when i mentioned to maggie that i needed some blog post ideas for this month [a post a day for 30 days is no small feat!], she suggested letting my friends ask me questions that i then answer on here. i thought it was a grand idea, so i said let’s do it.

below are the questions i received for the first round of ‘ask veena things’ along with my anwers.

q: what is your number 1 running jam?

a: i love that this was the first question i received [thanks, raven!]. one song that has been on every running playlist i’ve ever made is survivor’s burning heart from the rocky 4 soundtrack. no matter where i am in a run or what mood i’m in i immediately begin picturing the montage from the movie and pretend i’m running through the snow in siberia.

q: what are your top 5 favorite fiction books?

a: ok, we know how i struggle with questions about favorite books, but i found a loophole to include all the ones i need to: the shadow of the wind. all the light we cannot see. the harry potter series. everything by mohsin hamid and khaleid hosseini. the thirteenth tale. so even though that includes 17 books, i only gave 5 responses. it’s the best i can do.

q: what are your favorite bars to spend an afternoon with a book and a drink?

a: this is actually a favorite thing of mine to do, both at home and when i am traveling. it’s a great way to kill time, it allows for ample people watching, and you can interact with others as much or as little as you want. here in memphis my favorite place for this is celtic crossing: i can walk there, the drinks are cheap, and the bartenders are friendly and funny – and occasionally flirty – while also giving you your space. other locales i have enjoyed are café ivy in mussoorie, which is technically a coffee shop, but i could spend all day there; taphouse in galle, where i spent a full day reading and drinking and eating while it pissed down rain outside; fred’s, my favorite place on the upper west side in manhattan; sugarburg in brooklyn, where i went so often i was essentially a local; bardo bruno, where ben and ellie and i spent a wonderful afternoon on our portugal road trip; and camden market in london. and while we didn’t have long enough to stay and read and relax, i would also include mazel tov in budapest to this list; with those twinkle lights and cozy blankets it is easily one of my favorite places i have ever been. and my number one choice? koshy’s, of course.

do you have any questions you’d like to ask? i’ll do a few more of these over the course of the month!

xx

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