"Why people read what they read is a great unknown and personal thing," Sara Nelson once told The New York TImes. Today, O's celebrated book editor —and reader extraordinaire—tells us about her connection to the witty, wonderful jazz-era novel Rules of Civility, by Amor Towles.

Photo: Gino Domenico

"Rules of Civility is to books what the great classic movie, An Affair to Remember is to film. It's salty and funny and so wise about class, ambition and love in New York. Part of what makes the novel work, in my opinion, is that the city is, itself, a character in the book; the author has clearly done his research (but its seams don't show!) about the provenance of certain buildings and jazz clubs in the late 1930s. Most of all, however, I loved the book because I loved Katey Kontent, its protagonist—a tough-talking but tender dame."