You may have already gotten this, but it sent too soon because I am on the road. I have three events today and my brain is broken. Alas. This is real life.
Hey Boston, Providence and Massachusetts friends. Come hang out with me tomorrow night at An Unlikely Story bookstore at 6:30. RSVP here or just show up.
I ate bacon gelato last night.
It was just a tiny dollop on the side of my carbonara at Gran Caffè L’Aquila in Philadelphia, right next to the Barnes & Noble where I had my Philly book event.
And it was perfect.
Bacon gelato isn’t something I ever would have ordered on its own, but now I can’t stop thinking about it. Sometimes the things you end up loving most are the ones you never knew you needed.
I was back in Philly for a couple of days, and now, hello from Spring Lake, New Jersey. Earlier today I stopped by LBI Bookswap, which was just named the nation’s No. 1 independent bookstore by USA Today. I generally don’t love ranking bookstores or books or anything in life, but this one really is special. The owner is a fellow Italian American, so we hit it off immediately.
Then I jumped into the ocean in Spring Lake before heading over to Thunder Road Books. It’s become one of my favorite little traditions of book tour.
Yes I did wear my favorite Quince one-piece (I also have the red one) in black and it is also perfect. All the stars.
On the drive north, I listened to Fresh Air with Emily Wilson, whose extraordinary 4,000-word review of Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey has been knockin’ around in my brain ever since I read it. We’ll get to that in a few.
However, one part of the interview sent me down an entirely different rabbit hole.
I’ve been getting asked on tour what it’s like to regularly receive toxic, misogynistic messages from men online. I mostly ignore them. But now I have a better answer. Because Emily Wilson has a brilliant way of cataloging the bizarre, repetitive, nasty complaints she gets from dudes. I’m going to shamelessly borrow the format and give her full credit.
On her website she has all of the regualr ways to book her for speaking engagements or reach out for press.
And then she has this button.
And if you click it there’s a form where you can enter your toxic bullshit with the caveat that she reserves the right to publish it and report you to the authorities.
I bow down queen.
What should mine say???
Drop your best ideas in the comments.
As I mentioned, I was absolutely riveted by Emily’s review of The Odyssey. Wilson, the brilliant classicist and translator, did not enjoy the epic Hollywood spectacle. “Did not enjoy” might be putting it mildly.
My favorite line is this: There are no sex scenes, and all the food looks horrible.
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