My current favorite books, shows, apps, and more

Hi friends,

I hope by now you’ve been able to shake the January off of you. Yuck.

I thought I would share some of my current favorite things. I’m always on the hunt for a new good book to read or a show to watch, or an app to use, so don’t be shy about sharing your favorites in the comments!

And if you haven’t subscribed to this, please give it a try… maybe it will be one of your favorite newsletters 😎

Current favorites

Photo by Yusuf Shamsudeen on Unsplash

Books

In 2015, I started keeping track of the books I read on an annual basis. I like being able to reflect back on what I’ve read, and I always love a good book suggestion, so this is me paying that forward a bit.

Mediocre, by Ijeoma Oluo, and Caste, by Isabel Wilkerson, both knocked my socks off. I read the two of them in January within the span of 10 days. Couldn’t put them down.

FWIW, my favorite book of all time is The Lords of Discipline.

TV Shows

I’m late to the game with Schitt’s Creek. I tried to watch it last year but with everyone saying it was brilliant and then watching the first few episodes, I just didn’t get it. So I moved on to other things. A few months back my wife got into it and convinced me to give it another try. I’m in the middle of season 2, and so far it’s… fine. But she keeps telling me it continues to build, and we have similar taste in TV shows, so I’m going to stick with it :)

I thought my recent post where I shared something I like about Tom Brady would be the most controversial thing I wrote all year, but giving Schitts Creek anything but an A+ might top that.

Some of my favorite TV shows over the last six months have been Ted Lasso, Mythic Quest, and The Morning Show, all AppleTV+ shows. And for my nerdy friends, WandaVision and The Mandalorian are terrific (Disney+). Oh, and in 2020 I rewatched The West Wing and Lost, both terrific and worth another look if you’re searching for binge-worthy series.

I’ll throw this out there as well, check out Halt and Catch Fire (also on Netflix) if you haven’t seen it. I’m not sure how I missed this series when it originally came out.

Movies

Amend on Netflix is a must-watch. And all of Dave Chappelle’s specials on Netflix are terrific. He has a great way of dealing with current social issues with humility and, of course, hilarity. I was able to go see Dave Chappelle and Jon Stewart at a comedy show a few years back, and it remains the best standup show I’ve ever seen.

Judas and the Black Messiah on HBO Max was incredibly powerful.

And a few weeks back I showed my two oldest sons Remember the Titans. It was just as powerful as I remembered.

Apps

I’m loving Grammarly. I use it on my Macbook Pro and iPhone to make sure I’m using the correct grammar, yes, but it also makes really helpful suggestions. (Like, for instance, I really use the words ‘like’ and ‘really’ too often in my writing.) 🤦🏻‍♂️

Fantastical is the calendar app I’ve always wanted. Unlike Grammarly, which has a free version as well as a paid version, Fantastical is paid only (after a 14-day trial period). My favorite feature: it merges Google Calendar events with Apple Reminder tasks (my to-do app of choice) into a single calendar view. That feature alone makes it worth the cost for me.

NY Times Crossword Puzzle (The Daily Mini). I play this miniature version of the NY Times crossword every morning on my iPhone. If I’m lucky, I’ll finish it in under a minute. I wish I could say that happens a lot 🤪

Lastly, I’m a big fan of Calendly, but then again, based on their growth and recent valuation, who isn’t?! I use Calendly to book meetings and manage my calendar. If you feel like being inspired, check out their founder’s story on How I Built This.

Email Newsletters

I’m a fan of email newsletters. I’m picky about what I subscribe to - and I should take this time to thank YOU for subscribing to mine! - and I’m very protective of my inbox (I’m an inbox zero guy). And for that reason, I’ll only recommend two newsletters.

The Morning Brew is easily my favorite. It’s chock full of just enough information to bring me up to speed on what’s happening in the world, and the writing is witty in just the right ways. Case in point:

At around 4pm ET yesterday, NASA's most sophisticated rover yet, Perseverance, landed on Mars.

It has a friend waiting: NASA's Curiosity rover, which landed on Mars in 2012. Perseverance will have to explain GameStop, Clubhouse, and Matthew McConnaghey's career turnaround. 

Heather Cox Richardson provides a daily recap of what’s happening in politics, with an insightful, historical context for what’s happening. She does lean liberal (as do I), but I think she’s pretty fair in her assessment.

What are some of your favorites? Please share those with me, and by all means, give me 💩 about not loving Schitt’s Creek yet (I know you want to).

Have a great week!

Jeff

Recent podcasts

I produce a weekly podcast called, Begin the Begin. I hope you'll consider subscribing.

• Interview with Terence Lester, founder of Love Beyond Walls: Podcast + YouTube

• SpunMafia Episode #10: The Ins and Outs of the Acquisition Process (with Bruce Eatroff and Raghu Kakarala): Podcast + YouTube

• Medina Jett, CEO of Jett Speaks, shares her entrepreneurial journey to empower women and People of Color

• Talking entrepreneurship, doing good, and women in leadership with Helene Lollis (Pathbuilders)

• Jay Bailey on his journey to do good and his search for significance: Podcast + YouTube

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I'd love for you to check out either of my books: The 5-Day Turnaround + The Crisis Turnaround. They're a heck of a deal on Amazon right now ;)

Thanks for reading, and please let me know if there are particular topics you'd like me to write about. Of course, if there is someone you think might enjoy this email newsletter, feel free to forward it over to them ;)

And remember, always lead with purpose!