Rebekah Ayers
editorial associate
Go to Rebekah’s pick
How do you even begin to tell someone what it was like to live in Chicago when the Cubs won the World Series in 2016? Marrying the Ketchups captures the feeling of that crazy time and weaves it into a relatable, touching story of a big family and their restaurant business. Author Jennifer Close begins the tale of the Sullivans with the death of their patriarch—mere days before his Cubs finally triumphed—and follows the rest as they grapple with dead-end careers, messy relationships, and what it means to be so tied to the family business that everyone in town really does know your name.
Jen Bulat
production director
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Luke Collins
SVP of content strategy
Go to Luke’s pick
Fantasy books are the hottest trend, at least according to #booktok. But perhaps due to my fickle literary ways and childhood obsession with The Lord of the Rings and the Chronicles of Narnia, I am a picky fantasy reader, unsatisfied with many fantasy books that cross my path. I can genuinely say, however, that Brandon Sanderson does not disappoint, and his ongoing The Stormlight Archive series sits comfortably in the top tiers of high-fantasy writing. Sanderson has brilliantly crafted thousands of pages and a mind-boggling world, taking you through assassinations, dizzying character backstories and trauma, and the ancient, terrifying mystery of the Knights Radiant. Sanderson will invite you to step into the world of Roshar in a way that can only be described as life changing and will leave you grappling with what it means to be honest and true in a world that is anything but.
I go through phases when it comes to reading. I’ll read voraciously for
two or three months, then go six months without picking up a book. I’ll read exclusively nonfiction for a year then spend the next year reading nothing but breezy novels then the next year tapping into my lit-major roots and reading only the classics. I’m currently devouring easy fiction, with recent faves including Blood Sugar, By Way of Sorrow, Counterfeit, and The
Guest List.
But according to my colleague Rebekah, below, fantasy is where it’s at right now. I’m pretty sure the last fantasy I read was The Lord of the Rings series…16 years ago. Luckily, Rebekah has a recommendation. Between that and picks from some of my other colleagues, we’ve got something for whatever kind of reading phase you’re in. And if you want in on the fantasy trend but are anti-book at the moment (as I said, been there), we round up some of our favorite fantasy films at the bottom.
It seems only appropriate that I completely missed author Steven Pressfield’s 2012 book The War of Art. I was no doubt far too busy texting or perfecting my procrastinating to read about overcoming the internal resistance that prevents me from pursuing my true passion. But I’m in luck! Pressfield has just published a follow-up of sorts, Put Your Ass Where Your Heart Wants to Be, aimed squarely at anyone who’s spent the past decade slowly losing the war of art. Will its blunt-talking boot-camping unleash the great Australian novel inside me? I’ll get back to you. But in this post-COVID era of figuring out what it’s all for and why, Pressfield isn’t shy about declaring what it truly takes to forge the life you’re capable of.
Once people get past a certain age, they like to proclaim there’s no good music out there anymore. They should check out Gemini Rights, the latest album from Steve Lacy. He recorded his first EP on his iPhone and has worked with artists from Kendrick Lamar to Vampire Weekend. His music feels of the moment but has enough other influences (a little Stevie Wonder, a little Prince, among many others) that it feels accessible. The single “Bad Habits” has been hovering near the top of Billboard’s Hot R&B, Hot Alternative, and Hot Rock charts. Give it a spin to show you’re not too old or out of touch.
Go to Scott’s pick
Scott Leff
founder
Our favorite fantasy films
Justin:
The Princess Bride
David:
Conquest
Caty:
Ponyo
Morgan:
The Lord of
the Rings: The
Two Towers