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Happy New Year! I hope you're enjoying a hopeful, happy and healthy beginning of the year. I have some cool news that I will share shortly, but for now, I'd like to share my favorite shows and books of 2024: TV Shows Slow Horses (Apple TV+) My favorite show of the year, this British spy thriller series is fun and twisty and infused with dark humor, heart, and depth. Gary Oldman is in charge of an eclectic team of MI5 rejects sent off site to while away their days, but who end up inserting themselves in real and dangerous missions, while facing a nemesis at MI5 played by Kristen Scott Thomas. There are four seasons, and I guarantee if you watch one, you'll be pulled in for the rest.  Drops of God (Apple TV+). In this drama based on a Japanese manga, a wine titan dies and sets up a competition between his estranged daughter and his protégée to become the heir to his vast fortune and empire. I was sucked into this absorbing story set in France and Japan, rooting for both rivals as they puzzle through wine-based challenges and discover family secrets. The show reminds me of Queen's Gambit in the way the story revolves around the protagonist's psychological past while in a high stakes competition.  Derry Girls (Netflix) I'm late to the party, but I loved this hilarious series about Catholic high school girls in 1980s Ireland. Every episode is laugh out loud funny, as the girls navigate problems, silly and serious. The historical details, including the epic soundtracks, wonderfully evoke a tumultuous era.  My Lady Jane (Amazon Prime) A historical fantasy romance retelling of the nine-day reign of Queen Jane (based on the novel, My Lady Jane, by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, Jodi Meadows), this is a funny, irreverent, and raucous story with shapeshifting creatures, palace intrigue, and swoony romance. The only downside is that the series was cancelled after the first season, but at least there are the books. Other shows I enjoyed last year: The Three Body Problem (heady sci-fi about alien contact), Shrinking (funny/moving series, a therapist struggling with his own family issues), Fisk (funny Australian show, a middle-aged wills & estates attorney faces quirky situations and coworkers at her new job), and The Diplomat (Kerri Russell is the American ambassador to the UK dealing with high stakes terrorist threats). Movies The Boy and the Heron. I am a huge fan of Hayao Miyazaki and his Studio Ghibli films, and this one is right up there with his typically strange, fantastic, and weirdly moving storytelling. Mahito is a boy who is sent to the countryside after the death of his mother during World War II, and he encounters a magical heron who leads him into an enigmatic world. It's not an easy plot to follow, but it leads to contemplation about life and loss amidst trippy and enchanting imagery.  American Fiction. A fun satire about an upper middle-class literary fiction author who decides to go for bestsellerdom by writing a novel filled with clichés about Black hoodlum life. In addition to the sharply funny jabs at the literary industry, this movie also includes an interesting story about family ties.  Wicked. I've been a fan of this story since the book came out in the 1990s, and then the Broadway show. This was a visual feast and an engaging rendition of the musical, with amazing performances from Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo.  A Complete Unknown. I'm a sucker for biopics about musicians, because I usually love the music in them. I particularly enjoyed this Bob Dylan biopic because it didn't follow the usual arc of rise to stardom followed by descent via drugs or inner demons. Instead, it covers Dylan's early career, the rise of his folk music stardom, and his controversial transition to electric music, and Timothée Chalamet was excellent. BooksAccording to Goodreads, I read 22,698 pages and 80 books last year, and of those, these were my favorite adult reads (I'm not including MG and YA for this roundup):  First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston. A really fun and twisty mystery, about a woman who lives an assumed identity and is a "fixer" who works for a mysterious boss (Mr. Smith). She's on the most difficult assignment to date, and I can't reveal more without spoiling the plot, but this was one of the few mysteries that genuinely kept me guessing with each delightful twist, even until the end.  Sipsworth, by Simon Van Booy. A warm hug of a book about an elderly British woman who is at the end of her life, a bit depressed and alone, whose outlook on life and social circle changes abruptly when she inadvertently becomes the owner of a little mouse. A sweet, soothing, and wonderful read.  The Fox Wife by Yangtze Choo. An atmospheric historical fantasy/mystery set in Northern China and Japan in the early 1900s about a fox spirit and her quest for revenge against the humans who murdered her child and an aging investigator tracking down mysterious deaths of courtesans attributed to fox spirits. This story really resonated with me, because I grew up listening to the stories of my grandmother's encounter with fox spirits when she was a child (around the same era of the book).  The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. Each year, I read a book that my daughter loves to keep up with her interests (this year's read might be The Priory of the Orange Tree), and last year it was this 1000-page classic high fantasy - a picaresque story about a mysterious man who comes into power on a lifelong quest for magical knowledge and love. It's framed by a storyteller who is a tavern owner with a past and felt like one of those epic sagas one might listen to in a tavern if one were on their own quest (does that even make sense?) What were some of your favorite reads or shows? Near and Deer TidbitsMy latest middle grade, Near and Deer, came out on October 1, and I had a great time with its release. Here are a few highlights from the Fall: The Launch I loved celebrating the release with friends and family at Prince Books in Norlfolk VA.  Scholastic Fairs My first Scholastic book, Manatee's Best Friend, came out during the pandemic, so I never got to see it in the school fairs. This time, I was able to visit a couple of local schools with Scholastic fairs, where I signed books and met with kids. A real thrill was the case header that featured my characters, Jules and Persimmon!  NCTE Conference I went to my first NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English) conference in Boston, where I participated in a couple of panels with middle grade author friends (Middle Grade Authorcade). Scholastic sent extra copies of my book so that I could sign them and hand them out. (Here's my Tiktok video of it)  Hana Hsu giveaway ends Jan. 5My sci-fi Hana Hsu and the Ghost Crab Nation is currently on a giveaway at Goodreads. Enter to win a signed copy of it! (click the image for the link) 
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