5 from Fitch: March 2024
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 new take on an old classic? Check out any interesting art installations? Please drop us a line in the comments!
Amy Kover
📺 Watching: “Poker Face”
What is it?
A TV series on streamer Peacock with Natasha Lyonne who plays Charlie Cale, a casino worker who’s able to spot lies with uncanny ease. The series follows her as she runs from a casino boss and solves murders along the way.
Why I love it.
“Poker Face” is as edgy as any other streaming show, but it comes with the old-world charm of network TV. Like the “Law & Order” franchise, each episode sticks to a formula that is both comforting and surprising. And then there’s Lyonne, who is full of insights and advice delivered with vaudevillian style and exaggerated facial expressions. She never takes herself too seriously, but I recommend that you do. The woman is a genius!
Liz Wishaw
🧩 Doing: (Old school) puzzles
What is it?
A tactile opportunity to get off screens and use a different part of my brain. Bonus, I’ve been searching local thrift shops for unopened/lightly used puzzles — creating a closed loop of not buying new.
Why I love it.
I get to return to a favorite childhood pastime — there is something soothing at night about decompressing and figuring out patterns and colors. And my multitasking brain loves the challenge while I get to indulge my me-time with a new twist — listening to audiobooks or music that I’ve been hoarding on my phone. (I recently finished “Demon Copperhead” thanks to this great rec!, “The Things She’s Seen” and “Against the Loveless World”). Once complete, I’ve been giving them away to family/friends or the local little free library boxes for someone else to work on.
Kristin Kloberdanz
📚 Reading: “Come and Get It” by Kiley Reid
What is it?
A riveting new novel by the author of “Such a Fun Age.”
Why I love it.
Reid takes her readers into the dank dorm rooms of the University of Arkansas, where a senior resident assistant is fumbling through life, despite her best intentions. Reid has an exemplary knack for writing realistic dialogue — and she nails the banalities and headiness of college banter here. Anyone who has ever attended college and lived in a residence hall, with all its petty squabbles, steamy affairs and lonely corners, will relish this book.
Becky Oliver DiGenova
📺 Watching: “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” Season 12
What is it?
Max’s antihero sitcom about almost nothing, from creator and star Larry David (who co-created and executive produced “Seinfeld”), is releasing its final season weekly on Sundays. David is exceptional at being — or playing (or is it being?) — a terrible person, so it’s no surprise that he makes a lot of enemies as he sashays through life. To be perfectly clear, I can barely tolerate him or this show. But if you’re familiar at all with David’s character, you understand that’s high praise.
Why I love it.
“Curb”’s absurd encounters and supporting roles are teeming with characters the viewer can befriend, united in shared disdain for a man who brings out the worst in everyone. Still, even David’s enemies can’t manage to sever ties, as evidenced by the confounding reappearance of actor Saverio Guerra — not as “Mocha Joe,” whom Larry once sought to put out of business over grievances with wobbly tables and unnaturally moist scones, but as an apparently (for now) unrelated Georgia attorney. The lawyer’s uncanny resemblance to the ghost of cafés past leaves Larry scratching his head — and leaves audiences reveling in the absurdity of it all.
Jeremy Spencer
🎵 Listening: “Rooting for Love,” by Laetitia Sadier
What is it?
The new solo album from Stereolab’s Laetitia Sadier
Why I love it.
One of my favorite musical Trojan horses — a singer-songwriter forever serving up delicious post-rock pleasure pop with aggressive progressive messages — returns sans ensemble. Sadier again proves herself the heart and soul of Stereolab, further refining her cool darkness as she goes deep, wringing beauty out of our species’ too often sad state of affairs. Known for a kaleidoscopic style that dovetails diverse influences, Sadier powers down but does not disappoint here in her quietest record, full of masterfully subtle dramas built with typically poetic utterances. As she sings with finality in the last line of the finale, “Cloud 6,” “the universe puts her hand on your shoulder, whispers in your ear, ‘Dishonor is keeping you from the gifts I’ve given you. I’m not fucking around. You’re halfway dead.’”