At Hotel Sorrento, Reading Gets Two Silent Hours With a Pianist

You bring whatever you are in the middle of, a novel, a history, a Kindle, and read it for the next two hours in the Fireside Room, where mahogany walls, a fireplace and a baby grand have framed the party since 2009. Nobody talks. Ten minutes in the music pauses for the host to read out the week's literary birthdays, which is the only conversation of the night.

Paul Matthew Moore plays the whole two hours without an intermission, slow enough that the piano sits under the room instead of over it. Servers come around for drinks and food, with the full STELLA dinner menu at the evening sessions and the brunch menu on Saturdays. Putting the book down to watch the fire is allowed, and some people do exactly that.

Seats run $10 to $65 depending on the type, $13.31 to $74.71 once fees are in. Every guest also carries a $25 food and drink minimum that the reservation fee does not cover. The room has a bar and everyone must be 21 or over. Reservations are required. Dinner sessions are Wednesdays from 6.30 to 8.30 p.m. and brunch is Saturdays from 10 a.m. to noon. As of this week, Nov 11 still has chairs and tables, Nov 18 has chairs only, and Nov 21 has everything but the table for two.