Pet Parents Day?
Is everything a marketing opportunity? We already know the answer to that question: Yes!
Hey there. The last time this newsletter appeared in your inbox, we were celebrating National Puppy Day. Today, one month (to the day!) later, we can toast to Pet Parents Day. How do I know that? Because Osito’s vet emailed me a coupon in observance of the occasion. So…happy Pet Parents Day to all of you out there who have also relinquished control of your homes and hearts to the non-human or human-adjacent members of your household.
This is probably the right time to tell you that you can find Osito on Instagram here. Am I hoping to become an influencer-dog mom? Maybe.
I spent fewer than forty-eight hours in Manhattan last weekend and could hardly think about anything other than the puppy. My husband had never fed Osito before, so Friday night I texted him, “Dinner?” “Chicken quesadillas,” he responded. “I meant the dog,” I said.
I got lots of pics Friday and Saturday and then nothing on Sunday. “I HAVE HAD ZERO PUPPY PICS TODAY,” I wrote to the family chat that afternoon. “lol sorry,” the teenager replied, “Dad has them all prob.” “Is he asleep” I asked (note the lack of question mark, as I was texting with a Gen Alpha). “Nope,” the teenager said, they had just taken him to a beer hall. “I meant is Dad asleep?” I replied—with punctuation this time, indicating my frustration. I needed those pics!
I won’t bore you with everything I did in the city, but it was one of those gorgeous weekends that tricks you into thinking you could live there. Great weather, street fairs, dogs everywhere, easy commutes (yes, my flight into LGA was delayed and therefore traffic was worse than it probably would have been getting into Manhattan, but I don’t blame that on the city). I had excellent dumplings at Excellent Dumpling House. I visited Dog & Co and got these perfect socks. I went to the Locavore Variety Store, founded by Caroline Weaver, who used to run CW Pencil Enterprise. And I finally made it to Book Club Bar, an independent bookstore and bar in the East Village.
OK, some recs for you:
My reading has probably quadrupled compared to this time last year. I’m trying to do a better job of tracking audio/books because, well, my memory isn’t what it used to be (thanks, perimenopause). For that I’m using the StoryGraph. I’m @wrightallison over there; I think you can follow or friend request me but it isn’t necessary.
I listened to Sophie Elmhirst’s A Marriage at Sea: A True Story of Love, Obsession, and Shipwreck. Highly recommend, especially the audiobook. Maybe fast forward through the turtle parts.
Megan Abbott’s El Dorado Drive won the L.A. Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller. Yes, there is a murder. There are three sisters. There is an MLM scheme. It’s goooooooood.
A newsletter rec for you: Julie Klam writes funny and moving books and now she writes Other People’s Dogs, about rescuing and fostering dogs, especially Boston terriers. Subscribe!
Lastly, thanks to the multitalented Julia Mathas, who also updated the graphics for this newsletter, my website has been refreshed. Take a look around.
Independent Bookstore Day is this Saturday, April 25. I trust you have good options—and remember, my links are to Bookshop.org, which supports indies.
I’ll leave you with Osito en situ:
Other People's Dogs is SO good!