Last night, I was lucky enough to chat with my food-writer friend Adam Roberts about his funny new novel, and I laughed a million times…
We met at the Brooklyn Heights Library, which was bright and busy (which feels so good in this day and age!).
When we walked into the room, we spotted this table stacked with Adam’s debut novel, Food Person. His comedy of manners follows an unemployed food writer, Isabella, who agrees to ghostwrite a cookbook for a badly behaved starlet hoping to revive her career and reputation. The writing is hilarious and thoughtful, and how great is that cover?!
Adam’s husband Craig (left) was one of the first to arrive — panting after running to three different branches of the library — and we all loved Adam’s shirt with embroidered dinner ingredients.
It was also a treat to meet Jenny Jackson, Adam’s editor, and assistant editor Tiara Sharma.
More people poured into the room, including our beloved Jenny (who had just gotten a new haircut!).
We’ve written posts on what we’ve spotted people wearing in New York and Paris. As for a micro-trend report at the Brooklyn Heights Library on Cadman Plaza? Gingham! (Here’s a similar gingham skirt, and a similar gingham tote and polka dot skirt.)
After everyone sat down, Adam and I took to the stage! It was such a joy to chat about books, food, marriage, all the things.
Here’s the video of our conversation, if you’d like to watch 🙂 It’s a little blurry, but hopefully that’s charming!
A quick breakdown, if you’d like to jump around:
4:15: Why Adam reminds me of a jaunty young chef in a Pixar movie
4:40: Why Adam is “a modern-day Nora Ephron.”
5:05: Adam’s strong thoughts on bagels
5:16: Adam’s strong thoughts on tuna (and my not knowing how to pronounce “abstemious”)
6:10: Moving from L.A. to NYC
13:25: What Hollywood actors Adam would cast in the movie version of his book
18:25: The nuts and bolts of writing a novel
24:00: How Adam hosts FIFTY DINNER PARTIES per year and his tips for low-stress entertaining
26:31: Adam’s take on the most controversial thing we’ve ever written on Cup of Jo: that you should be 10-15 minutes late for a dinner party.
28:35: The most controversial thing Adam ever wrote
33:35: Adam and his husband Craig’s secret to a happy marriage
37:29: How NYC isn’t always nice, but it’s kind
38:50: Audience Q&A
Such a wonderful night!!! Thank you so much for having me, Adam! If you’d like, you can find his book here and follow his newsletter here. Thank you for reading. xoxo
(Photos by Nato Tuke for Cup of Jo)
