The world sometimes seems like a pretty dark place, doesn’t it? I find one thing that helps me get out of existential despair is to look at things through someone else’s eyes. That’s one reason why I love books and films so much—the chance to gain perspective and empathy by living someone else’s experience. With that in mind, here are five things I love that you might enjoy, too.
1) We watched The Breadwinner as a family recently. It’s fantastic. The animation is gorgeous and arresting, but the story will hit your heart. It’s about Parvana, an 11-year-old Afghani girl living in Kabul in 2001. After her father is unjustly arrested, Parvana disguises herself as a boy so she can work to support her family. Her story is interwoven with a fable she tells her baby brother about a boy who must conquer the evil Elephant King. As with all great films, this one has led to rich family discussions.
2) I read Faïza Guène’s Kiffe Kiffe Tomorrow when I was in graduate school, and the story has stayed with me. Doria, a 15-year-old Muslim girl living in a Parisian housing project, is frustrated and bitter about her life. Her raw, sarcastic observations about everything around her are by turns hilarious and tragic—and always relatable. Guène has said in interviews that the novel is largely autobiographical, and that definitely feels true. Plus, it’s a whole other side of Paris that you’ve likely never seen before. My next goal is to read it in French. Pourquoi pas?
3) Here are my requirements for a good family game. a) You must be able to carry on a conversation while playing. b) The rules need to be simple so the game is easy to teach and learn, even for kids. c) It should be versatile enough that it can successfully scale for 2-8 players. d) It shouldn’t take forever, but be fun enough to play for repeated rounds if desired. e) It should balance strategy and luck evenly.
This week, we found a game that meets these exacting standards: Skyjo, created by a mysterious young game developer named Magilano. The game comes with 150 colorful cards, a scorepad (nice, but not necessary), and a slim volume that contains game rules in English, German, Italian, French, Spanish, Dutch, Japanese, Hindi, Chinese, and Russian. Everyone picked it up quickly, and we had a fabulous time the other night. I look forward to more matches, and I look forward to more games from Magilano.
4) We’re picky about cheese at our house—maybe even snobby. And we’re prejudiced: any US-produced cheese is going to have to work hard to impress us. I’ve tried a lot of artisanal cheeses in an effort to support small businesses, but my experiment doesn’t always lead to repeat purchases. Vermont’s Jasper Hill Farm is a notable exception.
We’ve been pleased with several of their offerings, but the one that knocks our socks off is Harbison. It’s wrapped in birch bark; you can either peel that off (when the cheese is young) or simply spoon the gooey deliciousness from the middle (when the cheese is mature). Now my mouth is watering. This beauty does not last long at our house. Go to Jasper Hill’s website for a local purveyor or to order directly from them.
5) I recently read about a study that discovered connections between music and empathy. I’ve definitely felt strong social connections as I’ve experienced music of all different kinds. Maybe that’s why my taste is so eclectic? I don’t know.
I do know this: I greatly dislike the heat and relentless sunshine of Southern California. From November through April, the climate here is lovely, but from May through Halloween, I’m in constant fight-or-flight mode weather-wise.
I’ll tell you about a band that carried me through the particularly nasty summer of 2018. Friends had invited us to a sundown showing of The Princess Bride on a downtown LA rooftop. Several food vendors were on the scene and a live band was playing as a warm-up for the movie. I instantly fell in love with their music and bought a bunch of it once I got home.
Freedom Fry has many great songs (and a very cute meet cute), but my favorite remains the bubbly single they released that same summer: “Classic.” My kids can testify I had it and the rest of the album on repeat for months, and I credit the French-American duo for dramatically improving my life throughout those long, hot days.