfying about throwing on your favorite specs and allowing the word-covered pages of pulp to captivate and catapult you to into another realm.

When we’re not surveying the land for great-looking eyewear, our pastimes include alphabetizing our book collections and updating the Goodreads app with whatever we have sitting on our bedside table. This week’s novel, from 1943, is “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn” by Betty Smith. If you haven’t heard of this coming-of-age tale that takes place during the early 20th century in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, hit up your local library or have an Amazon drone deliver it to your doorstep immediately. It’s a family’s story of struggle, love, hardship and loss during a period when Brooklyn wasn’t teeming with hipsters and overrun by coffee shops. The story is told through the eyes of a young Irish-American girl, Francie Nolan, who draws you into her tenement world where we learn and wonder and worry about the little girl growing up in impoverished and often chaotic conditions. When the cover closes for the final time, if you’re like us, you’ll go through the stages of mourning over the end of your relationship with Francie—now, if that isn't the sign of a good tale, we don’t know what is.

Share your thoughts and comments below about your favorite reads set in New York, or tag us on social with using #DiscountGlasses.

“Look at everything as though you were seeing it for the first time or the last time. Then your time on earth will be filled with glory.” -Betty Smith