5 from Fitch: July 2023
You know those friends you have who always offer great recommendations for books to read, movies to see and places to go? That’s us! Every month, our intrepid writers will share five recommendations based on their current favorite things. Have you read a riveting book lately? Seen a movie or show that deeply affected you? Eaten a surprising hors d’oeuvre? Indulged in unexpected nostalgia? Please drop us a line in the comments!
Jay Stowe
🥤 Drinking: Frozen orange juice.
What is it?
It’s juice concentrate. In the can. Purchased at the grocery store.
Why I love it.
I like the totally retro process of making it: peel the plastic strip off one end of the can, pop off the metal top and let slip the lump of frozen concentrate into a glass pitcher. Add three cans of water and stir. It’s packed with vitamin C and tastes good — fresher and with more vim than the stuff that comes from cartons or plastic jugs. Unfortunately, the supply keeps dwindling at the grocery store, undoubtedly because most people find it inconvenient. If they marketed it as “artisanal,” it’d probably take off again.
Kristin Kloberdanz
📚 Reading: “Burn It Down: Power, Complicity, and a Call for Change in Hollywood” by Maureen Ryan
What is it?
A hot, new summer read that exposes the seedy side of show business — particularly poor behavior on the sets of some of your favorite shows (“Lost,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Saturday Night Live”).
Why I love it.
This page-turner transcends the gossip to explore the root causes of rampant bullying and abuse in Hollywood and what needs to be done for the culture to course correct. It’s fascinating!
Mary L. Dudy
📺 Watching: “Somebody Somewhere” (HBO Max)
What is it?
A two-season (it was renewed for a third season in June) series created by Hannah Bos and Paul Thureen, starring Bridget Everett as a middle-aged woman who returns to her small hometown in Kansas to care for, and then mourn, her sister.
Why I love it.
The pleasure of this “dramedy” lies in its fascination with ordinary life. We see the magic in the sometimes beautiful, often goofy mystery of human connection. Every episode left me marveling over how extraordinary everyday existence is.
Dorothy Pomerantz
📚 Reading: “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” by Gabrielle Zevin
What is it?
This book tells the story of Sam and Sadie, lifelong friends, brilliant students, flawed humans, as they build video games over 30 years.
Why I love it.
I read this entire book in two days, which is rare for me. It’s that good. It’s just the kind of book I adore — a story about creative people building worlds and turning their love and pain into magical art. I’m ready to go hunting for the lost secret highways of Los Angeles.
Stephane Fitch
📚 Reading: “The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder” by David Grann
What is it?
An account of the ill-fated 1742 voyage of British man-of-war The Wager, written by a nonfiction master, David Grann.
Why I love it.
It’s enchanting and ghastly. It opens with a spoiler: The crew of The Wager had been reported lost at sea when they washed ashore in makeshift escape boats in South America, barely clinging to their lives. Grann then takes us back to the beginning so that we can watch the tragedy unfold. Along the way, he explains what it felt like to serve aboard a British man-of-war in the late 1700s.