Hump day recommendations, Dec. 20, 2023

Watch (& read): "The Boys in the Boat." My daughter’s rowing team recently held an advance screening of “The Boys in the Boat,” a new film directed by George Clooney that debuts on Christmas. Rowing fans will love the stunning river shots of gleaming wooden shells, and the film effectively demonstrates the physical and mental toughness of a successful eight-man crew. Fans of the book by Daniel James Brown may struggle with the missing backstory in a few places, but I loved it, and it inspired my rower and her team for the upcoming season. – Tracy

Graduate: from college. I just did, and I am ecstatic to have time to read for pleasure again. The first book on the docket is “Someone Is Out to Get Us, A Not So Brief History of Cold War Paranoia and Madness,” by Brian T. Brown. I will report back on how I like it next week! – Riley

Watch: "Aspen: The Forgotten Times." I’m in Aspen for the holidays, which today is undeniably the playground of the 0.1%. Homes easily go for $25 million, a lift ticket will set you back $244 a day, and I just paid $18 for a burrito. But when my grandma was born here nearly 90 years ago, it was a hardscrabble town in the middle of a four-decade-long depression. How did it go from a tough little former mining camp to the hyper-commercialized luxury resort we know today? PBS will tell ya. – Matt