Welcome to the third issue of The asher Newsletter. I just flew back from Italy and boy, are my arms tired (from carrying suitcases up the stairs in Positano). I think my favorite moment from the trip was on the second night. We visited this authentic Tuscan ristorante and asked the server for a wine recommendation, excited to learn about some obscure Italian vineyard that is cherished by the locals but unknown to the rest of the world. Her response: “the California cab is quite good. Definitely my favorite.”
It was also cool to see David up close. Did you know his eyes have hearts in them like a damn Looney Tunes cartoon??
Anyway, the trip was very fun and I did my best to not spend the whole time thinking about the fact that we planned it before The Late Show (where I work as a writer) was canceled. On a total unrelated note:
Here’s my cartoon in this week’s New Yorker:
Next, some updates:
My new book comes out in 8 days. If you haven’t preordered it yet, scientists say that now is mathematically the perfect time to do so.
I’m doing a little book tour, which, if theory holds, will be incredibly fun. I’m announcing all the stops here first because I love you most, and I’ll later open it up to my Instagram followers (who I love less). Here’s what I have planned so far (with links for tickets):
9/5 Brooklyn
9/13 Los Angeles
9/20 Philadelphia
I also have a couple other cities tentatively planned (like Minneapolis, Seattle, and Olympia). I’ll announce those as soon as they’re confirmed (here first, again, because of the love). If you want me to come to your city and it’s not on the list, please let me know and I’ll do my best to make that happen.
And now for some things I enjoyed this week:
This cartoon from Lars Kenseth:
This short quote from Austin Kleon: “The best editor is you, tomorrow.”
This longer quote from Josh Radnor in which he quotes someone else:
Finally, for paid subscribers, here are some bonus cartoons from me that you can’t find anywhere else:
