Nº 18: Nikki Shaner-Bradford
The Cambridge-based writer shares her hot tips – from Muriel Spark to the Rainforest café.
We’re back with Nikki Shaner-Bradford. Read on to find out what she’s into, and if you’re new here, hit subscribe for secret recommendations once a week.
Nikki Shaner-Bradford is a writer who used to live in New York. You can email her at nikkisb11@gmail.com
☞ EMAIL: At some point between the advents of email and iMessage, respectively, society graduated from epistolary communication into instant message. I subscribe to the gospel of email. I keep up lengthy threads with friends and make it a habit of emailing anyone whose work I like. The more you send out, the more likely you are to get something good back with your endless stream of spam.
☞ LIBRARY CARD: I try to get a library card in every city I live, part utility, part point of pride. If conversation runs dry it's always a fun move to pull out your wallet of library cards and harp on about public works.
☞ DANCEWEAR AS DAILY WEAR: I nearly failed my college ballet class, but it was worth it for my trip to the massive Capezio in Times Square. I left with a pair of tights that have lasted the rest of my life. Truly. I bragged to someone the other day that I've had the same pair of tights for seven years. Semi-sheer, super stretchy, inexplicably untarnished. I promise I wash them. I also have a wrap top from the same haul that nearly every friend has borrowed or stolen at some point. Cost per wear rapidly approaching zero.
☞ EXPENSIVE NECESSITIES: Buying something pointlessly expensive that you will use every day. Everyone laughs at me because I buy obscenely expensive deodorant, but I don't make many frivolous purchases, and this one elevates every day of my life. It doesn't work any better than regular deodorant (it may even be worse) but you can be wearing one dollar flip-flops and feel like you're headed to a poetry salon when you put on your exorbitant deodorant. It has to be something that shouldn't be expensive, something you won't treasure or hoard. Overpriced toothpaste or bar soap gives a similar effect.
☞ THE RAINFOREST CAFE: I love chain restaurants. They're so much fun, and you always know what you're getting, plus some. London's Rainforest Cafe closes at 10pm, so you can start your night on an adventurous note. Also a good antidote to homesickness, if that's something you suffer from.
☞ MAX CAFFE: If you're in New York and find yourself uptown, stop by Max Caffe for lunch. It's the haunt of my dreams and reality. Red walls, big couches, available outlets, wine bottles stacked to the ceiling. I'm biased because I've worked there on and off for years, but I was a fan first. The food is good and reasonably priced. The music comes from the best Pandora radio stations you can imagine (Sam Cooke, The Shirelles, etc.). If there's one constant in my life, it's Max Caffe. Start going now and whenever I return to New York I'll surely end up working there again. I'd love to see you.
☞ GRAD SCHOOL: Everyone complains about grad school, but there's never been a better framework for doing whatever you want and preventing anybody from asking questions about it. Only caveat: don't go if you'll go into debt -- there are no obvious job prospects.
☞ SNACKS FOR EVERY MEAL: A friend recently commented that I miraculously manage to feed myself every day without cooking or grocery shopping. This is because, even on hiatus from New York, I keep up a bodega lifestyle. When in England I go to Sainsbury's at least once per day, pick up whatever I'll eat within the hour, and rarely spend over 5GBP.
☞ MURIEL SPARK: I'm currently reading my way through her body of work, a perfect companion to transplanting oneself into the United Kingdom. Brilliant, scathing, hilarious. Adjectives are pointless against her prose. First recommended to me by the incomparable Ali Smith, who you should also be reading right now. Take her word for it and start with Spark’s debut, The Comforters.
☞ ADVICE: Knowing when to keep your secrets and do things in earnest
♪ LISTENING TO: Whatever they're playing in Benets; the Stand By Me soundtrack; "Barbara Ann," which I thought was called "Boberan" up until this very moment, exclusively and spontaneously over a diner stereo
☠︎ Hates: smoothies, pulling tights over wet legs, mental exchange-rate math, performative brokeness, airpod culture
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Listen to the tunes our guests rec here.
A treat