“My favorite club at the time belonged to my grandfather. It was a six iron. The shaft was wood, the grip was white adhesive tape, and the blade was long and thin. It was positively medieval.”

Double Bogey, American Players Theater, Baraboo, More Friedlander.

“But can’t we manage with a “good enough” can opener? Is the “Best” sparkling water really the “Best” for every palette? Can I get by with the “third-Best” ball-point pen?”

Simply the Best!, Trust, Past Lives, Merry Clayton, Lee Friedlander & Joel Coen.

“Here was a three-foot-high stack of Village Voices, there an equally high pile of New York Times Arts sections. Then the shelves: New Yorkers to the left, Downbeat Magazines to the right…”

The Joy of Print, The Bear, James Parker, Colson Whitehead, Geometree.

“But then came vacuum tubes and transistors and Gibson Les Paul’s and Hammond B-3’s and Mr. Microphone!”

Taking It Outside, Tony Bennett, Maria Schneider, The Iguanas, A Winter Walk.

“But like so many things these days, my mental reach exceeds my practical grasp. I plan to read much more than I actually read.”

Summer Reading Edition!: Library optimism, The Perils of Story, Rebecca Makkai, Translation, Alexandra Petri.