Get Hooked: This Week's Staff Picks and Must-Sees!

It’s Friday I’m in love (with this week’s staff picks)! We’re back with another roundup of what we find interesting this week! This time we’ve got a TV show, a book, a movie (making a repeat appearance), and some tech! Let us know what you think in the comments!

A group of people dressed in formal attire, some covered in glitter and silver, standing in a festive setting decorated with balloons and elegant table arrangements.

Malcom in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair

Sure, we don’t really NEED all of these reboots of sitcoms from our younger days. But lots of great things aren’t really necessary. Malcolm in the Middle was easily one of my favorites back when it first aired, with its winning blend of oddball comedy, realistic struggles, and a dash of well-earned sentimentality. The reboot reunites almost the entire cast and the original creator, and the early response has been positive, with Matt Roush of TV Insider calling it “a raucous hoot of a four-episode reunion that, unlike so many shows on streaming or just about anywhere, leaves us wanting much more.” – Sean Farrell

Ting

This unassuming white box plugs directly into any outlet in your home and immediately sets about monitoring your electrical system to look for a host of hidden power problems that could put you at risk of fire. Anything from a faulty appliance, bad wiring, or problems with the incoming power from the street will be flagged by the app and you will be quickly notified and given instructions on how to take care of it.

It does require a monthly subscription (the first year is included in your purchase), but it includes up to $1000 of coverage for any repairs that might be required, as well as guidance through the process.

As an added bonus, you’ll be notified of power outages at home no matter where you are and get warnings when weather approaches that could pose a danger to your pipes. It’s a whole lot of peace of mind for a $99 device. – SF

Close-up view of a bird's wings, showcasing intricate feather patterns and a luminous, almost iridescent quality against a dark background.

Rubbernecker by Belinda Bauer

I actually read (and adored) the follow-up to this book first, and was really excited to learn the origin story of some of the characters that appeared there. I was pleased to see that I wound up enjoying Rubbernecker as much as I did The Impossible Thing. As in its sequel, author Belinda Bauer crafts a multi-layered story, filled with twists and turns that are each intricately connected. Even the most seemingly extraneous subplots are cleverly linked and the end of the book, in which everything is explained and wrapped up, is such a singularly satisfying reading experience that I couldn’t erase the smile from my face as I tore through the pages. I can only hope that we get more books featuring Patrick Fort and his friends. – SF

Cookshelf

It’s easy to amass an almost overwhelming library of cookbooks, but in an era that sees a host of recipes from countless sources only a Google search away, the task of finding something you want to cook from your collection can seem needlessly daunting. Enter Cookshelf.

This app (which unfortunately does require yet another subscription) allows you to scan in all of your cookbooks and then search their contents for inspiration.

In the image on the left you see that I searched for “Shrimp” and was instantly presented with a host of options, far more than what can fit in a screenshot, with each listing the book it was taken from. When you click in for a closer look, it will tell you the exact page where you can find the recipe as well as a list of key ingredients. The full recipe will still require you to pull the title from your shelf and flip to it, but we didn’t buy these things for decoration did we?

For anyone who can’t help themselves whenever they encounter an appealing cookbook in the store, but isn’t sure where to start actually using them, Cookshelf makes the entire process vastly simpler. Even you already use your library more than most, you’ll still appreciate the ease with which you can search your collection. – SF

A vibrant night sky filled with colorful lights and stars, featuring two characters gazing upwards in wonder.

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie

I rate it 10 out of 5. It’s better than the first one. I really liked that they solved mysteries from the first movie and it will change the way you look at Super Mario. – Alison Nagle (age 7)

A collage of facial expressions depicting a man showing various emotions such as contemplation, frustration, and displeasure.

Sam Altman May Control Our Future—Can He Be Trusted? by Ronan Farrow & Andrew Marantz in The New Yorker

Leave it to the New Yorker‘s reporting duo of Farrow and Marantz to lay bare the truth about the way OpenAI CEO Sam Altman conducts himself, both personally and professionally, and leave us wondering if he is really the sort of person we want guiding the development of a technology that could have profound impacts on the future of the human race. As is usually the case for the magazine, this is longform journalism at its finest; compulsively readable, thoroughly researched, and deeply illuminating. – SF