When Orient resident Chris Pavone was developing his writing style nearly two decades ago, he found himself drawn to creating stories with involved plots and high stakes while also confronting real-world issues like sexual assault, racism and classism. Now, with a highly acclaimed catalog — and a new local accolade — Pavone hopes to keep the conversation going around the dynamics in his 2025 fictional thriller, The Doorman.
Long Island Reads, a committee comprised of librarians promoting island-wide reading initiatives at library sponsored events, selected The Doorman as the tome for its 2026 One Island, One Book designation.
“The wonderful thing about being picked by a group of librarians is they don’t have a political agenda,” says Pavone. “They’re just picking a book that they think their community is going to enjoy and benefit from and that judgement is probably the most pure type of judgement that exists in a situation like mine.”
In conjunction with the American Library Association’s National Library Week (April 19 – 25), Pavone will be presented with a formal selection award on April 26 at Half Hollow Hills Library. Throughout the rest of the year, libraries across Nassau and Suffolk Counties will present programming related to major themes in the book like architecture, art and art collecting, class differences, doormen, international arms trade and New York City.
Since 2002, the 12-to-18 person committee has been selecting a book with ties to Long Island that spark conversations, whether the author resides here or the plot is Long Island centered. Librarians bring titles to the table that they believe will fill the bill. The committee then narrows down the options over a series of meetings in hopes of settling on a book with broad appeal around which they can create engaging related programming. Over the years, these books have spanned many genres with most targeted to adult readers.
For Pavone, he always knew he’d like to write a novel about New York. With other New York Times bestselling titles in his discography like Two Nights in Lisbon and The Expats, The Doorman was sure to be a hit.
Chris Pavone is promoting his 2025 noveL “The Doorman” worldwide. (Photo credit: Chris Pavone)
Little did Pavone know, his 2025 fiction novel telling the story of Chicky Diaz, a doorman at New York City’s world-famous property the Bohemia, housing celebrities, financiers and the cultural elite, would draw comparisons to The Bonfire of the Vanities, Tom Wolfe’s 1987 novel, made into a film in 1990, that touched on topics like greed, racism, classism and justice.
Pavone, a born and raised New Yorker who now divides his time between the city and Orient , never lived in a doorman building until 2020, moved he and his family moved into a full-service building in New York City. He describes the experience as unsettling, and not like a 21st century relationship, with the doormen calling him ‘Mr. Pavone’ and ‘sir’.
“It made me deeply uncomfortable and I realized that one of the ways I could diminish my discomfort was to spend a lot of time getting to know individual guys who I saw every day,” says Pavone.
He ultimately dedicated his novel to one of the doormen in his building, and the incredible legacy he took so much pride in.
As for the kind of conversation Pavone hopes the novel stirs in Long Island communities, he says getting people speaking about treatment of others, especially those who have risked their lives to move to the United States and work hard jobs and try to make better lives for their families.
“For most of my life it was clear that this was something that America welcomed and rewarded and was in fact based on,” says Pavone. “And now, we as a country have turned away from that.”
For more information on Pavone’s novel, where to find it and for upcoming programming, click here.
