charles lane

Here in New York, there is a hidden cobblestone path in the West Village called Charles Lane. Not many people know about it. I’m like the only one I know who knows about it…except for the people I have shown it to when we were walking in the area. Charles Lane is between Charles Street and Perry Street, but it is only one block long between Washington Street and the Hudson River. I felt like I discovered hidden treasure the day I came across it.

As part of my 20th New Yorkiversary this year, I am celebrating these secluded enclaves that radiate the most positive energy New York has to offer by sharing them with you on Periscope! You can find me there @SusaneColasanti. Every Tuesday evening this summer, I’ve been Periscoping New York City block tours. This week was Charles Lane. Now that Periscope is archiving its broadcasts, you can watch it here. And you can search for me on Periscope and watch my past block tours, too.

Only a few people live on Charles Lane. They are all badass. Like these guys. You can tell by their door.

Here’s to more sweet discoveries, city love, and the power of looking up.

book nerd beach problems

TGIM! Finally it feels like summer! Here in New York, this has been such a hot and humid summer that I haven’t really enjoyed the great outdoors. I have, however, very much enjoyed my central air, which I am celebrating as part of my 20th New Yorkiversary year. The ridiculous bootleg, garage sale, 99-cents store, low budge air conditioners I dealt with over the years before becoming a homeowner were scary at best. But that’s all part of the New York experience. Like one of my Pamela Barsky pouches says, New York is not for sissies.

In related be strong news, I am on deadline reviewing copyedits of the final City Love trilogy book, Forever in Love,  which will be out next year. I am having a really hard time saying goodbye to my girls. To the point where reading through this manuscript  one more time is kind of breaking my heart. So yeah. I am in the midst of all that. But I just had to take a minute to post this Epic Reads reading at the beach book nerd problem video.

It is classic. And it features City Love.

Enjoy the gorgeous summer breeze, friendly neighbors. Because despite what you might have heard, it’s still summer for one more month. ❤

read up

Book festivals make me so happy. Mostly because I get to meet readers in person, which is the best part of my job. Some readers even drive long distances to be there. Like five or six hours each way! It is always an honor to meet you in person at book events, whether you travel from far or near. Thanks to everyone who came to Read Up, a shiny new festival in Greenville, SC that had such amazing energy.

Here is an example of how amazing the energy was.

See, this is another reason I love book festivals. Jay Asher and I had not yet met in person, even though our first books came out close to each other about 10 years ago. When It Happens came out in 2006 and 13 Reasons Why came out in 2007. We even had the same publisher. But for some reason, we just never met at any events over the years. I always felt like Jay was a mentor from afar, an author I looked up to and admired. Now I understand that we were destined to meet at Read Up. Because when I asked him for an ARC of What Light, he had already saved one for me! And when he gave it to me he swooped me up for this fabulous photo! I mean, how awesome is he? Obvs this was the author highlight…followed closely by discovering that Stephanie Perkins and I both ate lunch in the bathroom in high school during our panel discussion. More proof that you are never alone.

Our panel was a blast. Michael Giller, our moderator and local high school hardcore librarian, was a master moderator. He even tweeted a pic before the event with our books and Office paraphernalia because he knew all about my Office love. And then he gave me Dwight’s ID badge and we all got to pick out magnets at the panel! I really enjoyed the southern hospitality of South Carolina, but Michael wins the Most Gracious Host award.

Speaking of awards, M.Judson deserves lots of bookstore acclaim. Like we should just throw awards at them. M.Judson is one of the most spectacular bookstores I have ever seen in my entire life…and I have seen a lot of bookstores! First of all, their entryway is designed from stacked books. So right when you walk in you know you are entering the kind of place you will never want to leave.

There is such an abundance of positive energy at M.Judson it feels like you can bottle some up and take it home until the next time you are in Greenville, SC. Seriously, if you are anywhere near that super cute town, go to M.Judson immediately! You will love the adorable seating areas, the beautiful design elements, the blackboard paint on the walls of the children’s reading room, and tons of natural light making you feel uplifted and refreshed. My only regret is that I did not try one of everything in their cafe, which looked like the kind of place you’d want to be a regular at. Snaps for the magnificent M.Judson!

It was time to leave too soon. I really wanted to explore more of Greenville, which has a total indie vibe and was the perfect place for a book festival. Three seconds after I got there I discovered their dopest coffeehouse, Coffee Underground, and was in mocha mint frap heaven in no time. Too bad I couldn’t snag one more for the plane home. Not that I could take it through security, but the airport had a sweet frap-sipping lounge area that Nova Ren Suma and I immediately commandeered. The airport was so small there was pretty much only room for the two of us…plus our buddy in the background.

Shout-out to festival founder Lee Yarborough for working so hard over the past 18 months to bring Read Up to life! Lee is a fellow organization enthusiast. Which is why the day ran so smoothly you would think Read Up was in its tenth year instead of first. She thought of every detail, including longer handles on our totes because short handles are annoying. I know, right? Lee even had her husband Hubert and daughter Caroline working the festival, too. Hubert was the perfect escort schlepping us from the airport because he is the friendliest neighbor ever! And Caroline managed her group of volunteers like a pro. You could feel Lee’s passion for this event in every part of the day, which made it feel so welcoming and alive. You should def plan on being at Read Up 2017 if you are in the area!

Happy summer reading 🙂

top five, good vibes edition

Yay for cooler summer breeze! Here in New York, it has been so hot and humid and rainy under this heat dome that the past two weeks haven’t been the most exciting outdoor times. But now the good vibes of summer are back with the return of sunshine and highs in the low 80s. Even more good vibes: This Saturday, August 6 I will be at the Read Up book festival in Greenville, SC. It should be a total blast. Hope to see those of you in the area there!

1. Those of you who have been reading this blog for a while know that I am addicted to summer fruit. All the berries, melons, cherries…these are the days. So it makes sense that my refrigerator also LOVES summer. Especially since I am a vegetarian. I’ve been a vegetarian since college, for over 20 years, and it’s all about the fresh fruits and vegetables. That is why I ate an entire watermelon last week. A really big one. By myself. Addiction is a powerful thing.

Oh how I wish my refrigerator could look like this all the time. Which just makes me enjoy this time with my fresh summer forage even more.

2. I have so much love for my readers I can’t even contain myself. But there is a special place in my heart for my boy readers. When Jenefer tweeted a photo of her student reading Something Like Fate, which was his choice bookstore purchase, it was one of the best warm fuzzies ever.

Summer reading feels!

3. Mr. Rogers was probably my earliest mentor. I remember watching him when I was little, like 3 or 4, and feeling like he was talking directly to me. I even ran over to my Gramp one time when I swore Mr. Rogers said my name to tell him that Mr. Rogers was saying hello to me! You know how I have this whole friendly neighbors thing? Well Mr. Rogers was the OFN (Original Friendly Neighbor). So naturally I am geeking out over this PBS Mr. Rogers remix.

There is also a Bob Ross remix, for all the “happy little trees” enthusiasts out there.

4. In other good vibes news, Apple is replacing their pistol emoji with a green water gun. And they are adding a pride flag. More reasons to love Shiny Happy Apple World.

5. My mantra for this week:

Choose happiness. Choose kindness. Choose love. ❤