5 From Fitch: March 2025
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!
Caroline Morris
🎵 Listening to: “The Pit” by Arcy Drive
What is it?
The debut album from young, up-and-coming indie rock band Arcy Drive.
Why I love it.
I’d been a casual fan of Arcy Drive since 2022, thanks to their live album “Attic Sessions.” I found out last minute that they were playing near me in Dublin to kick off their tour for “The Pit,” which I’d yet to listen to. Not only was the band incredibly kind and willing to chat with fans after the gig, they also rocked hard. I immediately became obsessed with the record. The album showcases a deep bench of talent, from intense rock songs with groovy baselines like “Under the Rug” to heartwrenching ballads like “Creatures of the Night” to pure fun with “Inchin’ Up” and “Louie.” The album is an evocative crystallization of navigating youth, both the beautiful and communal or the confusing and lonely.
Jeremy K. Spencer
🍽️ Eating: Great Gran’s Irish Soda Bread
What is it?
Homemade quick bread — slightly tangy and perfectly moist with a nice crunch
Why I love it.
Being a quarter Irish, I particularly relish a ceremonial Glencairn of Jameson and a perfect draft pour of Guinness on Saint Patrick’s Day, but I also always get a hankering for my great grandmother’s Irish soda bread, best consumed fresh out of the oven with a slab of Kerrygold butter and some Barry’s Irish breakfast tea with milk and honey. Here’s how to make it. Best o’ luck!
Comhábhair:
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp fine sea salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
Treoracha:
Set oven to 425°F and toss in a Dutch oven — ideally, though you can also use a cast-iron skillet or baking pan, with diminishing crust-crunchiness results. Whisk your flour, baking soda and salt together in a big bowl, then slowly stir in well-shaken, room-temperature buttermilk, mixing until you’ve got a nice ball of dough. (Don’t overwork the dough or you’ll make it tough.) Dump that onto some lightly floured parchment paper and knead/fold it a couple times before patting it into a round about an inch and a half thick. Plop your dough, with parchment, into your preheated Dutch oven, then take a knife and score it crosswise about an inch deep. Bake 30 minutes or so, removing the lid the last 10 minutes to get a nice golden crust, then wrap your loaf in a tea towel and let rest for half an hour before indulging.
Maggie Sieger
📺 Watching: “Survivor” (Streaming on Paramount+)
What is it?
The OG reality show. Next year will be its 50th season, but each one is still unique.
Why I love it.
It’s a fun, ridiculous, masterfully edited show that’s perfect to watch with family or friends of all ages. There’s always lots of talking back to the screen and pausing the show to discuss what the players are doing wrong and what they should do instead. Jeff Probst is the probably the best reality host of all time — which makes sense because he created the role.
Sophie Hares
✈️ Traveling: Las Fallas Festival in Spain
What is it?
A raucous 19-day festival in Valencia, Spain, involving tons of fireworks, parties and parades. It culminates on the night of March 19 when hundreds of towering (and highly flammable) fallas sculptures are torched on street corners across the heaving city to mark the start of spring.
Why I love it.
It’s not for the fainthearted. The endless barrage of fireworks and kids throwing crackers frays your nerves, but Fallas is a life-affirming giant street party. The daily afternoon mascleta, an ear-splitting explosion of firecrackers, is so intense it shakes your bones. The cartoonish fallas statues are often satirical works of art that can reach almost 100 feet. The crescendo builds when hundreds of “demons” take to the street spraying hoses of fireworks. Then firefighters douse surrounding buildings before each statue is serenaded by yet more firecrackers and goes up in a ferocious blaze. Then life returns to normal, until next year.
Amy Kover
📚 Reading: “James” by Percival Everett
What is it?
A reimagining of “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” told from the perspective of Jim, an escaped slave who is Huck’s friend and travel companion.
Why I love it.
Everett’s ability to turn the classic book inside out and expose the chilling reality of being a slave on the run is stunning. Better yet, I am reading Ron Chernow’s biography of Mark Twain now and am appreciating how Everett used some of Twain’s life experiences and writing hacks — namely, memorizing every nook of the Mississippi River — to make the book both a nod to Twain’s talent and a critique of his racial naivete.