issue #61 - the new, new one

First of all - thank you for letting me into your inboxes every week, into your morning routine to catch up on the news, and into your lives. It’s a tremendous privilege and one I do not take for granted.

As promised, the weekly e-mail will continue and will always be free, but I did shuffle some things around based on your survey responses.

My favorite things have been removed from each week’s newsletter entirely, and I’ve moved my current Favorites to the bottom of the post. I’m limiting this section to just 5 bullet points. If you love them, they’re still here! But the reads come first - which is why you subscribed in the first place.

Book reviews, however, will remain at the top. Because you all seem to love books as much as I do.

I soft-launched the daily newsletter this week, and it’s brought back a lot of joy. I love having extra space to share my thoughts or extra context to an article, and it’s also helped me flush out my points better for the IG Story frames. You can check out Tuesday and Wednesday’s posts for free. If you like them, please consider upgrading your subscription!

Every newsletter also gets published as a blog post, and goes live at 6 am. Subscribers will also be able to add #5SmartReads to Feedly or Bloglovin’ if they prefer to read it alongside their favorite blogs.

I spent most of my time this week getting the site up and running, tending to my little garden (my tomatoes and poblano have bloomed!), started packing for our return to New York, and soaking in every last minute with my parents. I’m going to miss them. A lot.

But I’m really, really excited to be going home.

Books, books, books!

• Spoiler Alert (ARC provided by NetGalley, out October 6) - I am still not over how spectacularly bad the finale of Game Of Thrones was, and apparently neither is Olivia Dade. Spoiler Alert is a joy of a book that brings together Marcus Caster-Rupp (the pretty boy leading actor in Gods Of The Gates) and April Whittler (a hardcore fan of the show who cosplays the female lead Lavinia) on a fanfic server. A viral tweet brings them together in real life, and love and drama and fame and all the things ensue. The book may have drawn inspiration from the reaction and fandom of GoT, but it stands out on its own as a thoughtful, smart, and steamy book. I loved it.

Happy publication week to these AMAZING books!

• The Heir Affair - the highly anticipated sequel to The Royal We, and absolutely nuts and entirely satisfying. Warning - you won’t stop once you start reading.

• Craigslist Confessional - just the most beautiful, honest, and vulnerable book of essays ever. If you’d like to win a copy, enter here.

• One To Watch - I’ve described this book as ‘if The Bachelorette cast a single Katie Sturino’, you’d have this book. But it’s so much more than that, and so wonderful. I’m doing an Instagram Live on Tuesday at 8 pm ET with the author, Kate. Stayman-London.

The Top 5

1. What Happened In Bethel, Ohio? (BuzzFeed News)

2. How California went from a coronavirus success story to a worrying new hot spot (Vox)

3. Bad romance (Vox)

4. Obesity and addiction: A multi-front war (Naples News)

5. Unlucky Charms: The Rise and Fall of Billion-Dollar Jewelry Empire Alex and Ani (Marker)

The Catch Up

Monday

• Movements Are Nothing Without Endurance (Zora)

• The Simplest, Best Tool for Personal Wellness: Breathing (Shondaland) If you can, please consider supportingBlack Girls Breathing’s crowdfunding campaign. The work they’re doing is so important and every penny helps. I am an investor in iFundWomen, the platform that the campaign is hosted on.

• The NBA’s Reopening Is a Warning Sign for the U.S. Economy (Bloomberg Opinion)

• 239 scientists call on WHO to recognize coronavirus as airborne (Axios)

Tuesday

• Federal judge orders Dakota Access Pipeline shut down (Bismarck Tribune)

• Debut Romance ‘One to Watch’ Tackles Reality TV, Fame, and Fatphobia (Goodreads)

• As A Black Woman I Know Too Much About White Hair (Elle)

• Want to speak out like Ben & Jerry’s? Here’s how to earn it (Fast Company)

Wednesday

• FBI Says Soldier Vanessa Guillen Was Killed (NPR) trigger warning - this article contains sexual assault and graphic violence. Please consider signing this petition to hold the US Army accountable for the senseless, horrific death of this brave soldier.

• Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Acknowledge the "Uncomfortable" History of the Commonwealth (Town & Country)

• Michaela the Destroyer (Vulture) trigger warning - this article contains sexual assault

• Trump administration submits formal notice of withdrawal from WHO (STAT)

Thursday

• Supreme Court Undercuts Access To Birth Control Under Obamacare (NPR)

• Gina Prince-Bythewood To Hollywood: We Can Shape How The World Sees Black People (Bustle)

• For Black People, Plant Parenthood Is Deeper Than Instagram (Zora)

• The tangled web of Russia's Taliban support (Axios)

Friday

• I’m Married to an Emergency Room Doctor in New York City (Superorganizers)

• Need 2 Minutes Of Calm? Inhale, Exhale ... And Click Here (NPR)

• The myth of closing the racial wealth gap by being "model minorities" (Axios)

• How I Get It Done: Writer and Activist Raquel Willis (The Cut)

#ThingsILove This Week

• You know you’re adulting - or returning to your home after 4 months - when your recent purchases are exclusively cleaning supplies. I have steramine tablets (and gallon-sized jugs and spray bottles), the steam mop that everyone’s obsessed with, and this heavy-duty Dyson (a birthday gift from my parents). I’m ready for you, New York!

• THE BABYSITTERS CLUB. Rho and I binged the entire first season in a single day, and I was so elated at how well this iconic series was adapted to modern times by Netflix. The fact that Rho loved it - and the kid only loves cartoons - is a testament of how damn good it is. Though explaining to him why I was crying happy tears at the end of every episode was quite another thing...

• This storytelling dragon is the best thing I’ve ever bought for Rhaki. For Rho, sidewalk chalk and these paint-by-sticker books have been our hero items for the week. And when both boys are restless, we all change into swimsuits and I spray them down with the hose. This sprayer head is great for watering plants and your kids alike.

• Rom Com Pods has been such a joy to listen to. It’s exactly as it sounds - a romantic comedy performed over episodes every week. Becca and Rachael have done an amazing job with season 1, and I cannot wait to listen to season 2’s story! Give it a listen (and subscribe, rate, and review), and order some merch! I picked up this mug and this t-shirt.

• Since my husband is working from home for the foreseeable future, I’ll be sharing my home office with him. We bought this desk and this bookshelf (which I will zhush up to be the best Zoom background), and I picked him up the laptop stand and the wireless mouse & keyboard that has saved my neck during this quarantine work period.

Looking for my favorite things? You can find them here.

If you made it this far, thank you, thank you, thank you. If you’re up for it, please share this with someone who might enjoy it. And if you haven’t yet, please consider upgrading your subscription for the daily newsletter.

xo, HPN