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New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Andrew Yang.
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  • Andrew Yang said his favorite book about New York City is "The Catcher in the Rye."
  • The Gothamist asked all of the Democratic mayoral candidates to submit their favorites.
  • The JD Salinger classic involves an angsty teen escaping from his prep school to the city.
  • See more stories on Insider's business page.

In the canon of New York City literary classics, Democratic mayoral candidate Andrew Yang said his favorite is "The Catcher in the Rye."

Yang's selection of the JD Salinger best-seller and fixture of high school English classes came as part of a survey sent out by The Gothamist to all of the Democrats in the crowded primary field.

The former presidential candidate's pick was popular among The Gothamist's audience, with the Salinger novel taking top prize in a ranked choice voting simulation where readers could vote for their favorite books in the same way they would at the ballot box under New York City's new system.

Holden Caufield, the hero of the book, escapes from his stodgy prep school to discover the thrills and perils of exploring Manhattan on his own.

Yang has spoken about his love for traveling into the city as a kid growing up in the Hudson Valley, and he went to high school at the prestigious Philips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire.

Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams went with "The Power Broker" by Robert Caro. Considered by critics to be one of the best biographies ever written, the book chronicles the life and vast influence of Robert Moses, a parks commissioner who remade the physical landscape of the city and vanquished foes despite never being elected to any major position.

Attorney and former MSNBC contributor Maya Wiley selected "Go Tell it on the Mountain" by James Baldwin. In a semi-autobiographical novel, Baldwin focuses on a bright teenager growing up in Harlem amid the growing influence of the Pentecostal Church among African-Americans in the 1930s.

City Comptroller Scott Stringer and ex-Citigroup executive Ray McGuire did not submit any book titles.

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