RAPP STRATEGIES RUNDOWN – March 2019

What we’re reading, listening to and thinking about this month.

Todd R.: Billions – a show about two middle class families struggling with the problems of daily life in 2019 – is back on Showtime. I just started Preet Bharara's book Doing Justice about a young and struggling artist trying to break through. I saw First Man, which was fine but not great. It made me want to see the Apollo 11 documentary that was just released. I only got 10 of 16 right in my NCAA pool, too.

Todd S.: This month, my wife and I decided we could use a good laugh, so we saw comedian Jim Gaffigan perform at the State Theatre in downtown Minneapolis. There were too many funny lines to pick a favorite, but his story about a close encounter with a bear was a classic. And, Gaffigan said, it was mostly true – “except that there was no bear,” he whispered.

Rich: Everyone else is reading about Hamilton, but I’m reading a biography of John Adams by David McCullough. I’ve always been fascinated with Adams – he was never as prominent as other leaders like Washington, but played an important role in the history of our country. I’m also watching NCAA basketball and hoping North Carolina comes out on top.

Sarah: My spring fever has hit in full force and I’ve been buying house plants left and right. I’ve truly got the millennial plant fever, but I like to think I come by it honestly as my mom and grandmother have green thumbs. Jenna Marbles dropped a half-hour long houseplant tour and that led to a click-hole of houseplant videos – Betsy Begonia, Kaylee Ellen, Summer Rayne Oakes and many others. I’m also working on planning and planting a veggie garden with my best friend and have been watching a lot of One Yard Revolution to get beginner tips. To top off the plant-obsessed month I’ve been listening to Bloom and Grow Radio with Maria Failla. Her episode with Chris Stach on plant Latin was super informative and something ever plant-lover should listen to.

Anna: I returned to one of my favorite authors, Susan Meissner, and enjoyed her beautifully written novel As Bright As Heaven, which gives a poignant glimpse of the 1918 Spanish Flu epidemic through the eyes of a mortician’s three daughters. I also read The Round House by Minnesota’s own Louise Erdrich about a boy coming of age on a Native American reservation and his quest to avenge a brutal attack on his mother – gritty, arresting and devastating. I also listened to The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Philipp Sendker, where I could escape from the unending winter to a love story in the mountains of Burma.

Andrea: Latino USA is one of my favorite podcasts to listen to when I’m cleaning or cooking. This month I listened to “You Are Cordially Invited to Hailey’s Quinceañera,” an episode that walks through the cultural and social impact of having a Quinceañera, what it means to take the next step in womanhood and what it takes to have “a really fun party.” It reminded me of my Quinceañera, and how everyone I love pitched in to make my Quince the most extravagant birthday I’ve ever had.