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

Todd R.: I’m enjoying “City on a Hill” on Showtime with Kevin Bacon. I started Preet Bharara’s book Doing Justice a few months ago, and I really want to get back to it in August. I saw Bohemian Rhapsody now that it has hit some On Demand services, but I recommend watching the actual footage from Live Aid on YouTube. There is just no way of duplicating that.

Alyssa: After seeing The Avengers Endgame this spring, I was so happy to find out that Marvel didn’t leave us without a summer movie. Spiderman will never be as great as Iron Man, but it was a good summer flick nonetheless. Also, there are still seven thousand more Marvel movies in production so we’ve got that going for us. 

Todd S.: Took the family to Hayward, Wis., where we enjoyed our time fishing and boating at Clear Lake and Spider Lake. My news consumption went down to almost zero. That’s when it’s really a vacation.

Rich: I read a great book called Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari, which I highly recommend. I just started the sequel, Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow. We also celebrated our first engagement in the family, with my oldest daughter Katie becoming engaged to Nick. We’re looking forward to a wedding sometime next year. And surprise, surprise – I’ve been playing golf.

Sarah: This month I binged my way through “Big Little Lies” and it was everything everyone said it was. My record player has been getting a workout while I declutter and pack my apartment ahead of an upcoming move. Big Band records are the perfect playlist for an evening of Marie Kondoing – relaxing and not distracting. A few favorites: Artie Shaw, Duke Ellington and Count Basie.

Anna: I just finished The Thing About Jellyfish, a thought-provoking young adult novel by Ali Benjamin that deftly interlaces grief, growing up, and scientific discovery from the perspective of a precocious 12-year-old. Now I’m reading Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate, a book inspired by the true story of the Tennessee Children’s Home Society – an orphanage where poor children were kidnapped and sold to wealthy families in the early 1900’s.

Zach (our summer intern): I’m currently reading a novel published in 1960 called Rabbit, Run by John Updike, which was one of his first novels. I’ve also been reading a lot of poetry by Stephen Dunn, Billy Collins, and Charles Bukowski. My favorite podcast is easily “Armchair Expert” with Dax Shepard and Monica Padman, where they interview celebrities and various experts about the messiness of being human. This weekend, I’m going to the Hinterland Music Festival near Des Moines to see some of my favorite bands.