Shaved Meats, Piled High: June 2022
WELCOME BACK!
Astute readers may say: Wait a minute, we never went anywhere. It's the newsletter that vamoosed (along with the Mystery Box, appearing only seven times during the pandemic. What was up with that?
Well, first of all, in the early days of the pandemic, a lot of people weren't too keen on receiving a box of used books. Some people were sequestering packages and it was just a generally a strange time. It still is, but I think most people are OK, for now, with receiving a box of used books. (Full disclosure: Covid came and went in my household in early May, but the books were in a cabinet in my office a separate building.)
And maybe not the best time to renovate my office, but that project had been on the literal drawing board since late 2019. Demo began in late 2020; construction took about as long as my most recent book, which is being put into copy-editing as I write this. But as of April, the renovation was finished, the dust cleared (again literally) and I was able to begin culling my books again. Want some?
However, the lottery to win the Mystery Box has changed a little. Instead of RT's or follows, all we ask is that you answer a question that will appear on social media, sending your reply to a dedicated email. We'll give people 48 hours to reply. These "we's" are not editorial or royal; it encompasses me and Molli Simonsen, my gal Friday, who, since the renovation, finally has a working space worthy of her. (Her "desk," a dining room table, is out of view here and we're still waiting for delivery of the bar cart because I'm the sort of boss who believes that every office should have a bar cart.)
A reminder that the books I jettison are often quite dear to me, or possibly dupes borne of the fact that I simply don't remember what I already own and end up buying second copies. Two OUTSTANDING dupes are in the next Mystery Box. Another reminder: I ask that you not share photos of the Mystery Box's contents on social media. I'm trying to keep the, well, mystery alive.
Other Mystery Box FAQs, or, to be more precise, answers to previous FAQs. Yes, we ship worldwide, but we reserve the right to use the cheapest shipment method. Some of the books are galleys I have received, unsolicited. No, not all the books are suitable to those under 18. Yes, there may be an occasional book that has survived a fall into the bathtub.
Anyway, watch for the Mystery Box question on social media, but remember to email your response to the provided address. Replies on social media platforms will not be considered.
And now that the renovation is complete and we are adjusting to Covid as an ongoing reality, the Lippman Fellowship has resumed. Remember, no one can apply; Lippman Fellows are chosen by me, in consultation with former Lippman Fellows, who are all pretty kick-ass. We look for people whose work/family lives make it difficult to apply for traditional fellowships, but could benefit from a week alone in Baltimore, sleeping in this very pretty guest room in my office rowhouse, where my 12-year-old daughter now prefers to spend as much time as possible. There are two walls of bookshelves in this room, mostly fiction, poetry, literary memoir, and books on writing. Last week, she asked me if she could "borrow" a few volumes. Sure, I said, which ones? She chose Jane Smiley's 13 Ways of Looking at the Novel, Clifton Fadiman's The Lifetime Reading Plan, and A.O. Scott's Better Living Through Criticism. She told me she had learned about the last title on Pinterest.
Oh brave new world, etc. etc.
Reading: The Most Fun We Ever Had, Claire Lombardo; Homewrecker, Mary Kay Andrews; #shedeservedit, Greg Herren.
Re-Reading: Wedding in the Family, Rosamond DuJardin.
Me, Me, Me: The paperback of Dream Girl goes on sale June 28. It also is shortlisted for the CWA's Ian Fleming Steel Dagger.
Finally, for those who asked on Twitter, here is the recipe for Coca-Cola Fudge Cake, taken from a cookbook compiled by parents (mothers, who are we kidding) from my cousins' Atlanta private school back in the 1970s. You may be tempted to sub out butter for margarine. Don't. I've chosen to use photographs of the actual recipe card I use, which is in my mother's handwriting, because I am charmed by handwritten recipes. I think it's generally legible, but that's TWO cups flour and the final ingredient is miniature marshmallows. Oh, also when my mom says "one box" of confectioner's sugar, she means 16 ounces, and I tend to add that slowly to the frosting until I have the right consistency. Sometimes needs less, sometimes needs more. The important thing is to ice the cake while it's hot. The cake freezes really well, which is good, as the recipe makes two 8 by 8 inch cakes.
Laura Lippman
June 2022