Like me, you no doubt have friends who are “first movers” on everything from what they read to where they go. They are not trendy, but rather smart, discerning people who are informed, confident, grounded, and often in front of the pack in recognizing a truly good thing. This is a periodic column where I’ll occasionally round up recommendations from my “first-mover friends” and share them with you.
For the first one, I asked them to share what they’re reading and listening to this Summer.
Reading & Listening:
Biography/History
We Don’t Know Ourselves. A Personal History of Modern Ireland By Fontana O’Toole
“A wildly ambitious and entertaining account of sweeping change in modern Ireland.” (Thanks Jeff)
The Secret Heart By Suleika Dawson
“I got my hands on this just-released memoir about [British spy novelist] John le Carre written by the mistress he kept secret for over 40 years. Le Carre and his personal world show up in many forms in his thrillers and I love a good back-story.” (Thanks Michele)
Lords of Finance: The Bankers Who Broke the World By Liaquat Ahamed
“This is a Pulitzer Prize winning story about the macroeconomic decisions (and personalities) of the dominant Central Bankers [in the US, England, France and Germany] leading into the Great Depression. Had been on my “must-read” list forever, but boy is it timely.” (Thanks Jim)
Midlife: A Philosophical Guide By Kieran Setiya
“I need to step back from the blocking and tackling efforts at managing midlife (how to organize my free time with most of my kids off to college, better eating, more exercise), step back and gain some perspective to make sure I am one of the ones who actually appreciates that my present and future are the prime of my life. This was written by a philosophy professor from MIT and its short and entertaining.” (Thanks Tom)
Fiction
The Cartographers By Pen Shepherd
“Brilliant good fun! A mystery and thriller for nerds, and a bit of a romance drama. It gets Harry Potterish on the back stretch but the writing is lovely.” (Thanks Tomas)
Nonfiction Listen
The WSJ podcast miniseries Hack Me If You Can “This story about the guy who ran one of the best Russian hacking rings is fascinating, and I’m not (as you know) a techie. It’s a sizzling cat-and-mouse game between the main character (the hacker) and a tenacious US Agent and there’s betrayal, a winning all-female Counterstrike team [an e-sport league game], a look at how extradition laws impact enforcement and (some) redemption.” (Thanks Samantha)
Staying Informed.
Tuning into/Subscribing to The Bulwark (from its website: a news network launched in 2018 dedicated to providing political analysis and reporting free from the constraints of partisan loyalties or tribal prejudices. The Bulwark is owned by Center Enterprises, Inc.) . “I’m intensely interested in how we are going to find common ground and the emergence of a moderate, centrist base that will propose solutions. The Bulwark has become “must-reading” for me for weighing arguments on important issues. And the writers have a sense of humor, too, which is greatly appreciated. It was in a recent issue that I learned about the new Moderate Party in NJ that is proposing “fusion voting” — where multiple parties can nominate the same candidate, who would then (because of their presumably common sense, centrist position on an issue(s)) appear as a candidate on multiple party platforms. We need ways forward. I don’t know if that is the answer, but I like that people are proposing ways forward out of this extreme dead-locked partisan country and that The Bulwark is reporting on it.”
I’ll be trying these alongside you, CRUSH Readers. I’d love to hear what you think at Dish@PrimeCrush.com.
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