Book: "Complete Stories," by Dorothy Parker
Parker's short stories will transport you out of Hanover and into Old (capital 'O') New York City. Start with "Big Blonde," a tough and unsentimental look at one woman's descent into alcoholism. Parker paints a cold, hard picture of the romanticized world of the 1920s, but somehow you'll still want to superficially hang out at parties and smoke cigarettes after reading. - Sara del Nido
Music: "Bonita Applebum," by A Tribe Called Quest
Although listening to Q-tip do the lover man thing can get a little obsequious, this sitar-sampling, tactics-with-prophylactics-rhyming classic has got to get some recognition. Just don't try to use it as make-out music, or I will fight you. - John Beardsley
Movie: "Stalag 17," directed by Billy Wilder (1953)
This black and white classic centers on Americans in a German POW camp during World War II. The film combines the wit and talent of Director Wilder ("The Apartment," "Some Like it Hot) with the intrigue of a war story. The POWs can't figure out how the German officers know when they are going to attempt an escape, and the search for the snitch among them brings both laughs and serious reflections on assumptions in the most desperate of circumstances. - Bailey Massey
TV: "The Office," NBC Thursdays at 8:30 p.m.
I never bothered to watch NBC's "The Office" because, after being so obsessed with the BBC's version (if you haven't seen it, go rent it immediately), I didn't think that anything would compare. However, recently I've seen one or two episodes of NBC's "The Office" and I was very impressed. This version takes a brilliant show and keeps it that way. I am officially hooked. - Louisa McCarthy
