Challenge Readers! It’s September. Time for new Challenge choices. This month our film inspiration is: You’ve Got Mail starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan.

I’ve always loved this movie. Written by the great Nora Ephron, it is funny and sweet with interesting characters to root for. It’s also a love letter to New York City, which headlines the movie with glorious scenery and where everything is a little bit magical (and very clean). The movie has also become a source of nostalgia – pre-pandemic, pre-9-11, a less complicated, more innocent time (And dial-up internet! Do you remember dial-up internet?!)

For book choices you can go several ways – books taking place in New York City, books about enemies that become a couple, books that tell part of their story through email to books with classic rom-com elements. Here are a few ideas.

Time After Time by Lisa Grunwald – When Nora is transported from the 1920s to 1937 during the “Manhattanhenge” in Grand Central Terminal, she must learn to live a full life within massive limits.

City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert – A unique love story set during the the 1940s New York City theater world.

The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin. Magical realism where five New Yorkers must come together to save their city.

The Coincidence of Coconut Cake by Amy Reichert. A chef and a food critic fall in love without knowing who the other is.

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne.  For the executive assistants to the CEOs of a newly merged company, it’s hate at first sight. But over time, that begins to change…

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell. As an “internet security officer”, Lincoln must monitor the emails of employees but finds himself falling for one employee instead of turning them in.

Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple. Both hilarious and touching, this book is told through a series of letters and emails.

The Dollhouse by Fiona Davis. The Barbizon Hotel for Women in New York City was a safe haven for young women in the 1950s who were seeking adventure and independence in the big city.

I’m planning on reading The Lions of Fifth Avenue another historical novel by Fiona Davis. It’s set in the New York Public Library and alternates between two time lines. Should be fun!

What about you? What will you be reading this September?