This is a human (not AI) read-through of This Week, Those Books post
A smorgasbord of tasty picks
TESLA MASCOT: Donald Trump bought a Tesla car at “full price” to support First Buddy Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company after it suffered a steep fall in share price and sales and faced widespread protests over Musk’s politics. Trump took delivery in his driveway at home, which means the White House has become one of the world’s most recognisable and consequential car showrooms/ ad props ever and the US president the world’s most powerful car salesman.
RUSSIAN MASCOT: Yura Borisov, who plays the sensitive brute or the henchman with a heart in Oscar-winning film Anora, is becoming the world’s favourite cuddly Russian. He’s even giving Russian lessons “to the world”. Borisov has stayed silent about Russian president Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation” in Ukraine. He previously appeared in a Kremlin-sponsored movie about Soviet tankers and a biopic about Mikhail Kalashnikov, a Soviet general and father of the legendary automatic rifle.
UKRAINE’S TRUMP TAKEAWAY: No word from the recently renamed Trump Pizza Station in Kyiv after the March 11 US-Ukraine ceasefire talks in Riyadh ended amicably and Trump’s America said it would restart military aid. Days after Trump suspended assistance to Ukraine, the pizzeria tore down its sign, saying a name change was on the menu.
STAYING WITH PUTIN: The Putin Cafe opened in the Bosnian city of Banja Luka in solidarity with Putin soon after Russia’s February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. After Trump’s shouting match with Ukraine’s President Zelensky in the White House last month, the cafe’s admiring owner said he would open a motel and restaurant complex called Trump and Putin’s Place.
MUSKY GESTURE: Igor Ryzov, the business coach whose book we feature in the post, discussed a controversial salute by Elon Musk.
I hope you find This Week, Those Books useful, thoughtful, and…a conversation starter. Please consider upgrading your subscription. It’s a small operation here at TWTB. Support from readers like you helps keep this news literacy project freely accessible to our community of nearly 11,000 followers on the Substack app in 120 countries.
Please tell us what you think of this readthrough and our tasty picks. Have a bite to fork over to us? Email: thisweekthosebooks@substack.com
Follow us on: LinkedIn | Twitter | Bluesky | Facebook | Threads |YouTube
Share this post