READ: The Things They Carried
Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried is one of the most breathtaking and remarkable novels I’ve ever read — though to call it a “novel” is really a misnomer. O’Brien was drafted to serve in Vietnam, and The Things They Carried is a fictionalized chronicle of that experience — a set of interconnected short stories about war, camaraderie, and loss. Anchored by two of the greatest pieces of short fiction I’ve ever read (the titular chapter “The Things They Carried” as well as the chapter “How to Tell a True War Story”), this is a book that will take your breath away again and again and again.
BINGE: The Crown
The fourth season of The Crown premiered this week, and now is a great time to dive headfirst into this marvelously written, gorgeously cinematic show. Yes, The Crown is a costume drama, but it is so much more than that — Peter Morgan imbues these real-life characters with an incredible level of psychological depth, and reveals how the the chess-game of British monarchy can both lift up and bring down a nation. This is a show so full of breathtaking performances that it’s impossible to list them all, from Claire Foy and Olivia Coleman as Queen Elizabeth, to John Lithgow as Winston Churchill, to Gillian Anderson as Margaret Thatcher. Streams free on Netflix.
LISTEN: The Stage Names by Okkervil River
We’ve still got a few weeks left of fall — and Okkervil River’s The Stage Names is the perfect record for these waning weeks. Full of folk-adjacent anthems that feel meaty enough to fill a stadium and anchored at the end by one of the best Beach Boys covers ever, this is a great album to listen to after an afternoon of hot cider, raking leaves, and making pie.