Hello Beautiful People,
The Lunch Read began as a social experiment between two friends looking for good reads for their lunch breaks. New to their desk jobs, they found that when it became lunchtime, there was hardly ever anything good to read. The group quickly expanded to 9 and so The Lunch Read began. Six months into the project, the group thought others might find interest in a curated list of lunch reads so they started sending the weekly edition. Now, just over a month in, The Lunch Read delivers a weekly Wednesday edition and tweets out interesting finds, or “leftovers” for people to read during the week on their breaks. Get your daily dose of The Lunch Readby signing up here.
The nine founding members Michele Kory, Jori Bell, Sutton Kauss, Mathew Lasky, Adam London, Sam Goodman, Michael Hoffman, Alexa Rosenbloom, and Eric Stupnitsky, are all GEMS, who have so graciously participate in our Movers & Shakers Q&A Series. You’ve met Michele, Jori, Sutton, and Mathew. Next up – Sam Goodman.
MM: What’s your day job?
SG: I work in Sales Marketing for Thrillist Media Group brainstorming ideas and campaigns for advertising clients and creating the presentations that tell that story.
MM: What role do you play in the structure of TLR?
SG: A very good question! From a contributor standpoint I like to think I put in a nice mix of start-up business related articles, new music, reads about organization, and of course pop culture. However I am also going to help in thinking of ways to develop TLR and its partnerships.
MM: If you were stranded on a desert island, what movies, albums, and television shows would you want to have with you?
SG: Movies – Into the Wild, The Princess Bride, Zoolander, Closer, Empire Records. Albums – Beach House – Teen Dream, Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues, The Postal Service – Give Up, The Band – The Last Waltz, Dirty Projectors – Swing Lo Magellan. Television Shows: The Wire, Arrested Development, Seinfeld, Game of Thrones, Scrubs.
MM: If we were to walk into your home/apartment, what books would be on your bookshelf?
SG: Sadly very few, I read mostly on Kindle now. You’d find a couple books on Art History, and some of the classic novels that I have borrowed from my roommate recently to try and read. On my kindle I recently finished the 5th Game of Thrones book (nerd, I know, but I love Fantasy!) and am now onto my first Murakami book, Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World.
MM: In today’s economy, arts programs are being cut in schools. What reasons would you give to a politician/school board for preserving the arts?
SG: Creativity is the key to progress. We live in an age of exponential advancement, kids must be taught to think outside the box in every sect of life and that begins with arts programs at a young age.
MM: What’s the best piece of advice that you would offer to college graduates entering the job market?
SG: Don’t worry! If you have graduated from College you are clearly doing something right! Remember what drives you and use that to fuel your motivation. Be persistent, diligent, and outspoken!
MM: We believe that art can be a tool for social change, that it can transform lives. How would you disagree or agree with this statement?
SG: There is no question that art drives social change, it is a symbiotic relationship; art is a reflection of culture, and culture is a reflection of art. Art is that core of popularizing every social movement from the Painting to the Poster. In late 19th century Paris, Post Impressionism revealed the increasingly baudy culture of the French City, in 1949 posters of Mao Zedong fueled the Peoples Revolution, and the examples could go on.
MM: Who is/was your greatest teacher?
SG: Definitely one of my psychology professors in college, Colleen Seifert. She taught a great seminar on Creative Psychology – it involved brainstorming techniques, and constant debate. I did research for her the following year, and she is truly doing amazing things in the field of Psychology, and she is such a supportive force it was always nice to bounce ideas off of her.
Thank you, Sam!
Live, Love, Learn,