issue #38 - the one coming during the Super Bowl

It’s been a week. And a weekend. And a SUNDAY.

Fingers crossed February doesn’t feel like the 6 months that January felt.

If this is your first e-mail from me, welcome! In addition to writing the book How To Pack, I'm an entrepreneur and angel investor, an avid reader, and a mom of two boys (a 4 year old and a 8 month old).

Every Saturday, I share the 25 best reads from the Internet (culled from the daily shares on my Instagram), the books I've read that week, and things I'm generally loving at the moment. You can join the conversation on all these articles - and more! - in my Facebook group.

Looking for my packing list template? Here you go!

#ThingsILove This Week

• This jumpsuit was one of the few clothing items I bought this month, and I’ve worn it 6 times in the two weeks I’ve owned it. It’s the easiest thing to throw on and makes me feel more polished than my usual leggings/sweatshirt combination - with the same comfort.

• MM.LaFleur launched jeans, and I couldn’t resist. I picked up the Milo and the Hockley, and these earrings (because jewelry always fits). The verdict? Even better than I expected.

• Two documentaries I saw and really loved this week: Chiara Ferragni: Unposted and Miss Americana. Both really blew away any of my original thoughts of Chiara and Taylor and left me with a deep respect of what they’ve both built, and how powerful unconscious bias is.

• Things I own and especially loved this week - these Adore Me pajamas (crazy soft), my giant tumbler for water at home, giant Post-Its for my jotting down my daily e-mail to-dos, and these slippers which are on my feet every time I’m at home.

• Book Of The Month has some AMAZING picks this month. My recommendations? Anna K and The Girl With The Louding Voice.

What I read this week

A quick note - I hope you reserve the books I recommend from your local library, or purchase them from your favorite independent bookstore or the audiobook fromLibro.fm. I’ll be usingBookstore Linkfor all my book links, which lets you find and order these books from your favorite indie bookstore online.

• Catch & Kill(audiobookhere) - Morgan’s passionate review of this book had me pick it up last Friday night, and I read it through Monday morning (when I began binging Ronan’s podcast). It. Is. So. GREAT. It’s more focused on Ronan Farrow’s investigation into Harvey Weinstein - and NBC News’ many attempts to squash it - and his eventual publishing of the piece in The New Yorker. Farrow is an incredibly talented journalist, and memoirist as well.

• To Have And To Hoax(c/o NetGalley) - The perfect breezy, easy palate cleanser after Catch & Kill. A noble couple, 4 years into a cold marriage, are pushed back together after a riding accident was blown out of proportion. So begins a hot war into one-upping each other, while revealing the big (not really that big) fight that started the whole thing. This book isn’t going to change your life, but it’s a fun, funny book.

Current book reviewshere, and here are all my random Amazon favorites.

Hitha’s Favorite Things

• Libro.fm is my favorite audiobook app (it credits your favorite independent bookstore with the sale). Use code HITHA to get 3 audiobooks for the price of 1 when you create a monthly membership. You can find my favorite audiobooks here.

• This is the only book club I’m a member of

• my Amazon shop

• my favorite vitamins (both their pre-natal and their essential one for women). Use code HITHA for 10% off your first 3 months.

• my favorite produce delivery company

• the app to save #5SmartReads to read later

• the notebook that has changed my life (see how I use it here and here). Get 15% off with code HITHA15.

• the marriage check-in my husband and I do every single week

• my favorite workout - and why. Use code G37YVV for $100 in accessories (spin shoes, weights, headphones - oh my!)

• Small Packages (one of my portfolio companies) is the curated gift box company I’m always talking about - get 15% off your order with the code HITHA

The Top 5

1. An Interview With the Woman Who Wrote the Viral 1,000-Word Job Listing for a “Household Manager/Cook/Nanny” (Slate)

2. Lee From America's Fall From Wellness: What Happens When Wellness Goes Too Far (Teen Vogue) trigger warning - if you’re a survivor of food/body image disorders, read with caution and care.

3. The salary negotiating technique Women's Health beauty director Kristina Rodulfo swears by (Know Your Value | NBC News)

4. Productivity Isn’t About Time Management. It’s About Attention Management. (New York Times)

5. How This Communications Strategist Gets Her Skin So Good (The Cut)

The Catch Up

Monday

• New media outlet covering the intersection of women and politics launches as 2020 election kicks off (Washington Post) FollowThe 19th on Instagramandsign up for their newsletter!

• Puerto Rico hit by magnitude-5.0 earthquake (Axios) Note - this is the 3rd reported earthquake of 2020 in Puerto Rico, but there have been hundreds so far and 10 of them have had a magnitude of 5.0 and higher. A big thanks to@ontheequinoxfor sharIng this information, and please support relief efforts with a donation toWorld Central Kitchen.

• At Border of 2 Nuclear-Armed Nations: Machine Guns, Anxiety and Dancing (New York Times)

• I Have A ‘Starbucks Name.’ Do You? (Zora)

Tuesday

• I Just Wanted a Baby, But Surrogacy Gave Me So Much More (Vogue)

• ‘The time to worry is now’: The coronavirus in China could threaten pharma’s ingredient sourcing (STAT News) This will also affect medical supplies, like gloves and gowns. A big thanks to@clairewbrandewiefor sharing.

• Huawei: Is it a security threat and what will be its role in UK 5G? (BBC News)

• When the Future Seems Overwhelming, Do This (The M Dash) I am an investor inMM.LaFleur

Wednesday

• Canada Wins, U.S. Loses In Global Fight For High-Tech Workers (NPR)

• Trapped in Iran (1843 Magazine)

• How the Women at the Heart of the Impeachment Trial Make It Work (Glamour) I do wish the magazine included some of the Republican impeachment managers in this post - the content was all about how to juggle work and life during this period.

• Why we panic about coronavirus, but not the flu (Axios)

Thursday

• How To Talk About Israel And Palestine (Tablet)

• The Instant Pot Understands The History Of Women's Labor In The Kitchen (Bustle)

• To Store Renewable Energy, Try Freezing Air (Scientific American)

• 26 Writers. Four Women. None Black. It’s Time to Banish the Western Canon. (The Riveter)

Friday

• Iowa 8th-graders held their own caucus. Their results look nothing like the polls. (The Lily)

• A thought on Lamar Alexander: His retirement is less relevant than you might think. Trump’s grip on the GOP has implications far beyond elected office. Lamar is looking forward to a life after politics — and he knows it will be complicated by any break w/ Trump over impeachment. (Tim Alberta | Twitter)

• Don’t Believe Anyone Who Says Bernie Sanders Can’t Win (The Dispatch)

• Is It Cultural Appropriation? Why Language Matters (Rewire)