From the Lower East Side to East Texas

The New York Times runs a profile of matzo princess Michele Heilbrun costarring Laurie Gwen Shapiro as the best friend. Heilbrun is the inspiration, though not the role model, for Shapiro's new novel, The Matzo Ball Heiress, which I'm currently enjoying.

Meanwhile, Sarah, taking a breather from her own seder preparations, alerts us to a Houston Chronicle interview with Joe Lansdale, as one of my favorite writers clears another hurdle in the path from cult figure to literary light.