I highly recommend “My way”, “A promised Land” and “The Blind Assassin”. Currently, I am watching a series of interviews directed by Martin Scorsese, starring Fran Leibowitz, called “Pretend It’s a City”

Anca Vlad, the founder of the Fildas – Catena pharmaceutical group

“The pandemic was conducive to reading and I would start with the three volumes of the autobiography entitled “My way”, written by the entrepreneur Octavian Radu, which I devoured and which I recommend both to the ones who had the experience of the beginnings of Romanian entrepreneurship after the Revolution, but also to the young people who ask questions about what time was like. I also recommend “The Promised land” by Barak Obama, which I listened to read by Barak himself, from the heart, with an impeccable intonation and elocution. However, its Romanian translation may be similarly exciting.

As regards fiction, I am charmed by Margaret Atwood, by whom I recently finished “The Blind Assassin”, after reading “A handmaid’s Tale” “The Testaments” and “Alias Grace”. She writes in a profound, beautiful way, bringing about elements from dystopian worlds or science fiction fragments, which she inserts in tumultuous modern stories. An intellectual effort, which is worth the trouble. The fact that I rediscovered the joy of reading is wonderful.

I also had time to watch some series, such as Vikings, Borgen, Marseille, and some documentaries: The Family, Trump, Franca. Now I am watching a series of interviews directed by Martin Scorsese, with Fran Leibowitz, called “Pretend It’s a City” – a captivating exercise of humor and intellect. As regards vacations, the Romanian mountain scenery remains a constant joy, but last year, I had the chance of rediscovering my small garden. I watched first the lilac, then the magnolia, then the roses bloom, in turn, things which practically I never noticed before.

I ordered food quite often, I even went on a diet with rawdia products. I also tried their recipes, less successfully. It was a year of changing rhythms, of adapting to a new and unexpected situation, with concerns and losses of dear friends. But it was also a year of resilience, tenacity, a year of reconsidering values, friendship remaining the most important”.

Article published in “Ziarul Financiar“.