The novelist takes us on a stroll to the Grand Bazaar, through Central Park and to Freeman’s on 72 Street for the best Reuben sandwiches

Are Sundays special? No. I don’t have a nine to five, so I don’t live my life waiting for the weekends. I try to do a bit of writing first thing in a notepad, while my wife grabs a Sunday newspaper. Sometimes we sit in bed, sometimes in the sunroom with coffee.

Sunday shopping? We’re in New York City. One of our favourite things is to go to the Grand Bazaar on 77th and Columbus. It’s half junk, half cool stuff. It’s like going on a museum trip – you never know what you’ll see.

Any shopping mishaps? They literally sell anything: old containers of Tic Tacs, soaps you’d want to eat. My wife once bought a red leather coat with this shock of art on the back, and we’ve bought Persian carpets. And it all takes place in a school and they have food stands in the playground. Their dumplings are unbelievable. One guy just sells pickles. If you walk along Columbus, you pass Japanese, Italian, Indian, Thai and American restaurants. I’ll sit outside, because I’ll have the dogs – Winslow and Laszlo – with me.

Time for walkies? Yes, through Central Park. I like to enter at 72nd Street, Strawberry Fields, to see the John Lennon memorial and the buskers. There’s a fountain, like the one from Friends, and Bow Bridge, which you’ve seen in a million movies, like Elf.

Sunday lunch? Freeman’s on 72nd Street does the best Reuben sandwiches. I’ll walk down towards the zoo or up towards the Met. New York City is a great city for walking.

Sunday evening? I love getting lost in a good book or TV series. I’m not much of a sports fan, but both of my local teams – the New York Knicks and the New York Rangers – are doing well in the playoffs. So I’m watching a fair amount of that.

Do you ever switch off? No. Even on vacation, I write. Life is all about balance: your partner, your kids, how you eat, exercise and work. I can have all those things going well, but if I’m not writing, I know the balance isn’t going to hold.