A Flawless Debut, Thanks To You [#16]

Lively — and classy — events on both coasts, filled with engaged, attuned audiences and surprise faces in the crowds. The whirlwind week, in photos...

Annyeong,

I’m back in LA for the weekend after a whirlwind week launching FLAWLESS into the world. What a journey. You preordered, you regular ordered, you library-requested, you packed rooms, showing up for me in three (technically four) cities, you left reviews, you talked the book up on social media and in your group texts. You were the ones who gave #FlawlessTheBook such a loving liftoff. I will never forget this week.

Some Press Clips

• The full CBS This Morning segment

• The NPR It’s Been A Minute episode on the book

• My Atlantic piece on parenting in beauty culture

• An interview with Anne Helen Petersen for Culture Study

• Shelf Awareness, a feature about books I love

• WIRED Magazine’s excerpt, on the technological gaze

• Slate’s adapted essay, on state-funded beauty culture

• Jezebel’s excerpt, featuring Isa’s birth story

• Forever 35 podcast conversation

• Fat Mascara podcast episode

Launch Week Roundup

When I got to New York on Sunday, I realized my hotel was fittingly in the heart of K-town. So I went to BCD Tofu for a giant bowl of sundubu and followed it up with a trip to Paris Baguette for one of their signature Korean croissant-wrapped hot dogs with ketchup and corn on it. Looking back, I think that particular combo was auspicious, helping the week go off without a hitch.

I wrote about most of pub day eve, and pub day — in my last dispatch. On Tuesday night, the Korea Society hosted the big public launch event and every seat was filled with members of the public, as well as the Hu Hive! New York based buddies of decades, my editor, the publicists on this book, the fact checker, colleagues from TED, colleagues from my production company, and even a few diplomats from US Embassy Seoul who are now based who are now based in other far flung places but happened to be available that night in New York. A night I won’t forget. Thank you for showing up.

Washington, DC

There will be a public event in June, but before I left the east coast, fifty of my closest DC friends came to my pal Kristen’s Dupont Circle home for Korean catering from nearby Anju and no formal book talk, just hanging out, drinking, and signing books. DC was home for about four years in my late twenties and Eva was born there, so it still feels like a bit of a homecoming when the train pulls into Union Station.

Book signing shenanigans at the private party in DC.

By the time we were leaving Washington, DC at the ass crack of dawn the next day, Rob goes, “I feel like we are fugitives on the run.” (Well, that is, if the fugitives were running from one safe house full of food and friends to the next.)

Los Angeles

LAist (formerly KPCC) put on a giant public launch at their theater/event space called The Crawford. The lighting! The audio production quality! The effortless moderating by the vivacious and hilarious Ailsa Chang! The boisterous crowd! Outside, the hosts had a full bar set up and North Figueroa Books selling books. Signed so many books, met so many people, my old therapist Bobbie even drove out from Westwood, which was impressive considering I stopped paying her many years ago.

What a night. Unforgettable.

Then, yesterday in Culver City, my business partner and twice-published author Rachel Swaby led a conversation at Village Well Books, which is OUR local indie bookshop. It’s a warm and inviting space for the community, and in addition to members of the public who heard about the event, our mom friends and running buddies and my partner Rob’s family and my tax accountant(!) who I’d never met before, turned out. The accountant drove up from Irvine! Wild. What a special treat to end this overwhelming week at home. My heart is so full.

With Rachel, and our book babies.

Don’t Stop Believing/Reviewing

As I’ve mentioned, reviews make the book more easily discoverable. They serve up Flawless to more potential readers to join in the larger campaign to show up as our full selves, with less bodily shame.

Here's the Amazon page. So long as you're logged in, you can pop in a review today. If you purchased on Amazon it will be displayed more prominently, but anyone should be able to review. I just went in and we’ve already been a #1 Bestseller in “Asian and Asian Descent Studies” but today we’re a #1 Bestseller in “Beauty and Grooming”. I think Amazon has so many subcategories so everyone can feel like a winner, and I ain’t mad about it.

Additionally, if you're a member of Goodreads, pop that review in Goodreads, as well! This will be really helpful for the bibliophile community and book discovery in general.

Now I’m going to squeeze the girls, who are downstairs cleaning their toy kitchen. Well, the younger ones are, anyway. I’m overflowing with joy, gratitude and love for all of you.

Crazily, there are three more weeks of touring to come! More from the road next time.

Thank you for following along,

Elise

And thank you to Rob, for lugging bags and getting me extra eyedrops and taking out trash at the DC party and all the things this week. I felt so supported.