Sunday Sundries 007: Host a Bookish White Elephant & A Special Kindle Sale
Plus, shopping for leopard-print bottoms
Welcome to Sunday Sundries, the antidote to—or at least a distraction from—your Sunday Scaries.
Hi,
Long time no chat! (I skipped last Sunday because it was my birthday and wrote about that instead.)
Speaking of my birthday, it was lovely. I played pickleball in the morning and my friend Gail brought chocolate chip banana bread with a candle in it. Then I had dinner at Jeffrey’s Grocery in the West Village. Our original plan was to try walking into San Sabino, which is currently an impossible to get reservation, but we had hope early on a holiday weekend Sunday would work… nope. It’s okay. I ate so much crab (my fave!). There were crab legs AND crab dip. After, there were nightcaps at Serpentine. They have an excellent dirty, spicy martini (are these trending? It’s the second time I’ve seen one in the same week).
I thought I didn’t have any real feelings about turning 38—It’s not a milestone birthday; I was already in my late-30’s—but then I woke up the next morning and immediately booked a botox appointment. I used to get botox, but stopped a year ago because I didn’t feel like I really needed it and wanted to save money. I think taking selfies for last Sunday’s letter just set something off in me. So, now I’m a year older, questionably wiser, and newly stuffed with botulism.
But, man, am I feeling that new year energy. I have a theory it’s extra potent for me because my birthday coincides with back-to-school. If I could, I’d give you all a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils, but instead I brought you three topics and a bunch of links. So, let’s get into it:
📚 Host a Bookish White Elephant
I recently went to a birthday party for my friend
1 (an August virgo2). In a truly on-brand move, her soiree was at the newly-opened Liz’s Book Bar in Carroll Gardens and featured a book white elephant, which is a concept I highly suggest you steal for your next book club meeting.Here’s how it worked:
Everyone brought a wrapped copy of a favorite book with a description written on the outside that doesn’t give away the book’s title. For example, I brought The Husbands by Holly Gramazio and wrote “If you loved This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub, but wished it was a little more like Ghosts by Dolly Alderton.”
Pick numbers out of a hat. I think you probably need 7-8 people to make this fun. We had 32, so it also works well for large groups.
The first person picks a book based on the description (and wrapping job, tbh). This is important: you don’t unwrap it until the end.
The next person can either pick a book from the pile OR steal one that’s already been selected. If your book gets stolen, pick or steal a new one before moving to the next number. Keep going like this through all the numbers. At the end, #1 gets a chance to steal.
The first book I picked was described as “Las Culturistas meets NPR” (It turned out to be a book of essays called Intimacy Idiot by Isaac Oliver), but it got stolen from me! My second book was described as “Goodbye, Vitamin meets Bridget Jones Diary” (it was Maame by Jessica George).
Another oft-stolen book turned out to be Snoop Dogg’s cookbook, brought by none other than Morgan’s dad! What a gem (both Roger Hoit and Snoop).
At the end, everyone unwraps and reveals their book! Wheeling and dealing to trade books is encouraged if you’ve already read the one you received.
We had the best time trying to guess what the books were based on the descriptions. If you want to see the swap in action or need some more description inspiration, Morgan made a reel!
👗 Currently Shopping For: Leopard-Print Bottoms
Remember the leopard-print slip skirt that was everywhere in 2019? It’s back. Actually leopard-print is everywhere for fall, and I’m jumping aboard the trend this time, specifically on my lower half.
J.Crew Slip Skirt ($128): Normally, I’d wait for anything at J.Crew to go on sale, but I ordered this ASAP in the name of ~investigative journalism~. It’s on its way to me and I’ll report back. I like that it’s a little different than the 2019 version, and when you zoom in, the material has a fun crinkle texture. There’s also a cute red version (currently on sale for $60) that would look great with a camel sweater IMO.
AYR Eleganza Skirt ($245): I could make the case for splurging here, as leopard comes around time and again and this is a pretty classic silhouette. H&M has a great look for less version ($24) but it’s out of stock in almost every size. If you’re willing to do the legwork, maybe you could find it in-store?
AYR The Voila Pant ($295): I could see these being something that sneakily become a closet MVP. Pair them with a black sweater and voila, insta-outfit!
Damson Madder Leopard Shorts ($80): If I lived in a warmer climate, I’d be all over these! Maybe I’ll catch them on sale at the start of next year. And how cute is the styling with the red socks?
📚 Today Only: My Debut Novel is $1.99 on Kindle!
BIG NEWS! My book, The Christmas Orphans Club, is on super sale today only. I think this is only in the US, but worth checking if you’re elsewhere. Look, I know it’s early for a holiday book, but buy it now and hoard it for December. Or, if you’ve already read it, you can gift it to your most kindle-obsessed friend (there’s an option to gift to someone else below the main “buy” module). $1.99 is a steal of a deal!
Maybe you’re new here and you don’t even know I wrote a book. I did! it came out last fall, but she’s still cute. Here’s the pitch:
Hannah and Finn meet when they’re the only two people on campus on Christmas. Over the next decade, they forge a found family tradition of having fun, unexpected Christmas adventures together. When Finn announces a move to LA, Hannah decides she must plan the BEST. CHRISTMAS. EVER., even as a secret strain looms over their relationship.
The book is very much about how friend groups evolve over the years and that inflection point where you go from your friends being the most important people in your life to competing pressures from jobs, partners, and life at-large.
Even if you wouldn’t normally read a holiday book, I like to think this one is light on the holiday cheese (no competing inns; no small-town Christmas festivals). It’s my love letter to friendship and NYC. Some people have said very nice things about it:
“Freeman’s writing is filled with wit and insight, and her dialogue crackles. Beneath the abundant humor and charm is a thoughtful exploration of friendship, tradition, and the challenges of growing old.”
—Grant Ginder, bestselling author of The People We Hate at the Wedding and Let’s Not Do That Again
“If you adore Christmas and loved Friends, then this is the perfect book for you. I would happily abandon my husband and kids to spend Christmas in New York with Hannah, Finn, Theo and Priya. A festive, funny, hug of a novel about love in all its forms.”
—Clare Pooley, New York Times bestselling author of Iona Iverson’s Rules for Commuting
So, that’s the pitch. Now, go hit the buy button! It’s $1.99 today only!
Where to Next? More Links to Stave Off Your Scaries:
Speaking of book bars: Eater has a round up of the ones in NYC.
Industry S3 is appointment viewing for me (you can bet I’m impatiently waiting for 9p when this hits your inbox), and I loved this Interview Magazine piece in which Myha’la (Harper) interviews her co-star Harry Lawtey (Rob).
This newsletter from
made me absolutely GIDDY for fall.Vulture has a round up of all the fall TV premiere dates you need to know about, and WOW we’re in for some good TV.
See you next Sunday!
Becca
Also, you should subscribe to Morgan’s newsletter. I heard one of her September goals is to hard launch it with her first issue, and you know us virgos love sticking to goals!
Surprisingly, fellow-virgo Ludacris has a great theory on the difference between August and September virgos
This book white elephant looks so fun! Bookmarking for a Fall party idea.
Also, co-sign that everyone should buy The Christmas Orphans Club. It was one of my (very rare) 5-star reads last winter!
Book bars are a phenomenal idea. Please someone open one near me!