1.) The Lighthouse
There's been some controversy in the film world after Martin Scorsese said that Marvel movies are "not cinema." I think he's right. They're hella fun, but they're not cinema; they're comics in moving-picture form, with sound. Cinema is an experience that can be conveyed only via the medium of film. The Lighthouse is cinema. It's one of the best films I've seen in the last half-decade, at least. It features a stunning performance from Robert Pattinson (yes, the Twilight guy), alongside the performance of Willem Dafoe's career. I can't wait to watch it again.
2.) The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
Whitehead's new novel fucked me up good. It's even better than The Underground Railroad. I had the pleasure of meeting Whitehead about a year and a half ago, and he told us a bit about the research process for this historical novel, which was inspired by a true and terrible story.
3.) In Love with the World by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche
Mingyur Rinpoche is a meditation master and "darma prince" who, while not exactly living a life of luxury by Western standards, never wanted for anything. He realized that the privilege into which he was born was seriously impeding his ability to understand the nature of suffering and discomfort. So he left the monestary (one of three he, for lack of a better term, owns) and embarked on a three-year wandering retreat, telling no one where he was going, with just a few hundred dollars in his pocket. Early on, he nearly died from food poisoning. His memoir of the experience is the clearest and most beautiful introduction to Buddhist teachings I've ever read.
4.) Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire illustrated by Jim Kay
If you haven't been reading the illustrated editions of Harry Potter released over the last four years, you're missing out. I just devoured the latest in a few days. These are works of art.
5.) "Adam Driver, The Original Man" by Michale Schulman for the New Yorker
Fun profile. Adam Driver is an actor's actor, an exemplar of singular focus and dedication to one's mission—once one finally discovers what that mission is, that is. One of my favorite exchanges in the profile:
While discussing “Fight Club,” he asked what I thought of the movie. I said that I hadn’t seen it in years but wondered how it would play in an era when people are hyperaware of toxic masculinity.
“What do you mean, ‘toxic masculinity’?” he asked.
I suggested that male aggression is seen as less purifying now than it may have been portrayed as being in “Fight Club.” “I’d have to think about it,” Driver said. “I mean, I haven’t heard much about toxic masculinity.” He chuckled. “Maybe because I’m part of the problem!”
6. The Reluctant Apostate by Lloyd Evans
This books is a comprehensive explanation of the cult I grew up in, one I'm still surprised so few people understand the dangers of. Evans lays them out in a way that's informative, academic, personal, and entertaining.
7. Sing to It by Amy Hempel
Hempel is the greatest short-story writer alive, if not who's ever lived. Her new collection (which I just finished today) is full of heart-wrending gut punches. Allow me to share the eponymous first story in its entirety (not all the stories are this short, although many are):
At the end, he said, No metaphors! Nothing is like anything else. Except he said to me before he said that, Make your hands a hammock for me. So there was one.
He said, Not even the rain—he quoted the poet—not even the rain has such small hands. So there was another.
At the end, I wanted to comfort him. But what I said was, Sing to it. The Arab proverb: When danger approaches, sing to it.
Except I said to him before I said that, No metaphors! No one is like anyone else. And he said, Please.
So—at the end, I made my hands a hammock for him.
My arms the trees.
The best story in the collection, by the way, is "A Full-Service Shelter".
8. The Kindle Oasis
This is my first new Kindle in eight years. I did much of the above reading on it. The backlight glows orange if you want it to. It's the priciest Kindle available, and the Paperwhite is the better value, but if, like me, you don't plan on upgrading again for eight more years, it's worth it.
Bonus: I have new article, "Changing the Food Industry from the Inside Out," in the current issue of Paleo Magazine. It's print only, though, which is why I didn't include it in the list of links above. If you're keen to read it, you can usually find the magazine at Barnes & Nobel or Whole Foods, among other places.