issue #42 - the ‘is winter over yet?’ one

This week was a good one. I spoke on an incredibly open and vulnerable panel on fertility (prenatal and postpartum depression, my miscarriage), got glammed up and attended the Athena Film Festival gala, and MY DAD FINALLY RETURNED FROM INDIA.

It was also a week filled with e-mails, teleconferences, research, and naan pizza for lunch or dinner every day. And I am fine with that.

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 9 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!

Two Smart Things

You all are amazing. #1SmartPod launched at #3 in the leisure category and #16 in news (and it’s impossible to break into the top news podcasts). Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

• Here’s what to expect.

• If you want to understand the difference between the stock market and the economy - and why it matters - then check out the first episode of my podcast. (join the conversation)

• Yes, I will be your mentor - but not in the way you think. (join the conversation)

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#ThingsILove This Week

• What's your Book Of The Month pick for March? This is mine.

• If you’re in New York, make it a point to head uptown for the Athena Film Festival. There are some incredible films being premiered, some amazing panels, and it’s just the best.

• BURU launched the most perfect caftan (which I’m wearing to Keren’s bridal shower this weekend) and my beloved coveralls in olive green.

• And in ‘I only wear jumpsuits and overalls’ now (I wore this one for Rho’s birthday party and my panel with MoxxieMade), here are some that I have my eye on: this classic one from Universal Standard (which they kindly gifted me), this $23 tie dye one (also in black and gray), and this flight suit from Banana Republic. Mango has some amazing options as well.

• I’ve visited this site no fewer than 9 times this week. Also, this one.

• Rho is a budding artist, but not all of his work is worthy of his gallery wall. Enter Artkive. You order and fill a box with your kids’ art, it gets scanned and uploaded to the app, and you get a beautiful book in return. My only regret was not signing up sooner.

• Beauty items that I need to restock on - a new gua sha stone (I broke mine weeks ago and haven’t gotten around to replacing it), my daytime and nighttime anti-aging products, eyeliner (feeling drawn to lining my waterline again) and a sharpener, my favorite clean beauty mascara, and a necessary new eye cream.

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.

• Recipe For Persuasion (ARC provided by NetGalley, out May 26) - this book is far stronger than Dev's first title (Pride and Prejudice and Other Flavors). I thought Ashna and Rico were much more approachable protagonists, and the jump between the two characters is much smoother than the first. What I love about Dev is how ambitious of a writer she is, from the unapologetic diversity (and South Asian representation) in this series, to how she normalizes the issues most of us face, but never read in our books. I thoroughly enjoyed this one, and I look forward to her next Austen adaptation.

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.

• CBD has been a lifesaver for me. Get 20% off your first order with code HITHA.

• 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. Here’s How to Conquer Your To-do List (The Cut)

2. February 24, 2020. (Letters from an American)

3. ‘Where I got it wrong’: The Wing’s Audrey Gelman confronts the realities of rapid growth (Fast Company)

4. Why hand washing really could slow down an epidemic (Medical News Today)

5. The growing coronavirus recession threat (Axios)

The Catch Up

Monday

• The Nixon Health Care Solution (Psychology Today)

• “I Fail Almost Every Day”” An Interview With Samin Nosrat (New Yorker)

• Heat wave melts 20% of snow cover from Antarctic island in days (Axios)

• ‘Black in Space’ looks at final frontier of civil rights (AP)

Tuesday

• Are States Really More Efficient Than the Federal Government? (The Atlantic)

• Democrats' quiet proposal to cut health care costs (Axios)

• Delhi rocked by deadly protests during Donald Trump's India visit (The Guardian)

• Rihanna Issues Call To Action During Inspiring NAACP Speech: 'We Can Only Fix This World Together’ (Essence)

Wednesday

• The answer to America’s health care cost problem might be in Maryland (Vox)

• How Women Are Creating a More Inclusive Mardi Gras (Vogue)

• Africa grapples with clean energy conundrum (BBC News)

• What’s Really Holding Women Back? (Harvard Business Review)

Thursday

• The 5G World: What People Care About (Politico)

• The Birchbox Mafia (Marie Claire)

• Levi’s introduces paid family leave for workers (Fortune)

• TV has a new kind of heroine: The Latina genius. Here’s why it matters (LA Times)

Friday

• Jenny Han Has Been Here All Along (Elle)

• Bernie Sanders’s Scandinavian fantasy (Washington Post)

• Check Up For $30, Teeth Cleaning For $25: Walmart Gets Into Health Care (Bloomberg Businessweek)

• The Sanity-Saving Pleasure of the Background Binge