Twenty-nine-year-old Thisbe Nissen gained acclaim last year for her delightful novel, The Good People of New York (Anchor paperback), which tells the tricky and compelling story of a modern-day Brady bunch gone awry.

Now, she and co-author Erin Ergenbright have published a playful new book that dishes on their ex-boyfriends’ best recipes, called The Ex-Boyfriend Cookbook: They Came, They Cooked, They Left (But We Ended Up with Some Great Recipes) (HarperCollins). On a recent afternoon, in the course of their book tour, she and Ergenbright were laughing their way across Pennsylvania, Thelma and Louise–style.

Between cell-phone break-ups, Nissen talked about her previous work, and her latest — and why her favorite readers are 60-year-old gay men.

Q: Tell me about The Ex-Boyfriend Cookbook.

A: It is a project I’ve done with my friend Erin Ergenbright. It started out as our funny little side project. They are ostensibly recipes we got from ex-boyfriends. [Next to the recipes,] there are stories that go along with the relationships. There are little artifacts from our relationships, artifacts from friends’ relationships.

Q: Do you cook from the book at readings?

A: We have not yet been asked to do a cooking demonstration. We are noooooo chefs. A few people have made things from the cookbook and brought them to readings, though [laughs].

Q: So you’re now also touring for the paperback version of The Good People of New York. Whom do you see at the readings?

A: Of course, it’s mostly young women my age. Although for TGPNY, it’s seemed like also there’s an audience of more [middle-aged mother] Roz’s generation. They’re finding something to relate to. I’m always thrilled to come across a 60-year-old gay man who liked it. I’m like, "Bless you! Thank you! I’m not totally pigeonholed."

Q: I’ve read a few interviews where people assume the title is tongue-in-cheek.

A: The title is totally not ironic at all. I was surprised when someone asked me that, and then I was like of course. There have been a few people who said, "Oh, this is a love letter to New York." But believe me, I’m the last person on the planet who would write a love letter to New York. I have a sort of tumultuous relationship with New York in general. I intended the title really earnestly. In a lot of ways the book feels to me that it was about some really good people in New York.

Thisbe Nissen will read from The Good People of New York on Thursday, June 20, at 7 p.m. at New Words Books, 186 Hampshire Street, in Cambridge, (617) 876-5310; and on Friday, June 21, at 7:30 p.m. at Newtonville Books, 296 Walnut Street, in Newtonville. Call (617) 244-6619 for more information. Both readings are free.