Laurie Sandell's Blog, page 355

Seek and ye shall forget how to read

[image error]Once upon a time I was a voracious reader, intimately acquainted with the works of Philip Roth,  Herman Hesse and Hawthorne. Then one day in the mid-nineties, I was in Barnes & Noble with my friend Zoë. She disappeared for a little while, then returned with a candy-colored book in her hand. Giggling, she dropped it onto our table. It was called The Real Rules by Barbara DeAngelis, and had been written as a response to that awful anti-feminist relationship guide, The Rules. We turned to the...

Thanks for coming out, Westport

[image error][image error]Thank goodness the Westport Public Library is run like a well-oiled machine. I had no idea how bad the traffic was going to be from Brooklyn and showed up five minutes late. [image error]Normally that wouldn't be that big a deal, but my reading is a PowerPoint presentation, with slides and audio and a million chances for things to go wrong. Since I'm not a backup plan kind of girl, I usually end up standing there shaking and smiling and saying, "OK, well, while they're setting up, why don't we talk…no...

Tonight @ 7:30 PM: Reading in Westport, CT

[image error]Thanks to the wonderful Lisa Wexler of the Live! With Lisa radio show–sister to none other than Jill Zarin of Real Housewives–I will be reading tonight at the Westport Public Library. Info here. Everyone tells me it is a wonderful place, with tons of cool events, and I'm really looking forward to it. But let's be realistic. Tonight it is supposed to rain. I don't know a soul in Westport aside from Susan Harrington, who can't make it. My friend Paul said he'd try to come, but has been...

Mom's Day with the sisters

[image error][image error]Met up with my mom and sisters for dinner at Extra Virgin in the West Village. Mom was ordered to open her gifts in order of lamest to least lame, so mine was handed over first. (I gave her two books and a bunch of peonies.) Not that I consider books a lame gift, but when your banker sister splurges on diamond earrings, your gift sort of falls into the macaroni necklace category. The books I gave her were Bad Mother by Ayelet Waldman–unfortunate title notwithstanding, she writes brilliantly a...

New Yorker Cartoonist Night at Happy Ending

[image error]For the past five years, I've been attending the Happy Ending Music & Reading Series on a monthly basis. It features three writers (or in this case, cartoonists) and a musician, each of whom is required to take a risk onstage. Yes, its founder and host Amanda Stern is one of my closest friends, but I wouldn't attend so faithfully if I didn't love it so much. Last night was "New Yorker Cartoonist Night," featuring slideshow presentations by Liza Donnelly, Carolita Johnson and Drew Dernavich...

Ta da! First glimpse of the paperback

[image error]Yesterday an envelope arrived in the mail containing the paperback version of my book, along with a cute note from my editor's office (just a single exclamation point, see right.) I must hand it to Little, Brown & Co.; they did a wonderful job. The book looks beautiful, has a nice heft to it, and includes lots of "extras," like an interview between Merrill Markoe and myself, a recommended reading list and reviews (wouldn't you know it, they're all good). I'm really, really pleased with it...

I've been Briticized

[image error]Last year, I did a photo shoot and article for a British magazine called Red. I never saw hide nor hair of the article until a friend sent it to me last week. I was highly amused to find I'd been quoted in a language that wasn't entirely my own:

"I asked my mum what Dad did for a living and she'd say, 'He sets up computer systems for foreign governments.'"

"When my family discovered I planned to publish my revelations about Dad, my sisters and my mother closed ranks."

"Now that I've freed...

Good morning, beautiful Brooklyn

[image error]I'm back and already settled into my apartment, and in a way, it feels like I never left. Last night I got in late, saw my neighbor, Keith, was up, knocked on his window and we caught up over Mexican food. Today I'll unpack; tomorrow I'll return to yoga and my favorite coffee shop to write. It's amazing to think that you can leave your life behind for four months and step back into it as though nothing has happened. Of course, lots has happened, and I'm seeing the world differently after...

Headed back to New York

[image error]I have absolutely no business writing a blog post, since I have not started packing, and have to pick up something I had repaired, and am meeting with a producer, and did I mention that I have not started packing? But I wanted to tip my hat to LA, because I'm going to miss this place terribly. For starters, I made some friends I know I will have for life (this is not hyperbole–these are friends for life); took dozens of gorgeous hikes; kept up with my yoga; taught my dog how to be a real dog ...

When you live in LA, life is a reality show

[image error]So, I'm sitting here at M Street Coffee–my little writing haven–working on a book edit, drinking a cup of decaf coffee, listening to the gentle stylings of Sufjan Stevens, when a woman with a clipboard approaches my table. "We're filming a show and you might appear in the background–is that OK?" she says with a sweet smile, holding out a pen. I'm a touch suspicious by nature, so I want to know a few things first: "What network? Is this an embarrassing, horrible reality show?" (By...