This week in Gweek we review Adam Parfrey and Cletus Nelson's biography of famous kitsch artists, the Keanes. Plus: Plex media server, play putties, and much more. Brought to you by Random House Audio (click here for free downloads!) and by Stamps.com (click here for a special $110 offer!)

In each episode of Gweek, Dean Putney and I discuss recommended media, apps, and gadgets. This time we talked about the Plex media server, Crazy Aaron’s Putty World and the history of Silly Putty, Baggu's eco-friendly shopping bags, the Instacart grocery delivery service. We also recommended three books:

The Dinner - Over the course of a dinner in a restaurant in Amsterdam, we learn a secret shared by two brothers and their wives. The story is told by an unreliable narrator, and it’s hard to tell what he is making up. Reminiscent of Roald Dahl's stories for grown ups.

The Blighted Eye - Samples from the world’s greatest comic book art collector.

Citizen Keane: The Big Lies Behind the Big Eyes - A juicy biography of Walter and Margaret Keane, famous for the “big eye waif” paintings of the 1960s. Walter Keane was a sociopathic liar who couldn’t paint. Margaret did all the paintings herself. Tim Burton has a movie coming out about the Keanes.

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How "meritocracy" went from a joke to a dogma, and destroyed the lives of everyone it touched

The term "meritocracy" was coined in Michael Young's satirical 1958 novel, "The Rise of Meritocracy," where it described a kind of self-delusion in which rich people convinced themselves that their wealth was evidence of their moral superiority; it's well-documented that a belief in meritocracy makes you act like an asshole, and also makes you incapable […]

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Barack Obama's summer reading list

President Barack Obama opened his summer reading list post with encouragement to read or re-read Toni Morrison and then suggested ten other titles including the following: • Sometimes difficult to swallow, The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead is a necessary read, detailing the way Jim Crow and mass incarceration tore apart lives and wrought consequences […]

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The Folio Society is releasing a facsimile of Marvel Comics #1

The Folio Society's limited, slipcased editions (previously) are some of the most beautiful books being produced today; the company's $225 Marvel: The Golden Age 1939-1949 ships in late September, and includes a facsimile of the ultra-rare Marvel Comics #1, reproduced from one of the last surviving mint-condition 1939 copies.

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Boost your marketing skills with training on Google Analytics and AdWords

If you’re marketing on the web, your Google-fu needs to be strong – and up to date. Without a firm grasp on what drives traffic, you’ll never be able to take the wheel. That’s why even if you know where to put your keywords, a little extra effort goes a long way on any marketer’s […]

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Save $45 on this wireless charging sonic toothbrush kit

Want to keep the dentist away? A little tooth care at morning and night isn’t bad, but it won’t keep the stains from smoking or fried foods at bay for long. If you enjoy your food and want to avoid the consequences, an upgrade from that old analog toothbrush can make a huge difference. Among […]

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Boost your productivity with this Microsoft Office boot camp

If your office works at all, it uses Microsoft Office. Those icons for Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook are as familiar around some workplaces as the coffee machine. So familiar, in fact, that they get taken for granted – and rarely used to their full potential. Whether you need a crash course in the essential tools […]

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