I received a wonderful and totally unexpected Christmas present the other day when I got this note from a writer in Los Angeles named Chris Farnsworth. “Mr. Malanowski,” he begins. “I don’t usually write the authors of books to tell them how much I enjoyed their works — I’m a writer also, and I’m usually far too petty and small for that. But I tore through The Coup in one sitting. It was hellaciously funny and smart, and I was reminded of the best parts of Thank You For Smoking. Thanks for writing it.” No, Chris, thank you–thanks for reading the book, and thanks for the encouragement. (By the way, here’s the solved mystery: Chris blogs for bigaction.com, and is surely the author of the holiday recommendation mentioned a couple of posts ago. Heed this man!)