Each week (give or take one or two here and there) I share three things I like – It could be a book, a movie, a podcast, an album, a photo, an article, a restaurant, a food item, a beverage, or anything else I simply enjoy and think you might too. You can find a whole pile of things, especially books, I like and recommend HERE.
1. Fredrik Backman
The first Fredrick Backman book I read was Beartown. If you asked me what it was about I would something like “Well, it’s a book about a hockey team, but it’s not a sports book. It’s about family and all the pressures and misunderstandings that pull one apart, but it’s pro-family. And it’s about friendship and betrayal and loyalty and coming of age. And it’s a mystery.” Then I read A Man Called Ove, and it is about an old cranky man who thinks he has run out reasons to live but is persuaded otherwise in charming an unexpected ways by charming and unexpected people. And that, friends, is why I love the writing of Fredrik Backman. Every single one of his books is about whatever his characters love and hate whether that be hockey or family or place or legacy or shame or secrets or whatever. He is a brilliant writer because he is a brilliant seer; he sees humanity in layers and at levels that almost no other novelist captures. Backman’s novels are brilliant. His reflections on parenting are brilliant. You should read him.
2. The Chick fil A Spicy Chicken Sandwich
There seems to be a growing contingent of people who feel a sort of smug superiority about insulting Chick fil A. “It’s really not that good.” “It’s so over rated.” “There are other better chicken sandwiches.” I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Any time something gains massive popularity for good reason a segment of populations feels obliged to posture against it (see also: Taylor Swift or The Super Bowl). But here’s the thing. Chick fil A is that good. Consistently. Always. And with great service. And yes, the great service does make the food more enjoyable. Are there better spicy chicken sandwiches elsewhere? Sure, but not ubiquitously, consistently, affordably. When you roll into a Chick fil A and order the number 4 value meal you know exactly what you are going to get, every time, in timely fashion. It is never over or under cooked. The spice level is always precisely the same. The bun is not high quality, but it is lightly toasted and delicious. And you are happy. And isn’t that the point, after all?
3. Southeastern by Jason Isbell
It’s rare to find an album without a bad song on it, and this is one. Not only that, half the songs on Southeastern are better than anything most successful songwriters have ever produced. Isbell released it eleven years ago, and I love it as much or more today as ever. It is a story-telling album, a heartfelt album, an album with layers. It is sad without being whiny and hopeful without being chipper. It has soul. Southeastern takes dozens of listens to catch all the lines and images and evocations, and by the time you have found them you’re ready to rediscover them. My favorite song is Traveling Alone, but if you picked any number of other songs on it you’d be right too.
