Good morning, Hickatsters. I see, you know, how companies sometimes have celebrity mailing lists where they send their new products to a list of influencers? Somehow, since 2008, I have been on the celebrity mailing list for banana grams. This is actually my 11th edition of Banana Grims. Anyway, it's November, which means that soon we will have to buy presents for those we love and also those we don't love, but do feel obligated to get gifts for, and I am your one-stop shopping guide. Like, if you're looking for a fun word game, I genuinely recommend Banana Grims. You don't need 11 copies of it. One will do. You got me, Banana Grims. You got me to give you free promo. It took 14 years, but I did it. So, I'm a little biased here, but I think the best gift every year is books, especially my books, but also books by other people. Like, for the lover of nonfiction in your life, I am absolutely blown away by Siddharth Amukrji's new book, The Song of the Cell. Like, I didn't think I liked biology, but it turns out I love biology, and also, get this, I kind of AM biology. If you love somebody who loves video games or just great novels, I am so in love with Gabrielle Zeven's book Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow. It's one of those books where I've given it to a dozen people, and all of them also fell in love with it. If you've got a friend who might enjoy a super steamy X-Vangelical romance, I really recommend Karin by Rebecca Moro. Wow. And if I had to pick a favorite young adult novel I've read this year, it would probably be All My Rage by Sabah Tahir. I've recommended her books in the past, but this is her first standalone book and her first contemporary novel, and oh my god, it's beautiful. Also as evidenced by the fact that I just wrote one, I think essay collections make a great gift. Like, I love Tony Morrison's The Source of Self-Regard, and Hillary Mantell's Mantle pieces. The title is by far the worst thing about the book. The book itself is incredible, especially for the person in your life who loves history or culture. But maybe the vibe this year isn't about physical goods at all, like maybe give somebody a one-year Patreon membership to their favorite podcast or YouTube channel, or give them an online course and something they might be interested in. Like Sarah just made this course with Bright Trip about art appreciation, and it's so good. I enjoyed it so much that I went and bought some other Bright Trips. Oh, and on that front, give the gift of a walking tour. Like here in Indianapolis, we have this amazing public historian named Samson Levingston, who gives walking tours of Indianapolis neighborhoods, especially historically black neighborhoods, and I just love learning from him. A lot of towns in cities have walking tours, and I just think it's a great way to deepen your understanding of and appreciation for the place where you live. Also, I always think it's fun to try to find gifts that do double good, like making the gift receiver happy, but also making the world better in some way. Like I'm buying the Kurtz-Kazat calendars for the Kurtz-Kazat fans in my life, because one, the calendars are ridiculously impossibly beautiful, and two, they help Kurtz-Kazat in their mission to reach more people with great educational video. Or if you know causes that your friends and family are passionate about, you can donate directly to those causes in their honor, as long as they're not like weird causes that conflict with your value system. Or for the coffee-loving person in your life, get them a membership to the awesome coffee club so they can have carefully sourced, perfectly roasted coffee beans, and know that 100% of the profits go to support better maternal health in Sierra Leone. Plus, we now have single bags available if you don't want a subscription just yet. You can find links to all this stuff in the doobly-doob, but here at the end I'll let you in on a little secret. A lot of times, the best gifts are the ones that aren't bought at all, but are instead made, whether that's making a crossword puzzle just for someone you care about, or making art for people. Like Sarah made me this portrait of myself in the form of a color palette of my favorite things, and oh god, I just love it so much. Hank, spoiler alert, you're getting a donation to Partners in Health for Christmas, I will see you on Friday.