Books of Wonder and East Side Sushi

Wednesday Night there was YA Genre Face Off at Books of Wonder.

The amazing and talented and all around awesome guy, Adam Silvera, asked me if I was up for helping represent science fiction with the lovely Joan Paquette and I said of course.

My books were in great company.

Representing contemporary Elizabeth Eulberg (or Elizabeth #1 since there were two of us) mentioned that Better Off Friends was inspired by the age-old question can a guy and a girl really be best friends--and nothing more--and the quintessential girl-guy-best friend movie, When Harry Met Sally.

She also said that when she does school visits, she gets a lot of blank stares at this movie restaurant.

This happened to me a lot when I was teaching. I'd mention a movie and get blank stares and be like "um I am not that much older than you, please see more movies" and most of my students would roll their eyes. But anyway...

Also on the contemporary team, Laurie Boyle Crompton was there with The Real Prom Queens of Westfield High, a book about a bunch of outsiders who get to go to prom queen makeover camp, which is also a reality show, and they have to battle it out to be prom queen and win a million dollars.

I totally wish this had been a real thing when I was in high school because while I might not have cared about being prom queen (I was so not on that radar) me and my competitive drive would have been really into trying to win a million dollars.

Laurie inspired us SF and Fantasy writers to talk about what our own characters prom ambitions would be. 

Janelle and Ben, by the way, probably wouldn't have gone to prom. I mean, with the whole world falling apart they were a little busy, but I think that would have had a lot more fun getting dressed up and doing something together or with a small group of close friends rather than going to the prom.

On team fantasy was Marie Rutkoski with The Winner's Curse, the first in a trilogy. Interestingly enough though, she conceived of the book as a stand alone only once she got near the end she realized she was going to have to write more than just one book, otherwise her readers who be really mad at her for ending the book like that. 

This is also a fantasy novel but without magic--it's set in another world but feels more historical. After hearing Marie talk about it, I definitely am into reading this. I think Janelle and Ben might have something in common with Kestrel and Arin.

The other fantasy member was Leah Cypess whose novel Death Sworn is near the top of my TBR pile. The contemporary and SF teams had to decide what weapon our characters would use if they needed to assassinate someone. I said Janelle would probably use a gun since she's been taught how to use one. 

But I really like Joan's answer: death ray stare. Since that seems easier and potentially more affective. 

We had a lovely crowd who asked some really great questions. 

Almost everyone had a great time.

Okay, really everyone did have a great time.

After the event ended I was starving and my friend Whitney (who used to live in my building but just moved to midtown East) and I headed over to her neighborhood for sushi at Tenzan.

We both started with Miso Soups.

 Then we feasted:

 It was fresh and cheap and delicious. All clear signs of a great night.

Tiny Sandwiches -- West Village Style

Every once in a while, it's just time for a sandwich date--or at least, that's what I think now.



My boyfriend and I have been together for several years now. He works from home but works quite hard. And of course I work and have been writing books on the side, which means we have a tendency to just rent a movie or hang out in front of the TV when we have free time. But in an effort for both of us to be less lumpy in 2014, we decided we needed to go on a date.

So when he read about 100 Montaditos, a Spanish chain restaurant (it translates to 100 Sandwiches) that has just opened up in the West Village, we decided to try it out.

We met up at 5:30 pm, and it was already packed (either because of the recent glowing reviews or the super cheat food and drinks or maybe both?).

There's a cute little bar where you can order.

And then seating in the back. (It's seat yourself though, so we had to stalk a table--lucky for me, this is the boyfriend's specialty--and there were plenty of people stalking ours right before we left). I didn't get a good picture of the ceiling (I forgot) which has a really cool sky light that will be awesome when it is not 1) winter or 2) super dark, but there's a really cool picture here.

We were slightly overwhelmed--in the best way--by the awesomeness of the menu which features sandwiches for $1-2.50 each. But we decided to order five and then share them all.

We ended up with:

#3 Chorizo, tomato and olive oil
#64 Chorizo, cream cheese and tomato
#73 Philly steak, cheddar cheese and tomato
#87 Le Rele: Brie cheese, ham, arugula, and mayo
#95 Chicken Club: grilled chicken, tomato, lettuce, and mayo on chibata bread

Each sandwich was just slightly smaller than my iPhone, and the sandwiches plus drinks and tip was less than $15. (We're cheap dates, I guess).

My favorite was definitely the ham and brie (#87) but that might be because I was partial to the brie. The boyfriend's favorite was a tie between the chicken club (#95) and the chorizo and cream cheese (#64). The bottom line was that they were all quite good.

I'd say Spanish food is my new obsession, or at least one of them, and this is where I'm going to drag my friends the next time we're hungry.