The Last Course (or: 2015, as we read it)
by 52 outstanding publications and The Lunch Read team
The scene is early 2015.
We all sit, staring at our computer screens and cell phones, focused and concentrated, hoping to finally answer a question the entire world is asking. Is that dress white and gold or blue and black?
Now 2015 is now coming to a close. And a lot has happened.
We could write an entire “We Didn’t Start The Fire 2” on the past 12 months, including, but certainly not limited to: #Lovewins, Donald Trump, The Bieber Roast, Inflate-Gate, ISIS, Adele, and the biggest sensation of all: Pizza Rat.
But one thing remained consistent throughout the entire year.
Every Wednesday our quirky group, a community called The Lunch Read, hand-picked the internet’s most witty, thought-provoking treasures that you may have missed and delivered them directly to inboxes around the world.
And this group? We love nostalgia and we love lists. So, we’ll jump at any chance to combine the two.
This year, we combed through 12 months of The Lunch Read emails (#analytics) to find our top 52 articles. These are the most read pieces that we circulated throughout the year. It’s not clickbait, it’s certainly not all politics, and surprisingly, every article isn’t from Grantland (#RIP).
Pause! Here’s a quick plug. If you like good reads and interesting articles and lists, too: feel free to sign up today. 52 lovely emails a year. No spam. Ever.
This year’s menu is a buffet that comprises articles on life, love, and friendship; also: business, technology, modern media, and a few current events for good measure.
Save ’em to your Pocket. Read them on a flight home to your family or lounging on a couch with a glass of wine. Be nostalgic with us.
Cheers to a deliciously interesting 2015! And may the 2016 menu be just as good.
(1) Everything Doesn’t Happen for a Reason by Tim Lawrence
I emerge from this conversation dumbfounded. I’ve seen this a million times before, but it still gets me every time.
(2) The Four Stages of Life by Mark Manson
(3) Tan Lines by Durga Chew-Bose
“I wish I had your color.” “Your skin is so nice.” “I envy your natural glow.” And other things my white friends say during summer.
(4) If you’re in your 20s and you don’t feel like an adult yet, here’s why by Derrick Clifton
(5) Something Small, Every Day by Austin Kleon
(6) The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck by Mark Manson
(7) How Esquire Engineered the Modern Bachelor by Manisha Aggarwal-Schifellite
(8) Letter of Recommendation: Summer Fridays by Choire Sicha
…beneath the snootiness is an equal opportunity: an Instagram of everyone in clean white bucks and Vineyard Vines; a rainbow coalition of stupid boating hats, with delicate sherbet-colored sweaters for people of all races, creeds and pronoun preferences
(9) Prime of Life: The Story of My 20s, as Told in Amazon Purchases by Lacy Donohue
(10) Albums Everyone Under 30 Should Own by Daniel Margolis
(11) The days are long but the decades are short by Sam Altman
(12) How Friendships Change in Adulthood by Julie Beck
(13) Why We’re Better Off With Fewer Friends by Tony Crabbe
(14) The Friend by Matthew Teague
His wife was just thirty-four. They had two little girls. The cancer was everywhere, and the parts of dying that nobody talks about were about to start. His best friend came to help out for a couple weeks. And he never left.
(15) This Craigslist ‘Missed Connections’ Ad, 43 Years in the Making, Is Simply Heartbreaking by Rebecca Cullers
I met you in the rain on the last day of 1972.
(16) Email is for Lovers by Julie Beck
(17) Everything you thought you knew about love is wrong by Aziz Ansari
(18) Why I Will Always Love My Ex-Boyfriends by Clarissa Wei
(19) Read This If You’re Worried You’ll Never Find The One by Heidi Priebe
(20) Let’s Get Drinks by Kelly Stout
(21) When It Comes to the Ideal Partner, These Are the Little Things We Need the Most by Kate Hakala
(22) We know why you’re always late by Sumathi Reddy
(23) Why Gratitude Makes You A Happier Person by Kristin Wong
(24) The 5 Biggest Myths About Saving Money According to a Millennial by Suzanne Woolley
Ethan Bloch has some financial advice for his millennial peers: “Just have your f — — — latte!”
(25) The Best Ways to Break the Ice and Get to Know Someone on the First Date by Patrick Allan
(26) How to Function at Work When You Get Almost No Sleep by Bill Murphy
(27) The Science of Politely Ending a Conversation by Eric Jaffe
(28) How to eat healthy meals at restaurants by Josh Barro, Claire Cain Miller, Darcy Eveleigh, David Leonhardt, Matt Ruby and Rumsey Taylor
(29) The true story behind ‘Zola,’ the epic Twitter story too crazy to be real by Caitlin Dewey
(30) The hipster is dead, and you might not like who comes next by David Infante
(31) The Fat Jewish is a Thief by Sam Biddle
(32) Death, Sex, and Money: The podcast the unwraps the sweetest taboos by Melissa Locker
(33) The Sneaky Power of Amy Shumer by Melena Ryzik
Equal parts naughty cheerleader, self-deprecating Everywoman and fearless truth-teller, Ms. Schumer connects with women and men alike, all while she lampoons them and the media’s lopsided portrayals.
(34) Lorde: Force of Nature by Lena Dunham
(35) Porntopia by Molly Lambert
(36) Dashboard Confessional, or When it Was Cool to Have Feelings by Julie Beck
(37) How Two Guys Lost God and Found $40 Million by Zeke Faux
(38) You Really Don’t Need To Work So Much by Tim Wu
(39) CrossFit’s extremely lucrative business plan is also deceptively simple by Marion Maneker
Like many of the former athletes, weekend warriors, and get-in-shape hopefuls who have flooded to this cult-like fitness program, my friend was caught up in the hype but still unsure how and why he was paying 10 times the cost of a traditional gym.
(40) The WTF Economy by Tim O’Reilly
(41) Beacon’s Closet, Buffalo Exchange, and the Big Business of Selling Your Old Clothes by Chavie Leiber
(42) How Bloggers Make Money On Instagram by Danielle Bernstein
(43) The Fatalist by Louisa Thomas
Irina Pavlova — Russian émigré, Google alumna, world-class operator, and one of the highest-ranking women in professional sports — is the handmaiden of power for the Brooklyn Nets. But can she really effect change in one of the league’s most tumultuous (and expensive) franchises?
(44) What it’s like to run an anonymous Snapchat sexting ring by Selena Larson
(45) The Two Best Pieces of Advice David Carr Ever Gave Me by Nick Bilton
(46) Gchat venting is only making you madder by Melissa Dahl
(47) Emoji — Trendy slang or whole new language? by Nick Stockton
(48) How to Stop Checking Your Phone Like an Addict by Max Ogles
Although there’s no mention of this in the reports, I like to think that the rescuers arrived and yelled down to her, “We’re here to save you” and she yelled back, “I am definitely posting this on Instagram!”
(49) What the Hell is Going On With Ben Carson by Jeb Lund
(50) The Syrian refugee crisis, in 4 maps and charts by Zack Beauchamp
(51) Why the Great Glitch of July 8th Should Scare You by Zeynep Tufekc
The big problem we face isn’t coordinated cyber-terrorism, it’s that software sucks. Software sucks for many reasons, all of which go deep, are entangled, and expensive to fix. (Or, everything is broken, eventually). This is a major headache, and a real worry as software eats more and more of the world.
(52) Every State Flag is Wrong and Here’s Why by Alexandra Petri
You made it this far? You’re the best.
If you want more great reads sent straight to your inbox, every Wednesday at lunch, sign up and join our quirky group.
Cheers to a happy 2016!
Jori, Michele, Michael, Adam, Alexa, Eric, Mat, Sam, Sutton & Alex (The Lunch Read team)
