miscellany

miscellaneous non-BEA nyc things.

Other things I did in NYC that did not involve official BEA responsibilities:

I ate a lot of really good food. A lot. My favorite might have been this tiny little South African Wine Bar that my wonderful NYC-dwelling sister put on a list of recommendations for me. I love food on small plates, it enables so much more tasting of things. Also went to David Burke Townhouse which was marvelous and I only wish I’d been able to eat more, because those plates were not so small. The pretzel-crusted crab cake is swoon-worthy. Also there was sushi and cookies and lots of coffee. And chocolate mice, of course. (True confession: had my very first chocolate mouse on this trip. Never actually had one before. Now I have and it was delightful.)

Visited the New York Public Library, I had walked by many times and said hello to the lions but I hadn’t been inside. They have a fabulous centennial display with all manner of writerly wonderments, e.e. cummings’ typewriter and Virginia Woolf’s walking stick. Also, Lego versions of the lions:

There’s very beautiful art tucked in hallways, too, it was like getting to do a bit of museuming which I have sadly lacked in my last few trips to NYC.

Went to Sleep No More. Again. For the record, that’s 4 times for the Brookline run and 3 in NYC. And really, if this was my last time I’m okay with that, it was dark and familiar and new and strange and it’s not just every night that a man in a tuxedo locks you in a room and sits you in a chair and kneels down and lays a sword across your lap and then reads you bible verses. This was also the first time I was ever escorted from the space after the end, gently guided back to the bar to have my mask removed for me. It was a wonderful last moment in case I don’t go back for an eighth visit. Though you never know.

Also, this is what happens when you try to take a photo of a lapin in your hotel window at night, it turns all Times Square Apocalypse on your poor bunny:

It was a fun view at night, though, all glimmery and never still. I really had a marvelous week, surreal and wonder-filled. And then there were zombies at South Station when my train home got in and I had to wheel my suitcase around pools of hopefully fake blood. It likely says something about me or my week that I did not find that surprising or strange.

And now I’ve been back in Massachusetts for a while and I’m slowly getting caught up with everything. I’m moving to Boston in July so that is taking a lot of time and energy, my apologies if blog posts and email responses and such fall a bit lower on the priority list, I am trying my best to keep up, thank you for your patience.

By erin, ago

tessa on a box.

Still working on the post-BEA post, don’t know how it got to be Wednesday night already.

In the meantime, here is Tessa on a box she couldn’t manage to fit in properly:

By erin, ago

this is not a proper post-BEA post.

I am back after a whirlwind week in NYC.

To say it was amazing would not do it justice. It was phenomenal on several levels. My one regret is that I did not pack sandals, because it was hot. (In my defense, it was freezing and rainy here when I was packing. Also, I seem to have returned to summer, complete with flopsy kittens.)

I am in recovery mode, trying to catch up on things and sleep a great deal. So there is a proper BEA report forthcoming but it will take a couple of days.

For now, here is a photo of a scarf-clad lapin overlooking Times Square from my hotel room:

 

By erin, ago

so cold!

It is so cold and bleak and rainy it’s like someone rewound the year to February. I refuse to turn my heat on in May on principle, instead I am wrapped up in sweaters and thick socks and drinking absurd amounts of mint tea.

Also, kittens are hogging all the blankets.

And Tessa appears to be a pirate, or she’s trying, at least.

Pre-BEA post forthcoming, possibly with packing photos if I can keep kittens out of suitcases.

By erin, ago

monday miscellany, again

Little bits of things today, because my brain is all unfocused. I’ve been doing things in fits and starts for days, so the blogging can have a similar, disjointed feel for the start of this week.

I have contact lenses! I had to wear my trial pair all last week and they were proclaimed satisfactory this weekend. I’m still getting used to them but they’re not nearly as strange as I had anticipated, and while I’m sure I’ll still default to my glasses out of convenience, it’s absolutely marvelous to have the option.

I also have new suitcases, since I have traveling to do in the impending future. Tessa likes them, so that’s something.


I spent part of the weekend finishing reading The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters. I mentioned on Twitter when I was halfway through that I loved it like candy (dank, possibly haunted candy) and I continued to love it through to the end. Marvelously moody and perfect spring thunderstorm reading, curled up in a corner with a blanket, being stared at by a cat.

Speaking of Waters, I’ve noticed that I get asked about my literary influences and my mind almost always goes completely blank, or there are just so many that I don’t know where to start. I should start compiling a master list. Sarah Waters belongs on it, of course. Fingersmith is still my favorite of hers, though I did love this one a lot in a completely different way.

I just got the new Fleet Foxes album and I’m not sure what I think about it yet, but it’s growing on me.

I have been meaning to post this for ages and kept forgetting, of course: My friend Eleanor was at the London Book Fair and posted an inside look at some of the circusy things on her blog, including a peek at the still-elusive UK cover.

I think that’s it. Kind of can’t believe that BEA is only two weeks away, have to work on the rest of my “to-do before BEA” list.

By erin, ago