Sloane Crosley is a super-hero of sorts; book publicist by day and best-selling author by night. For her day job, Sloane works at Vintage Books as the publicist for big dogs like Joan Didion, Toni Morrison, Jay McInerney, and Dave Eggers. In her free time, she wrote her own book I Was Told There’d Be Cake, the best-selling collection of essays that HBO bought the rights to and is currently being turned into a pilot. Her much anticipated second book How Did You Get This Number? comes out this week. Although some of these essays take place as far away as Alaska and Portugal, they are all very rooted in that wonderful melancholy New York humor she’s become famous for. Highlights include an essay that reads like an ode to smelly taxis and how difficult finding a decent apartment in New York is, weighing the pros and cons of a kleptomaniac roommate. Also, whenever you can quote “I believe you are in league with the butcher,” you win my vote.

Katherine Krause: How many hours a day do you write?
Sloane Crosley: Depends. Sometimes five. Sometimes none. Though I don’t think you can write well after three hours. Or at least I can’t. I hit hour four and it’s like I write one sentence, get exhausted, and need a cookie.

Katherine: Do you have any rituals for writing?
Sloane: I need a full glass of water and a clean apartment. And I usually start sitting on the floor.

Katherine: Do you try to write humor or does it just come out that way?
Sloane: Mostly it comes out that way. That said, I have a general sense of when it needs to either be drawn upon or cut back.

Katherine: Do you read a lot of humor writing?
Sloane: Actually no. I appreciate it. I love David Rakoff and Nora Ephron and humor novelists like Sam Lipstye. But I don’t seek it out. It’s how I feel about potato chips. I’ll eat them if they’re there and I’ll like them but I’ve never pulled off the road for them.

Katherine: You’ve said you are a short story fanatic- what are some of your favorites?
Sloane: Oh my God. Well, okay. Collections are too many so I’ll go with individual short stories:
People Like That Are The Only People Here by Lorrie Moore
In The Gloaming by Alice Elliott Dark
Pie Dance by Molly Giles
Things You Should Know by A.M. Holmes
Christmas Is A Sad Season For The Poor by John Cheever
White Angel by Michael Cunningham
The Dead by James Joyce
Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? by Joyce Carol Oates
How To Give The Wrong Impression by Katherine Heiny
A City of Churches by Donald Barthelme
Love and Hydrogen by Jim Shepard
Mortals by Tobais Wolff
Send Me To The Electric Chair by Clyde Edgarton
Sarah Cole: A Type of Love Story by Russell Banks
Down Through the Valley by Wells Tower
and maybe Girl by Jamaica Kincaid. I think of the last line of that story all the time.

Katherine: Do you write fiction or poetry?
Sloane: Fiction. My poetry sucks. I know because I’ve never really tried. I think you have to have a special calling to write good poetry.

Katherine: Did you always want to be a writer?
Sloane: Yes. Mixed with other things like archeology and art but pretty much, yes.

Katherine: Did you always want to be a publicist?
Sloane: Fuck no. I had no idea what a publicist was growing up. But it turns out to be a pretty excellent job when you believe in what you’re promoting.

Katherine: What is one book or story you always try to push on people?
Sloane: When people come into my office and just say they need something to read I’ll give them Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro or anything by Lorrie Moore or Dave Eggers. Also The Curious Incident of The Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon is a crowd pleaser. If I could push any book on anyone? Maybe The Moon and Sixpence.

Katherine: Is there one book you re-read again and again?
Sloane: Dubliners by James Joyce.

Katherine: What’s your opinion on the iPad and digital technology in the publishing industry?
Sloane: Call me when it makes waffles. No, really: I think we’re so simultaneously scandalized and fascinated by it but generally I think the iPad is great. Though the glare in the sunlight sucks if you intend on taking it to the beach. But it’s not blanketly bad for books. But it’s hard for me to have a definitive opinion on e-readers yet. I think both their advantages and damages have yet to be realized.

Katherine: How many actual books do you think you own?
Sloane: 600? 1,000? I can’t do math so good. It’s why I work in publishing.

Katherine: Who are some of your favorite artists? Photography, painting, mixed-media, etc…
Sloane: Gregory Crewdson, Tracy Emin, Amy Cutler, Tokihiro Sato, Sally Mann. I like Robert Montgomery. In general I end up liking one piece by an artist, which doesn’t bode well for art collecting.

Katherine: What’s your best NYC survival skill?
Sloane: Ignoring my instinct to turn when called. That and walking over sidewalk grates in heels without really having to see when one is coming up.

Katherine: When people come from out of town to visit you- where do you take them?
Sloane: The Russian Samovar, Raoul’s, Death & Co., Egg, Frankie’s, Barney Greengrass or Russ & Daughters. I like Omen too. I like to ply people with food and drink, clearly.

Katherine: What is a book or a piece of art that sums up NYC to you?
Sloane: The giant Chagalls in Lincoln Center. I remember standing beneath them with my grandmother when I was about 4 and her explaining what everything in them meant. It’s one of my earliest memories of the city.

Katherine: Any plans to leave NYC or are you here for good?
Sloane: I would leave if I had a good reason or a strong desire. Put it this way: if I felt I absolutely couldn’t live anywhere else, I’d force myself pack my bags tomorrow. I’m here by choice.

Fill in the blanks:

If I could follow in anyone’s footsteps it would be: George Plimpton

The last thing I think about before I go to bed is: what I’m doing with my life

The last thing that pissed me off was being ridiculously nice to someone I can’t stand because I was nervous

What I hate about NYC is crowds

What I hate about suburbia is a lack of crowds

My favorite flavor of ice cream is mint chocolate chip or that cereal milk thing at Momofuku

If I could be re-incarnated I would come back as a panther

Best cultural institution in NYC is The New York Public Library

House on fire- what do you rescue? Mabel (my cat), my passport, my computer, photographs, first edition of Franny & Zooey, a box of sentimental things, a Givenchy bag

The last thing that scared me was getting caught doing something I wasn’t supposed to be doing

How Did You Get This Number is out on June 15th followed by a nationwide book tour. Visit Sloane’s website to find out when she is reading near you.

Barnes & Noble Tribeca
7PM • Wednesday, June 16th
97 Warren Street

McNally Jackson
7PM • Monday, June 28th
52 Prince Street