Leah Finnegan

1 month ago | defector.com | Leah Finnegan

The first thing to know about Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s latest book, Dream Count, is that it is about women. Four women, to be precise. (Why is it always that women are grouped into fours?) This is Adichie’s first book in 12 years, after she conquered the New York Times bestseller list with her novel Americanah, which secured her place in the canon as a supreme chronicler of the immigrant experience.

1 month ago | nymag.com | Leah Finnegan

Trust Me I Should Know Where someone with years of hard-won personal experience, and lots of trial and error, shares everything they’ve learned. Read more here. Photo: Leah Finnegan I love eating popcorn at home, but let me be blunt: You mustn’t eat any popcorn that comes out of any kind of bag. Skinny Pop is too chewy. Orville Redenbacher’s recipe coats the mouth with a chemical-butter film. Better ways to make popcorn are easy. Don’t worry — this isn’t coffee culture. We’re not so precious.

Aug 16, 2023 | nymag.com | Leah Finnegan

Photo: Leah Finnegan Now, I’ll admit when I first saw the porch broom at Salter House—an elegantly mawkish shop of quilts, nighties, and the like in Brooklyn Heights—I thought it was kind of funny. How is this broom different from other brooms besides that it is $80? Standing less than two feet tall with a cylindrical brush and a straight handle, it looks as if it were made for a tiny witch.

Apr 25, 2023 | dwell.com | Leah Finnegan

The first time I saw an ad for a Floyd sofa called "The Sofa" on my Instagram feed I thought it was the cutest thing ever (sofa category). It was as if the Mazda Miata was reincarnated as a couch, or something out of a Calico Critters dollhouse. This was peak-COVID era, September 2020, and I was also coincidentally about to buy the first sofa of my adult life. I’m not a logical shopper; I had no idea where to start. I had until then lived a life in a bed.

Feb 21, 2023 | nymag.com | Leah Finnegan

Photo: Leah Finnegan A longtime mission in my life is finding the best diet root beer. What’s not to love about root beer? That ineffable mix of vanilla, licorice, and wintergreen flavors, a little bit of anise or nutmeg, perhaps — it’s a liquefied spice cake of a drink. Smooth and creamy over ice, it’s a dessert, a delightful accompaniment to a hot dog at a baseball game, or simply a lovely midday treat.