The Most Important Sneaker Thing I've Ever Done for Myself

I wrote a book.

I could tell you how Nice Kicks gave me my first paid job in sneakers, how I built the Eastbay blog during my time at Sole Collector, how I led the first team dedicated to covering sneakers at Complex, how my work with Foot Locker and Finish Line helped shape how those companies talked to the sneaker community, or how we launched the first LeBron James retro... the Air Zoom Generation... in partnership with Nike when I was employee #9 at StockX.

But none of that matters today.

Today I get to tell you about the most important sneaker thing I have ever done for myself.

I wrote a book.

Small Luxuries: Sneakers

Small Luxuries: Sneakers is published by Motorbooks/Quarto and hits shelves in October 2026. This weekend only, Bookshop.org is offering free shipping in honor of Independent Bookstore Day... and the book is currently on sale for $15.83. So you’re getting a pre-order on a book about sneaker culture, supporting your choice of independent bookstores, at a sale price with free shipping.

I’m not sure it gets better than that (or if it will for that matter!).

What’s in it?

I’ve been obsessed with sneakers for most of my life and in love with writing since middle school. This book is what happens when those two things finally collide in the right way.

Small Luxuries: Sneakers isn’t an encyclopedia. It’s not a price guide. It’s not a hype list. It’s a thoughtful, accessible look at sneaker culture for anyone who has ever felt something when they opened a shoebox. How we got here. Why the obsession exists. What this community actually means.

I wrote it for three audiences at the same time, which is harder than it sounds.

The first is someone like you... someone who’s been in this for years, who knows exactly what colorways they had growing up, who remembers the first shoe that made them feel something. For that person, this should feel like a conversation.

The second is the family member who keeps asking why you need another pair. The parent or grandparent trying to find the right gift for the sneakerhead in their life. At $15.83 with free shipping this weekend, it’s the easiest answer to that question you’ll ever have.

But the third audience is the most important one... and the one you should really be thinking about right now. The person in your life who hasn’t quite committed to the obsession yet, but you can see it coming. They’re asking the right questions, paying attention to the right things, showing the signs. The next generation of enthusiasts who just need the right entry point... the important people, places, and cultural moments that shaped this thing we love, laid out in a way that finally makes it all make sense.

That’s who this book is for most of all. And you know exactly who that person is in your life.

One more thing...

I have something special in the works to send you if you pre-order, buuttt I’m not quite ready to spill the beans on that yet.

To get in on it when I’m ready to announce:

Send a screenshot of your pre-order confirmation to nickwroteabook@gmail.com

Or tag @nickwroteabook on Instagram in a post showing your pre-order.

That’s it. I’ll take care of the rest.

Free shipping ends Sunday. The pre-order link is right here.

Thank you for being here. This one means a lot.

Keep building.

-Nick

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I’m Nick Engvall, and I’ve been writing about sneakers and culture for two decades, from building Eastbay’s first blog to being employee #9 at StockX. I run Sneaker History (website and podcast) and write The Sneaker Newsletter... the people, the stories, and the business of sneakers. If you want the deeper stuff... the industry analysis, the From the Vault stories from inside the business... become a paid subscriber.