It's That Time of Year... [#128]

Snot-nosed kids are sneezing in my face. And something like one-third of all bookstore sales happen in this window between Halloween and Christmas.

Hi hi hi!

The most relevant New Yorker cartoon. I share it this time every year.

Children (sometimes mine, sometimes not mine) have been sneezing and hacking around me and now I am so stuffed up and out of tissues that I’ve resorted to the ol’ toilet paper roll by my bed. This led my partner Rob to confront me this morning with an offer to double my “Subscribe and Save” frequency for actual tissues so I don’t have a toilet paper roll beside me all the time. This was a long windup to get to a fascinating read in today’s collection of links…

Reading

A fascinating explainer on what happens when our noses get all congested, and what we’re supposed to do about it. A delightful, breezy piece about Flo from Progressive. A better way to fight Hamas and win. The podcast conversation version of what Israel should do. A reliable roundup of ways to support humanitarian efforts in Gaza and Israel. The Chinese Communist Party may be facing their most inplacable challengers yet. “Trump’s getting worse. Not enough people care.” A reality show has put together a new K-pop girl group with an international makeup. This uplifting reminder of how bookstores create community, just as we hit the time of year when about 30 percent of all book sales happen. Support your indie bookstores! And if you haven’t already, tell your friends about Flawless, gift it, or leave a review. I’m so grateful for all y’alls support and all the ways you showed up this year. I’ll never forget it.

The two turkeys born in Korea attended their first signing with me, last week!

Werk Werk Werk

Besides mahjong, a new thing I tried this year is writing book reviews. I guess there isn’t really a method to it, as people do it differently. I was delighted to throw in a blurb for NPR’s 2023 Books We Love, for a romcom called Lunar Love. I also positively reviewed the poetry collection Organs of Little Importance, and had more mixed feelings about Eyeliner: A Cultural History.

I’ve also been busy writing my first ever film treatment. Flexing new muscles is painful but has eventually gotten more fun. I enjoy how collaborative the process has been so far, thanks to my screenwriter partner giving notes and getting really worked up about fictional story lines. He called me while I was on my Thanksgiving cruise and Earth Wind and Fire was blasting in the background, so he had to really yell at me to proclaim: “ACT TWO DOESN’T WORK!”

Watch and/or Listen

If Books Could Kill is my go-to podcast recommendation ever since I heard about it from my friend Jake. Basically the two hosts unpack big business or self-help books that became cultural phenomena (e.g. Men are From Mars, The World is Flat, The 4-Hour Workweek, etc). The tagline is “The airport bestsellers that captured our hearts and ruined our minds.” The hosts add context, analysis and backstory, and in doing so, they often EVISCERATE the book’s premise or offer some real buyer beware warnings. Start with the one on The Rules, or The 48 Laws of Power, but really you can’t go wrong with this show. I celebrate its entire catalog.

All right we are somehow almost in December, but as you saw in the New Yorker cartoon I led this newsletter with, this time warp somehow happens every year. I am going to round up your favorite Hu’s Letter links of 2023 next time, but in the meantime, I always want to hear from you: What do you want to read more of, less of, or what other features would you want to see in our correspondence?

Thanks for reading along and being a friend for so many years and a hearty welcome to any new subscribers. I must now return to snotting into my toilet paper roll.

With love and gratitude,

E