Staff Picks: The Best of Books, Movies & TV

‘I recently started watching Season 3 of Scorpion, an American action TV series on AXN. Scorpion’s team, led by computer whiz kid Walter O’Brien, is made up of super geeks who use more brains than brawn to tackle complex problems being faced by the world today. Believe you me, this is one Scorpion that does not sting! Go watch it!’ — Bidisha Srivastava, senior copy editor and backlist manager

‘In a world dominated by tomes of data, Blink by Malcolm Gladwell has been consistently holding its own. Published nearly a decade ago, it is still a fascinating take on the split-second decisions that we take and how we can train it to be more useful than just clichéd love-at-first-sight judgements. The author calls this process “thin-slicing” and he explores both the good and the bad with examples ranging from why the blind-taste tests of Coke vs Pepsi were a bad idea to military strategy games held prior to the Middle-East invasion that bore potent signs of the futility of the invasion.’ — Aritra Ganguly, assistant manager, product

‘Leonard Cohen is eighty-two this year and his just-released album, You Want It Darker is indeed dark, though from that darkness, a blaze of light jostles to emerge. Sparse poetry and choir-like arrangements makes this album heavier with each listen. “I’m angry and I’m tired all the time/I wish there was a treaty, I wish there was a treaty/Between your love and mine” our man growls. The lover, the leaver, the non-believer, the silent monk: all of Cohen is here, though it is difficult to tell one from another. It’ll be end of December soon, give this one a listen.’ — Sohini Basak, editorial assistant

‘I recently got a chance to watch American Crime Story: The People vs O.J. Simpson and can honestly say I was bowled over. I had read up about OJ’s murder trial a few years ago and was very fascinated by it. So getting a chance to watch a show that was this dedicated to including every detail of the real trial was immensely satisfying. It’s a TV series I’ve been recommending to anyone I meet. Can’t wait for the next season!’ — Rea Mukherjee, copy editor

‘Last week I watched The Master, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. This is would be the third time I watched it. I love Anderson’s films for the way he weaves the story around mainly one person’s psyche. It’s touchingly personal, and at the end you feel like you have known someone, a rare feeling. You will find this trait in most of his films — There Will Be Blood, Magnolia and Punch Drunk Love. If not anything, give Paul a chance just for the way he made Adam Sandler act in Punch Drunk Love.’ — Joseph Antony, editorial assistant

(As told to Shreya Punj)