The three writers I’d invite to a dinner party
Just pretend I’m famous, okay? Briefing Kaia Preus…
Every week or two, Belletrist, the book club run by Emma Roberts and Karah Priess, sends out an email briefing an author they admire. The questions are the same each time, and I love seeing what contemporary authors have to say about their favorite books, podcasts, and bookstores. I decided it would be fun to answer some of these questions myself. Here we go!
Tell us 3 products you are loving right now. This screen protector. I dropped my phone too many times and the screen cracked. I don’t want to replace my phone at the moment, so I threw a heavy duty screen protector on it so I wouldn’t cut my fingers on my screen. It is working great! When I get a new phone, I’m going to put one of these bad boys on before I crack my screen. Deep Sleep Body Cocoon hand and body lotion. It smells of vetiver and lavender. It glides on smooth and isn’t greasy or sticky. My Chacos. If there is one inch or less of snow/ice on the ground, I’m in my Chacos. I love them so much. I’m on my third pair in thirteen years and I run these things into the ground. The fact that I’ve only had three pairs is unreal!
What was your favorite book that you read last year and why? Nightbitch by Rebecca Yoder. This books spoke to me so deeply as a mother, as an artist, as a mother-artist, and as a human animal with desires and needs so pure they defy language and create their own logic.
What is your favorite indie bookshop and where is it located? I am so lucky to live in the Twin Cities, where wonderful indie bookstores abound. I have two favorites. The first is Magers & Quinn in Uptown, and the second is The Wild Rumpus in Linden Hills.
What shows/series have you recently enjoyed? Bridgerton Season 3 (my favorite of all the seasons!), Shogun, Perfect Match on Netflix, and obviously the most recent season of Survivor.
What is one podcast you highly recommend? The Turning.
You’re organizing a literary dinner party. Which three writers, dead or alive, do you invite? Maud Hart Lovelace, Nora Ephron, and Ina Garten. (Cookbooks are books, okay? Plus, I would love to eat absolutely anything and everything she would make for us.)
What’s the best book you’ve ever received as a gift? The Peter Rabbit Library by Beatrix Potter. I looked through those books over and over again when I visited my Gram Cracker’s house. She had a few children’s books and a couple of VHS movies (Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and My Dog Skip) that all of us cousins read and watched every time we were there. When she gave me the boxed set of beloved Peter Rabbit books, the box taped together many times over, I was moved to tears. It is a beloved family treasure and I cherish it dearly.
Whom would you want to write your life story? Ruth Ozeki.
Do you ever answer interview questions like these in your head when you’re reading them? I’d love it if you picked one or two of these questions and answered them in the comments. Even more than reading celebrity profiles, I want to read profiles of my friends!
I hope you’re doing well. Thank you so much for being here.
With love from my kitchen table,
Kaia
3 products I’m loving: my Nutri Ninja bullet blender providing me my daily smoothies, my light pink Wild Fable “trixie platform sandals” (which I prefer to wear with crew length socks), and my AC unit!
Favorite book from last year: We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman (short and sweet and heart wrenching - complex characters and deep friendships and grief)