Dear readers,

Happy almost-holidays! Writing to you from my fiance’s apartment in Boston where I’m knees-deep in course readings, hair unkempt, never not in pajama pants and slowly losing my mind over term papers. (Is there a word for the delirious pleasure of being in the work flow for so long that your soul leaves your body? I don’t know but they should invent one; something perpindicular to sitzfleisch.) It is my favorite time of year and I cannot wait for the year to be over.

What I’m reading: Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman (on the heels of a Gaiman binge including The Graveyard Book and Sandman, to be followed by a reread of The Ocean at the End of the Lane), Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy (on the heels of a McCarthy binge including The Road and The Passenger, both wonderful), and about to crack into Fintan O’Toole’s We Don’t Know Ourselves: A Personal History of Modern Ireland. That last one has nothing to do with the fantasy project I’m working on right now; I just like reading about Ireland. (I think I might come to Dublin for a writing retreat in March?) The Gaimans and McCarthys are for vocal training.

Three bookish reminders to wrap up the year:

(1) Since last year I have partnered with my local indie bookstores to make signed and personalized copies of any of my books available to readers at any time, hardcovers included. If you'd like to order any special copies for the holidays, be cautioned that the cutoff date is December 8; December 9 will be the last day I go in to sign for the year. (Any orders placed afterwards will be fulfilled, but only after the holidays.) My local indies ship US only, but wait for (2)…

(2) I have just a few events left in the year. The first is my signing in Oxford next week - tickets are long gone for in-person signings, but I’m leaving a big trail of signed stock across London during that trip. This is relevant because UK bookstores ship internationally where US bookstores don’t; I will post on Instagram where I’ve been and where copies are available to order. The second is my library talk at Yale on Thursday, December 8. This one’s open to the public and unticketed, so you don’t have to be a Yale student; you only have to be willing to claw your way to New Haven. Come by and try the pizza while you’re in town :)

(3) As you’ve probably noticed, I’ve made the move over to Substack. TinyLetter did not have the functionality for the kind of communications I want to keep open with my readers. (Speaking of tour dates…May 2023, and I’m bopping around the US and UK. And maybe Australia???) It certainly feels simpler on the user side. You don’t need to do anything on your end; if you are getting this email, you’re good! One cool thing about Substack is that you can leave any questions about book releases, tour dates, signings, special editions, etc. as comments on this post, and I can respond for everyone else to see. A little less chaotic than Instagram, I think.

And that’s all for the year! Hoping your holidays are filled with hot drinks and good books. At some point I’ll make a list of my best-of-2022 reads, but for now I will just focus on surviving the fall semester.

Love,
Rebecca

R.F. Kuang

crawling to 2023