Hot Dogs Are Magic

In which I talk books, letter writing, and babka.

Hello, friends!

I am going to have book news to share very soon. Having a pandemic book feels like having a pandemic pregnancy—sneaky, but in a good way. Private.

Writing this book was a wildly different experience than writing any of my previous books. This is always true to some degree, in terms of the book itself—truly, the only concrete confidence a novelist has going into the writing of a second or third or fourth novel is that you know it’s possible, because you’ve done it before, but it’s certainly not any easier. In any case, I am very excited (and somewhat terrified) to share the book with the world. Stay tuned. 

This week I went on two field trips. The first was to Gray’s Papaya, my favorite hot dog spot, on the corner of 72nd and Broadway. Gray’s Papaya is iconic—its giant yellow letters, its tiny menu, its absolute consistency. If you were last there ten years ago, don’t worry—except for some signage about masks, it is unchanged.

I went to shoot some video for my publisher, because there are several scenes in the new book that take place there, and of course, I had a hot dog. I also bought a handful of my very favorite buttons to share with some friends. You should get one, too! They cost $1 and are worth every penny. 

The second field trip was to the Brooklyn Book Bodega, one of Books Are Magic’s favorite partners and friends. Colleen, Aatia, and I went to their HQ at the Brooklyn Navy Yard and Rebecca showed us around.

It’s an incredible organization—Rebecca told us that they’d given out more than 52,000 books so far this year. And you can help!

If you’re in NYC, you can volunteer, which several people were doing while we were there, stamping and organizing and sorting.

You can donate books! There are drop boxes in a few neighborhoods, but if you take your books to Building 77 in the Navy Yard, where their office is, you can also stop at Russ + Daughters and buy yourself a babka.

And of course, no matter where you live, you can send Brooklyn Book Bodega money, which helps more books get into more kids’ hands. Books + Kids = Power. If that doesn’t make you teary, then, well, I don’t know what to say. 

Lastly! In my previous newsletter, I mentioned writing thank you notes. Perhaps you thought I meant emails. God forbid! I do, of course, write thank you notes via email on a daily basis, but when the feeling is greater than a simple “yay, thanks!” I vastly prefer actual paper.

Over the years, I’ve bought boxes of blank cards, amassed an enormous collection of postcards, and been gifted various boxes of stationery with my name on it (shout out to Book Passage in San Francisco, who gives visiting authors a box of notecards with their name embossed, a mind-blowing gift I still don’t understand). But right now I am in a very serious romantic relationship with Papier, a company that my friend Priyanka recommended. Priyanka is one of those people who has truly impeccable taste and is never wrong, except for the fact that she lives in Los Angeles and therefore doesn’t feel the way I do about carbohydrates. (Pri, you’re perfect and I love you.) Papier is not cheap but it is also high quality and will make you feel like a million bucks and also, bonus, when you have terrible handwriting it’s nice to give your reader a clue as to whom the ransom note is from. I also use them to write fan letters, which I do on (at least) a weekly basis. Writing a fan letter makes the recipient feel good and it makes you feel good, too. (My friend Gina wrote a whole book about thank you letters, in case you want to read more on the subject.)

When I am in Cobble Hill and need some lovely cards, I always pop into Measure Twice, my friend Kimberly’s wonderful card shop. If you’re in the neighborhood, do visit. You will buy cards and also maybe a fancy notebook and some pencils you didn’t know you needed.

What I’m Listening To:

• Maintenance Phase’s double episode about Rachel Hollis, of washing-her-face-fame. 

• Who Weekly, always.

• The Vanishing of Harry Pace, Radiolab.