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Verge Favorites: Dante D'Orazio

Verge Favorites: Dante D'Orazio

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The Verge editors pick their current favorites in music, movies, books and more.

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The Verge staffers aren't just people who love technology. They're people who love stuff. We spend as much time talking and thinking about our favorite books, music, and movies as we do debating the best smartphone to buy or what point-and-shoot has the tightest macro. We thought it would make sense to share our latest obsessions with Verge readers, and we hope you're encouraged to share your favorites with us. Thus a long, healthy debate will ensue where we all end up with new things to read, listen to, or try on.

Revanche

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This beautifully shot Austrian film from 2008 asks "Whose fault is it if life doesn’t go your way?" Long, nearly silent scenes almost excruciatingly force you to struggle alongside the protagonist as he comes to grips with a bank robbery gone wrong. It’s all a stunning look at human nature from director Götz Spielmann that will stick with you for a long time to come.

David Grann — The Yankee Comandante

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I had to keep on reminding myself while reading this report from a May edition of The New Yorker that it's an historical account and not fiction. The story — masterfully put together from FBI files, CIA reports, and interviews conducted for the piece — follows an Ohio man named William Morgan who traveled to Cuba during the revolution looking for adventure. He joins Castro and the rebel army, ultimately making it to the army's top rank: comandante. I'd hate to say any more at risk of spoiling the surprises this tale has in store, but suffice it to say, you should read it.

Formula 1

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It's sold as the pinnacle of motorsport, and it delivers with a wide range of tracks that includes the tight streets of Monaco and the high-speed corners of Silverstone. Since passing is so difficult and real-time statistics are aplenty, it’s no surprise when a driver catches up to another — it's how the cars continue to battle with the many tools at their disposal that's gripping. High learning curve, no doubt, but it's fantastic. Top tip: be sure to watch qualifying the day before the Grand Prix to see where the racers place on the grid.

Tilley Men’s Ankle Socks

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Yeah, socks — plain old, normal socks. What's so special then? Their normality. I've always been exceedingly picky when it comes to what covers my feet, and these are thin, strong, and comfortable. No branding, either, and since they're made of a mix of synthetic fibers they dry quickly and keep my feet from getting cold. Pretty pricey, though.

Clipboard Cleaner

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Just as the name suggests, this app scrubs away all of the mess of HTML formatting attached to whatever you copy to your clipboard and leaves you with just plain text. Great for me as I spend quite a bit of time pasting text into our CMS, and I have it set to clear formatting by default. Not a bad way to spend $0.99. Thanks go to our Database Manager William Savona for finding it.

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