We call our group an "Articles Club."
It's a new and more manageable take on the Book Club (as I mentioned in a previous post at MediaVillage). We share our article picks via Google Docs a week before our meeting, offering ample time to read and gather our thoughts. Then, after work one night, we gather at the apartment of our lovely hosts (Chelsea and Faith) and venture to the rooftop terrace of their building (view pictured above) for pizza, drinks and discussion.
Truth be told, the idea was not our own. Credit is due to lifestyle blogger Joanna Goddard, who wrote about her own Articles Club here. Just as Goddard shared an account of her meeting, I’ve put together below a list of the articles shared at July’s meeting and our reasons for recommending each one of them.
My pick: Is American Literature Too Dark for TV?
By Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic
Why did you pick this article?
A friend and fellow Anglophile had recommended it to me. In just a few paragraphs, writer Spencer Kornhaber explores a topic that could yield several college theses -- is Brit lit historically more media friendly? American literature has not fared as well in its film and television adaptations (see "Masterpiece Theater," the main example in Kornhaber’s piece). I thought this was an excellent foundation for a lively discussion on two of my most favorite topics, media and literature.
Chelsea’s pick: Why Women Apologize and Should Stop
By Sloane Crolsey, The New York Times
Why did you pick this article?
“It touches on something that I'm trying to be cognizant of every day: How much and when I'm apologizing for things. The article provides a thoughtful, witty take on how women often apologize too often for things that aren't their fault, or that don't even merit an apology in the first place. I thought it might resonate with the Articles Club members because we're all young professionals looking to find our places at work, and keeping tabs on when we apologize for things might be a good habit to establish early in our careers.”
Faith’s pick: Can We Just, Like, Get Over the Way Women Talk?
By Ann Friedman, The Cut – New York Magazine
Why did you pick this article?
“Since my Dad started correcting my speech in 5th grade, I've been working (and struggling) to remove ‘like’ and ‘sorry’ from my vocabulary. The article I chose suggests apologizing frequently and using certain words aren’t bad, but rather a more natural way of speaking for women. I thought this article provided an unusual perspective on they way women speak that would not only be fun to discuss, but offer a great counter argument to Chelsea’s article.”
Lyndsay’s pick: Releasing Drug Offenders Won’t End Mass Incarceration
By Oliver Roeder, FiveThirtyEight
Why did you pick this article?
“It felt very topical given the recent news regarding President Obama and prison sentences, as well as relevant in terms of entertainment with the release of 'Orange is the New Black' Season 3. Prisons and prison reform aren't the most exciting of topics at a glance, but I found the information jarring. Most interesting to me was the country comparison, as it's very easy to assume that 'even if it's bad here, it's worse somewhere else,' which was clearly disproven by these numbers. It seemed like an article that could spark debate but also discussion around what separates the U.S. as a country now that these statistics have gotten so bad.”
Meg’s pick: Less is More
Interview with Joshua Fields Milburn, Radio New Zealand
Why did you pick this article?
“I threw a curveball and chose a radio interview with Joshua Fields Millburn, co-author of The Minimalists. The interview explores the idea of ‘less is more’ and lends itself to a discussion about owning a few meaningful items versus a million meaningless ones. In New York, fashion can cause an existential closet crisis. It took me two years to realize I wasn’t wearing half of the clothes I owned. This interview was a great way to start a conversation about how we can apply minimalism to fashion, furniture and relationships.”
Want Articles Club in real time? Connect with the group on social.
Chelsea Orcutt is on Twitter @ChelseaOrcutt
Faith Zaki is on Twitter and Instagram @faithzaki
Lyndsay Katz is on Instagram @lk8391
Megan Miller is on Instagram @meganelizabethmill
The opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillage.com management or associated bloggers.
