We're kicking off this week with an overdue (and not overly long) Alex update! Then! We've got the brilliantly insightful author and editor Rumaan Alam on the record about his second novel That Kind of Mother, which explores family, race, motherhood, and (to a lesser extent) Princess Diana.

P.S. Who knew everything looks better with a touch of tortoiseshell? The designer behind Machete, that's who—and you can snag all of her earrings for 10% off with the code AFEWTHINGS.