Slate critics and columnists often recommend all sorts of useful and fascinating stuff: books, documentaries, albums, television shows, new gadgets, and the like. Sometimes these endorsements appear in obvious spots (like our movie reviews), but just as often they come in unexpected places, like a “Dear Prudence” or “Fighting Words” column. So at the start of every month, we’ll be publishing a handy roundup of all the things we like, since we figure you’d like some of these things, too. Take a look at our latest favorites, and remember you can purchase SlateT-shirts, mugs, and other merchandise at the Slatestore.
February 2011
Books
Emma Donoghue’s Room
(Recommended by Emily Bazelon, Hanna Rosin, and Margaret Talbot in “The Audio Book Club on Room“)
Timothy Snyder’s Bloodlands
(Recommended by Ron Rosenbaum in “Stalin’s Cannibals“)
T.C. Boyle’s When the Killing’s Done
(Recommended by Wendy Smith in “Red in Tooth and Claw“)
Evgeny Morozov’s Net Delusion
(Recommended by Torie Bosch in “Tangled Web“)
Thomas Mann’s “Herr und Hund” (“A Man and His Dog”)
(Recommended by John Swansburg in “The Culture Gabfest, ‘Church of High Modernism and Puppies’ Edition“)
Joan Didion’s Political Fictions
(Recommended by Stephen Metcalf in “The Culture Gabfest, ‘Church of High Modernism and Puppies’ Edition“)
Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts’ Harlem Is Nowhere
(Recommended by Laura Moser in “DoubleX Book of the Week: Harlem Is Nowhere“)
The fairy tale anthology My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me
(Recommended by Katy Waldman in “DoubleX Book of the Week: My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me“)
Annie Proulx’s Bird Cloud
(Recommended by Julia Felsenthal in “DoubleX Book of the Week: Bird Cloud“)
Barbara Babcock’s Woman Lawyer
(Recommended by Dahlia Lithwick in “DoubleX Book of the Week: Woman Lawyer“)
Music
James Blake’s James Blake
(Recommended by Jonah Weiner in “Hearing Voices“)
Grant Green’s Idle Moments
(Recommended by Stephen Metcalf in “The Culture Gabfest, ‘My Eyeballs Feel Like Boiled Eggs’ Edition“)
Leonard Cohen’s “Tonight Will Be Fine”
(Recommended by Stephen Metcalf in “The Culture Gabfest, ‘Tear Down This Pay Wall’ Edition“)
Mark Morrison’s “Return of the Mack”
(Recommended by Julia Turner in “The Culture Gabfest, ‘Reality is Statham’ Edition“)
Movies
James L. Brooks’ Broadcast News
(Recommended by Dan Kois in “We Need More Women Like Jane Craig“)
Miguel Arteta’s Cedar Rapids
(Recommended by Julia Turner in “The Culture Gabfest, ‘My Eyeballs Feel Like Boiled Eggs’ Edition“)
Lisa Cholodenko’s The Kids Are All Right
(Recommended by Dana Stevens in “Let’s Talk Oscars“)
Jason Statham in The Mechanic
(Recommended by Troy Patterson, Dana Stevens, and Julia Turner in “The Culture Gabfest, ‘Reality is Statham’ Edition“)
Tanya Hamilton’s Night Catches Us
(Recommended by Elbert Ventura in “Night Catches Us“)
Ernst Lubitsch’s The Shop Around the Corner
(Recommended by Julia Turner in “The Culture Gabfest, ‘Church of High Modernism and Puppies’ Edition“)
Ridley Scott’s Thelma and Louise
(Recommended by Dana Stevens in “Thelma and Louise“)
The Criterion Collection on Hulu
(Recommendations by Slate staffers in “Hulu and Criterion Team Up to Send You to Film School“)
Television
Mr. Sunshine
(Recommended by Troy Patterson in “Mr. Sunshine“)
Ebert Presents at the Movies
(Recommended by Troy Patterson in “Return of the Thumb“)
Other
Christian Marclay’s 24-hour cinematic timepiece The Clock
(Recommended by Dana Stevens in “The Culture Gabfest, ‘My Eyeballs Feel Like Boiled Eggs’ Edition“)
Southern California’s classic hip-hop station 93.5 KDAY
(Recommended by Julia Turner in “The Culture Gabfest, ‘Reality is Statham’ Edition“)
