Among the charming allure of “The Elephant House” coffee shop in Edinburgh, Scotland – known as the “Birthplace of Harry Potter” – is this refreshingly simple sign that encourages us to put down our phones, close our laptops, remove our headphones and…TALK!
If we were to “pretend it’s 1995”, here are a few “talking points”:
1995 New York Times Top Fiction Books (in no particular order):
Five Days in Paris by Danille Steel
The Lost World by Michael Crichton
Silent Night by Mary Higgins Clark
The Horse Whisperer by Nicholas Evans
The Hundred Secret Senses by Amy Tan
Coming Home by Rosamunde Pilcher
Beach Music by Pat Conroy
The Children’s Book of Virtures by William J. Bennett
1995 New York Times Top Non-Fiction Books (in no particular order):
Lincoln by David Herbert Donald
The Road Ahead by Bill Gates with Nathan Myhrvold and Peter Rinearson
My American Journey by Colin Powell
Charles Kuralt’s America by Charles Kuralt
A Simple Path by Mother Teresa
Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus by John Gray
The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success by Deepak Chopra
The Martha Stewart Cookbook by Martha Stewart
David Letterman’s Book of Top Ten Lists by David Letterman
The Moral Compass by William J. Bennett
My Point….And I Do Have One by Ellen DeGeneres
1995 Top Movies (in no particular order):
Braveheart – Mel Gibson
Toy Story – Tim Allen and Tom Hanks
Usual Suspects – Kevin Spacey
Apollo 13 – Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon
Casino – Robert DiNero, Joe Pesci and Sharon Stone
Dead Man Walking – Susan Sarandon, Sean Penn
Sense & Sensibility – Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet
While You Were Sleeping – Sandra Bullock, Bill Pullman
American President – Annette Bening, Michael Douglas, Martin Sheen, Richard Dreyfus, Michael J. Fox
Crimson Tide – Denzel Washington, Gene Hackman, James Gandolfini
Leaving Las Vegas – Nicholas Cage and Elizabeth Shue
Se7en – Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman, Kevin Spacey, Gwyneth Paltrow
1995 Some Top Albums (in no particular order)
Alanis Morissette – Jagged Little Pill
Smashing Pumpkins – Mellon
Hootie & The Blowfish – Cracked
The Beatles – Anthology 1
Live – Throwing Copper
Garth Brooks – The Hits
Mariah Carey – Daydream
Oasis – What’s the Story Morning
The Rolling Stones – Stripped
Enya – The Memory of Trees