It鈥檚 a new decade, so naturally, a few听翱耻迟蝉颈诲别听staffers dove into books and shows听about self-optimization. The rest of us stuck with witty outdoor听poems,听foraged dinners in rural New Mexico, and a seriously dark John Cusack film about skiing.
What We Read
When I was home for the holidays, my mom lent me , by Jeff Goins, which was the perfect read to kick off the new year. Its message is that anyone can听find听meaningful work if you try. One idea that especially encouraged me was that you should engage with new ideas听rather than constantly fretting over making the correct decision. If you鈥檙e looking for a step-by-step book about the same subject, check out , by Jenny Blake.听(I鈥檇 definitely file The Art of Work under inspiring literature instead of practical self-help.)听
鈥擩enny Earnest, audience development director
I鈥檝e been spending my afternoon coffee breaks flipping through Sydney Zester鈥檚 , a joyful collection of poems and short stories that celebrate wild places, trail life, and endurance running. I am not a runner, but Zester鈥檚 wit and humor transcend the sport. She beautifully speaks to the ways that women draw strength from putting their muscles to work in the outdoors. One line I keep coming back to is from the poem 鈥淢t. St. Helens鈥: 鈥淢y favorite love / is made on the summit / in snow-capped stillness.鈥澨
鈥擜leta Burchyski, associate managing editor听
Hot tip: whenever assistant editor Abbie Barronian tells you to read something,听read it. This month I have been fully absorbed with her latest recommendation, , by Elena Ferrante, a four-book series following the lifelong friendship of two women born in Naples, Italy, in the 1940s. The writing is sparse and beautiful, but what听kept me reading way past my bedtime are Ferrante鈥檚 delicate portrayals of relationships between friends, family, spouses, lovers, and more. Each book is highly addicting in the best possible way.听
鈥擪elsey Lindsey, associate editor
I tore through Anna Wiener鈥檚 debut memoir , which recounts her unlikely experience as a literary twentysomething working in the tech world. (If you want a taste of what the book is like, was published in The New Yorker a few months ago.) In 2013, she left her job in book publishing for one at a startup, which eventually led to a series of other startup jobs. Wiener is听an outsider in Silicon Valley, and her observations of celebrated companies and the (mostly) men who run them are incisive. Throughout the book, she rarely听refers to companies and other major players by their proper names: Facebook is 鈥渢he social network that everyone hated,鈥澨齛nd Amazon is 鈥渢he online superstore.鈥澨齏iener describes the moment we鈥檙e all experiencing, as technology colonizes more and more of our lives, with a perspective and specificity I鈥檝e never read elsewhere. And while it may cause you existential angst, her writing is a pleasure to read.
鈥擬olly Mirhashem, digital deputy editor听
What We Listened To
听is a three-part series produced by The听New York Times鈥 podcast. It鈥檚 based on听Ellen Barry鈥檚 听about a long-lost, purportedly royal family in India, and it鈥檚听one of the most beautiful audio stories I鈥檝e听ever heard. Barry hosts the episodes, and she has a perfect, soothing voice鈥攑lus, the story is epic. Someone is definitely going to make a movie out of this.听
鈥擪atie Cruickshank, senior digital marketing manager
I鈥檝e been told this is the least on-brand thing about me, but I love cruising around to singer-songwritery pop albums. (You all just haven鈥檛 listened to enough.) For long drives this winter, I鈥檝e been cuing up Maggie Rogers鈥檚听; it听layers听deft song lyrics with samples from the natural world and catchy beats.听
鈥擷ian Chiang-Waren, associate editor
What We Watched and Otherwise Experienced
I hate to admit it, but I鈥檝e been deeply absorbed in Gweneth Paltrow鈥檚 on Netflix. As someone who鈥檚 read on the supposed therapeutic uses of psilocybin, the first episode about a guided mushroom trip in Jamaica was especially engrossing.听
鈥擡mily Reed, video producer
I鈥檝e been a John Cusack stan since my tweens. My love was rekindled when I rediscovered the best apr猫s-ski movie of all time (fight me): the cult dark-comedy gem . Post鈥Sixteen Candles but pre鈥Say Anything, J.C. stars as the heartbroken Lane Meyer, a teenager set on killing himself after his girlfriend leaves him for the ski-team captain. The biggest draw here isn鈥檛 the plot, or even the over-the-top ski scenes, it鈥檚 the drug-inspired, peak-eighties听jokes. Plus, one character鈥檚 expert听advice will get you through any gripping run: 鈥淕o that way, really fast. If something gets in your way, turn.鈥澨
鈥擬aren Larsen, Buyer鈥檚 Guide deputy editor
I am, on average, a year late watching new films. But after noticing the buzz about the Netflix documentary , I binged-watched the six-episode series. It follows the cheerleading team at Navarro College, in Texas, as it听travels to a national competition in Florida. The documentarians听focused on the obstacles that cheerleaders must overcome in addition to competition (injuries, gender bias, broken family structures) with visual finesse. The film makes a strong case for the rigors of this discipline鈥攊t might be in the Olympics in 2028鈥攁nd听is a perfect gateway to get to know and fall in love with a sport听that has been on the sidelines for a long time. I seldom cry, but when the Navarro team executed an impeccable pyramid on the听tournament circuit鈥檚听biggest stage, I was on the verge of tears.
鈥擶ufei Yu, editorial fellow
I went to a foraged dinner in northern New Mexico called . It鈥檚 run by chef Jonny Ortiz and his partner, Afton Love. Ortiz, who is 29, grows, forages, or hunts for every ingredient possible in the meal, from river mint and mountain nettle to wild elk and local trout. He serves things like Anasazi beans cooked in a micaceous clay pot with winter squash and Chimayo red chile, or raw wild elk with cactus fruit. One dessert he served the night I was there was a delicate dark-chocolate shell filled with apple cider that explodes with flavor once in your mouth鈥攐ur table sat in awe afterward. Ortiz serves local wines and mezcals with the meal听and makes the ceramics you eat off of, too. Shed hosts about ten听guests at a time, usually only on weekends (tickets sell out super fast for each dinner). We dined in an old barnlike space听and could see Ortiz and Love cooking and preparing the food. It was like watching and experiencing food art.听
鈥擬ary Turner, deputy editor