Book: "The Elementary Particles" by Michel Houellebecq
This nine-year-old bombshell-in-the-shape-of-a-novel was made into a movie a few months ago. The story is of two half-brothers, one a virtually asexual geneticist, the other a boarding school teacher and sex tourist. After lonely and to some degree, pathetic lives, these two men find companionship, only to have one's partner commit suicide and the other's become paralyzed. This novel is a raunchy yet bizarrely humdrum take on Brave New World. - Latif Nasser
Music: "Food and Liquor" by Lupe Fiasco
Granted, its cover is an exercise in how not to do "retro," but this 25-year-old MC's debut is an incredibly entertaining listen. You may remember Fiasco from an appearance on Kanye West's "Touch the Sky," and sonically the two artists have a lot in common. That said, his lyrics are intelligent and support unique narratives. My personal favorite, "Kick, Push," is a skate park love story. But Fiasco isn't just fluff; "American Terrorist" also explores political issues of race. - Caitlin Kelly
Movie: "Face/Off," directed by John Woo (1997)
"Face/Off," starring John Travolta (when he had a waistline) and Nicholas Cage (when he had a hairline), epitomizes high-action movies of the '90s. Director John Woo takes full advantage of the age of technological advances: in what other decade could a movie be seriously based on the beatifically vague notion of complete and reversible face transplant? In '97, "Face/Off" delighted audiences with gun-packed action sequences and clever face-switching plot twists. In '07, when FBI thrillers and plot twists alone no longer satisfy, "Face/Off" still delivers surprisingly emotive, subtle acting along with satisfying escapism. - Jean Luo
TV: "Six Feet Under," available on DVD
If the past few years of so-bad-it's-good (or, as with the case of "The Simple Life," absolutely fantastic!) television shows have left you afraid of genuinely good television, then when it comes to "Six Feet Under," be utterly terrified. The HBO show revolving around the funeral home run by the Fisher family reached frankly orgasmic levels of genius in its six-year run. It took topics like death, sex, insanity, teen angst, love, hate -- if I'm allowed to be lazy and summarize: life--and wove them into an addictive world guided by uncommonly brilliant writing. -- Naomi Sosner
