Emma Straub is a NYT bestselling — and beloved! — author of several books you’ve probably read and loved, like This Time Tomorrow, All Adults Here, The Vacationers, and Modern Lovers. (Did you know she’s written children’s picture books, too?) Aside from writing excellent books, Emma also runs Books Are Magic, the popular independent Brooklyn bookstore she owns with her husband.
In fact, one of my first orders of business during my solo-cation to NYC this fall, was to pop by the Cobble Hill location. The space lived up to its reputation: it felt warm, alive, and buzzing with possibilities; the staff picks beckoning to be added to my ever-growing TBR, and that impossibly cute children’s reading nook tucked away at the back of the store. I could have spent hours in there, but I practiced some restraint and left with a few books for Lily in tow and excellent store merch tucked into my tote.
This is the effect of Books Are Magic and of Emma Straub, who has shared in past interviews that the bookstore is essentially a reflection of her own personality: bubbly, welcoming, quirky, and pink!
Read on for some of Emma’s favorite things right now, including “life-changing jeans,” the best (and sweetest) gift Emma has ever received, and her favorite Brooklyn neighborhood spots… Plus, she answers the burning questions that you sent in.
—Alisha
