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.
Alien Blue | ![]() |
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![]() | This, to me, is just a perfect piece of software. Alien Blue is for Reddit, and it shows a simple list of stories on the left, and whatever content youâve tapped on to the right. Itâs like browsing in something like Windows Explorer or Macâs Finder, but with little flourishes and gestures that make cruising hundreds of posts a breeze. Frequent updates â and a very friendly developer â have kept this app docked on my iPhone and iPad for the past three years.
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iPad Air | ![]() |
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![]() | This was easily my most frivolous purchase, as the third-generation iPad I bought last year worked just fine. But for something Iâm often schlepping around in my bag or holding for long periods of time, weight is everything, and this is nearly half a pound lighter. I originally bought the Retina display-equipped version of the Mini, but found the screen just too small for my liking, and the weight benefit lacking when side by side with the Air. I chose the Verizon version, but I also shelled out for a T-Mobile SIM card, which gets 200MB of free data per month. |
'The Night of the Gun' by David Carr | ![]() |
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![]() | What if you did some horrible and amazing things, then decided to reflect on them â and yourself â by interviewing some of your closest family, friends, and maybe even enemies? New York Times journalist David Carr did just that in this autobiography, which is a gripping collection of recollections from him and others about drug use, journalism, and personal relationships. |
Anders Zorn | ![]() |
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![]() | My favorite art form is photography, but Swedenâs Anders Zorn recently made me rethink that. A collection of some 100 of his paintings and etchings, shown off at San Franciscoâs Legion of Honor museum, traverse Zornâs storied career not only as a portrait artist, but also a guy who could capture candid, honest moments with nothing more than a paintbrush. His best trick? Water. While much of the detail in his work was found in faces and peopleâs clothing, his watercolors captured the chaos and complexity of something as simple as a pond. |
Little Babyâs Ice Cream | ![]() |
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![]() | The internet is full of dark and disturbing things, including this GIF of an ice cream person happily eating its own head. Itâs actually from a made-to-be-viral (and creepy) advertisement by Philadelphia-based ice cream company Little Babyâs Ice Cream. I keep this GIF on speed dial to send to someone when theyâve said something that makes no sense. ![]() |