New York, New York
Cooler weather has finally come, not a moment too soon. I’m enjoying every minute of it I can before the heat returns next week. With launch just about two weeks away, next week will also bring an avalanche of fresh work to do, so I’m steeling myself for the last push before we actually get this tour off the ground.
Knowing what’s coming down the line is, oddly enough, sharpening my focus on the things that are restorative, even if they have to happen in fits and starts between long bouts of work. Here’s what’s in the tank this week:
New York, New York
We took a whirlwind one-night-only trip to New York City on Friday. Fortunately we had a late train on Saturday, which left us a long lazy morning to wander around Soho for a while. For a long time I’ve needed a new pair of black jeans, and the need is increasingly urgent as tour approaches: core basics are a must for a trip like this, where you’re making a public appearance nearly every night but won’t have a lot of time to worry about what to wear or how to pack your wardrobe. Because I’m no longer growing, I’m also investing in some sturdier, quality pieces to last me a few touring seasons, so I snagged a pair of selvedge straight-legs from the Naked and Famous flagship store on Grand Street. Pricey, but if you’re going to wear them every day? Worth it to eliminate the decision-making part of the process. Black goes with everything.
The Strand, the Strand
Every time I have a few days on the ground in New York, I stop by the Strand. The depth of their catalog means I can find a lot of research titles there which are scarce anywhere else. When I walked in this time, the first thing I saw was a stack of Villains paperbacks on the Best of the Best display table. Wild how far this book has come; it used to be that the Strand only ever had one or two copies in stock, if that, and they’d be buried down in the basement or in a low cubby where no one could possibly see them. It’s such a literary institution that it feels very surreal to see my work in such a prominent spot, and to be on the roster of authors doing book events up on the second floor. If you’re in NYC, I hope you’ll come join us on September 27. You can snag tickets here.
Didion, again
I’ve been holding onto a hardcover first edition of Joan Didion’s Miami for some time now. Because I was born in Miami, it’s a special interest for me, but a large portion of Hot Wax also takes places in Florida, so now seemed like the time. Didion, as always, has such a keen eye for the human factors that give a place and a moment in time its unique character. I read the first five or six chapters sitting in a stairwell under a movie theatre, happily transported to the much more vibrant environs of Coral Gables and Calle Ocho. I wish this kind of writing was still in vogue; the observational style always reminds me to slow down and observe with a little more intention—which is such an important exercise for a writer.
Hope you’re getting a glimpse of sweater weather. What’s in your cornucopia this week?