Essays

    • These Precious Days - Ann Patchett

History/Politics

  • U.S.
    • New England Nation - Bruce C. Daniels
    • Understanding Power - Noam Chomsky
    • The Game - George Howe Colt
    • Unspeakable - Chris Hedges
    • American Nations - Colin Woodard
    • When the Old Left Was Young - Robert Cohen
    • The Flowering of New England - Van Wyck Brooks
    • A Historical Atlas of New York City - Eric Homberger
    • The World of Washington Irving - Van Wyck Brooks
    • Prophetic City - Stephen L. Klineberg
    • The Franco-Americans of Lewiston-Auburn - Mary Rice-Defosse
  • Black
    • The Children - David Halberstam
dec 11 2021 ∞
dec 11 2021 +
  • 990s
    • England
      • The Evening and the Morning by Ken Follett
    • Canada/Vinland
      • The Ice-Shirt by William T. Vollmann
  • 1010s
    • England
      • The Physician by Noah Gordon
    • France
      • Joheved by Maggie Anton
  • 1340s
    • China
      • She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan
nov 7 2020 ∞
jan 26 2022 +
  • 752: An Invitation to Tea
  • 712: Nice White Parents
  • 706: A Mess to Be Reckoned With
  • 694: Get Back to Where You Once Belonged
  • 692: The Show of Delights
  • 647: LaDonna
  • 646: The Secret of My Death
  • 492: Dr. Gilmer and Mr. Hyde
  • 360: Switched at Birth
  • 107: Trail of Tears
  • 61: Fiasco!
aug 9 2020 ∞
nov 16 2021 +
  • Aberrant
  • Affidavit
  • Assay
  • Aurora
  • Bedstead
  • Belletristic
  • Bevy
  • Bootlace
  • Breach
  • Brigade
  • Collude
  • Contralto
  • Coolant
  • Cosseted
  • Debacle
  • Fleet
  • Foist
  • Frippery
  • Goose-step
  • Incantatory
  • Largesse
apr 30 2017 ∞
nov 15 2020 +

MANHATTAN

  • Washington Heights
    • Fort Tryon Park
    • The Cloisters
  • Harlem
    • Schomburg Center
    • Apollo Theater
    • Harlem Hospital mural
    • Marcus Garvey Park
    • Sylvia's
    • Make My Cake
    • Manna's
    • Museum of the City of New York
    • Studio Museum
    • Cafe Frederick
  • Morningside Heights
    • Riverside Church
    • Tom's Restaurant
aug 8 2016 ∞
aug 8 2021 +
  • Scotland (UK)
  • Mississippi (USA)
  • Norway
  • Ireland
  • Iceland
  • Australia
  • New Zealand
jul 12 2015 ∞
feb 8 2020 +
  • Palm tree leaves swishing slightly in a warm, tropical breeze
  • Stormy night flight through eerie greenish clouds (thanks to the wing lights), which clear, all at once, to reveal the twinkling city skyline.
  • The sound of a cello (and the scrape of a bow across strings)
  • White objects lit by a purple sunset
  • Someone speaking softly, gently, barely above a whisper (possibly reading from a book)
  • The sound of an orchestra tuning, heard over the murmuring of a waiting crowd
  • Rubbing lotion onto smooth, sun-tanned skin
  • A warm breeze making the hem of a flowery sundress flap
  • Smoke drifting up from a chimney on a cold winter evening
  • Breath turning into mist (in the cold, on...
apr 2 2015 ∞
oct 9 2016 +
  • Take the A Train into Harlem and visit the Schomburg Center plus the places I'm researching.
  • Check out the NY Historical Society's Black Fives exhibition.
  • Go back to Lincoln Center and sit by the fountain.
  • Go back to Kew Gardens and walk in the park.
  • Take a tour of the Tenement Museum.
  • Eat Italian food in the Bronx.
  • Go to the New York Public Library's main building on 42nd Street.
  • Hang out at Lubin House.
  • See an old film at MoMA.
  • Visit the old New York Renaissance Ballroom.
  • Browse in The Strand.
  • Go to a stargazing event at the Hayden Planetarium.
  • Attend a Mets, Yankees, or Giants game.
jun 7 2014 ∞
may 3 2020 +
  • Go on a long walk with music or an audiobook every day
  • Make a scrapbook for each year
  • Keep a regularly updated journal
  • Send people birthday cards that arrive punctually
  • Check out new books from the library every two weeks
  • Read newspapers with some measure of consistency
  • Maintain a written correspondence with older/retired people in my life
  • Have long philosophical conversations with intellectual friends
  • Travel, even if it's just locally
  • Experiment with new recipes (especially dessert recipes)
mar 29 2014 ∞
mar 29 2014 +
list icon
  • Asher Durand's Kindred Spirits
  • Vincent Van Gogh's Starry Starry Night
  • Claude Monet's Waterloo Bridge
  • Winslow Homer's After the Hurricane
  • James Abbott McNeill Whistler's Nocturne in Black and Gold - The Falling Rocket
  • Thomas Cole's Mount Etna
  • Mary Grandpre's Harry Potter illustrations
  • Rembrandt's Rest on the Flight into Egypt
  • Oskar Kokoschka's Prague
  • Claude Monet's Tramonto a Pourville
  • Chris Van Allsburg's illustrations for Swan Lake
  • Claude Monet's Sunlight Effect under the Poplars
  • Karl Blechen's Sunset at Sea
  • Hendrik Willem Mesdag's Sunset at Scheveningen
  • Henri Edmond Cross's Coast Near Antibes
  • Gustave Caillbotte's A Balcony in Paris
  • Josef Thoma's Mondacht an der Mosel
  • Sarah Paxton Ball Dodson's The Morning Stars
  • John Everett Millais's The Vale of Rest
jan 6 2012 ∞
feb 28 2015 +
list icon
  • Citizen Kane (1941)
  • The Godfather (1972)
  • Casablanca (1942)
  • Raging Bull (1980)
  • Singin' in the Rain (1952)
  • Gone with the Wind (1939)
  • Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
  • Schindler's List (1993)
  • Vertigo (1958)
  • The Wizard of Oz (1939)
  • City Lights (1931)
  • The Searchers (1956)
  • Star Wars (1977)
  • Psycho (1960)
  • 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
  • Sunset Blvd. (1950)
  • The Graduate (1967)
  • The General (1927)
  • On the Waterfront (1954)
  • It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
  • Chinatown (1974)
jan 19 2012 ∞
jan 14 2022 +
  • Wolfwalkers (2020)
  • 1917 (2020)
  • Pretend It's a City (2021)
  • Summer of Soul (2021)
  • The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)
  • Judas and the Black Messiah (2021)
  • The Last Duel (2021)
  • I Am Greta (2020)
  • Mulan (2020)
jun 23 2020 ∞
dec 31 2021 +

New to Him

  • The Secret Garden
  • Loving Vincent
  • Hornblower series
  • Incendies
  • Frequency
  • Spellbound
  • The Untouchables
  • Persepolis
  • Dances with Wolves
  • Suspicion
  • Music Box
  • Lawrence of Arabia
  • Ben-Hur
  • A League of Their Own
  • The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe
  • Anne of Green Gables
  • Pride and Prejudice
  • Emma
  • My Best Friend's Wedding
  • Big Night
may 4 2020 ∞
may 8 2022 +
list icon
  • chiwetel ejiofor
  • nate parker
  • matthias schoenaerts
  • oscar isaac
  • sendhil ramamurthy
  • max irons
  • santiago cabrera
  • sam reid
  • richard madden
  • hugh dancy
  • ioan gruffudd
  • rufus sewell
  • richard armitage
  • demián bichir
  • eric bana
  • nathan owens
  • michael fassbender
  • chris pine
  • jesse williams
  • michael ealy
  • laz alonso
aug 4 2016 ∞
aug 8 2021 +
  • Raven Used Books (Northampton, MA)
  • Harvard Book Store (Cambridge, MA)
  • Brookline Booksmith (Brookline, MA)
  • Community Book Store (Brooklyn, NY)
  • Strand Book Store (New York, NY)
  • Greenlight Bookstore (Brooklyn, NY)
  • Bluestockings (New York, NY)
  • BookCourt (Brooklyn, NY)
  • Simon's Winthrop Bookstore (Winthrop, MA)
  • Politics & Prose (Washington, D.C.)
  • Shakespeare & Co. (Paris, France)
  • Prairie Lights (Iowa City, IA)
  • The Haunted Bookshop (Iowa City, IA)
  • Powell's City of Books (Portland, OR)
  • Bruised Apple Books (Peekskill, NY)
  • Split Rock Books (Cold Spring, NY)
  • Print (Portland, ME)
  • Binnacle Books (Beacon, NY)
aug 4 2016 ∞
jan 14 2022 +
list icon
  • The New World
  • The Piano
  • Daughters of the Dust
  • Forever
  • Nostalgia for the Light
  • Days of Heaven
  • In My Father's Den
  • Girl with a Pearl Earring
  • Bright Star
  • Romeo + Juliet
  • The Secret Garden
  • Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
  • If Beale Street Could Talk
  • Howl's Moving Castle
  • Romeo + Juliet
  • Marie Antoinette
  • Loving Vincent
  • I Am Not Your Negro
  • The Indian in the Cupboard
apr 16 2016 ∞
may 15 2021 +
  • Sufjan Stevens / Paul Simon
  • Olivia Thirlby / Rachel McAdams
  • Oliver Jackson-Cohen / Jake Gyllenhaal
  • Natalie Portman / Ashley Judd
  • Maggie Grace / Elisha Cuthbert
  • Leelee Sobieski / Helen Hunt
  • Kit Harington / Orlando Bloom
  • Edward Norton / Gary Oldman / Aiden Gillen
  • Lena Headey / Keira Knightley
  • Jonathan Jackson / Jesse Spencer
  • Jason Dohring / Dana Carvey
  • Emma Watson / Kiernan Shipka
nov 7 2015 ∞
nov 16 2015 +
  • 1989 - Glory
  • 1990 - Dances with Wolves
  • 1991 - Beauty and the Beast
  • 1992 - Malcolm X
  • 1993 - Searching for Bobby Fischer
  • 1994 - The Shawshank Redemption
  • 1995 - Before Sunrise
  • 1996 - When We Were Kings
  • 1997 - Gattaca
  • 1998 - Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned
  • 1999 - Liberty Heights
  • 2000 - Yi Yi
  • 2001 - Mostly Martha
  • 2002 - Bus 174
  • 2003 - Girl with a Pearl Earring
  • 2004 - The Motorcycle Diaries
  • 2005 - Batman Begins
  • 2006 - The Lives of Others
  • 2007 - Gone Baby Gone
  • 2008 - Happy-Go-Lucky
dec 27 2012 ∞
jan 7 2022 +
  • Tangerine
  • Aqua
  • Red
  • Lime Green
  • Olive Green
  • Sandy Brown
  • Magenta
  • Light Blue
  • Teal
  • Black
dec 6 2012 ∞
dec 17 2018 +
  • apple crisp
  • apple pie
  • bagel and cream cheese
  • banana bread
  • banana pudding
  • beef or chicken dumplings, fried or steamed
  • boston cream doughnuts
  • cannoli
  • caprese salad
  • chicken and waffles
  • chocolate chip cookies
  • cinnamon rolls
  • cornbread
  • dirt cake
  • egg salad sandwich
  • falafel
  • farfalle
  • fettuccine
  • fusilli
  • garlic knots
mar 15 2022 ∞
mar 15 2022 +

The Story of the Jews, Vol. I

  • fluvial
  • ringlets
  • lion-colored
  • clincher
  • high-domed
  • pith-helmeted
  • quibblers
  • wellspring
  • swirling
  • alluvium
  • ziggurats
  • nibbled
  • fulminating
  • embryonic
  • free-standing
  • crescent
  • arrears
  • balsam
  • unguents
  • restive
nov 15 2020 ∞
jan 22 2022 +
oct 29 2016 ∞
jan 28 2017 +
  • Film Forum (New York, NY)
  • IFC Center (New York, NY)
  • Lincoln Center (New York, NY)
  • MoMA (New York, NY)
  • Railroad Sq. Cinema (Waterville, ME)
  • Metrograph (New York, NY)
  • BAM Rose Cinemas (Brooklyn, NY)
  • Amherst Cinema (Amherst, MA)
  • Coolidge Corner Theatre (Brookline, MA)
  • FilmScene (Iowa City, IA)
aug 5 2016 ∞
feb 8 2020 +
  • Sweet Honey in the Rock ✮ ✮ ✮
  • Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals ✮ ✮
  • Richie Havens (x2) ✮ ✮ ✮
  • Carsie Blanton ✮ ✮
  • Loudon Wainwright, III ✮ ✮
  • Randy Newman ✮ ✮
  • Jamie Cullum ✮ ✮ ✮
  • Gregory Alan Isakov (x2) ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮
  • Punch Brothers with Sarah Jarosz ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮
  • Dan Mills ✮ ✮
  • Mipso ✮ ✮
  • Ana Egge ✮ ✮
  • The Stray Birds ✮ ✮
  • The Paper Kites ✮ ✮
  • Itzhak Perlman ✮ ✮ ✮
  • Mandolin Orange (x2) ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮
  • Paul Simon ✮ ✮ ✮
  • Corinne Bailey Rae ✮ ✮ ✮
  • The Weepies ✮ ✮ ✮
sep 12 2015 ∞
jun 6 2017 +
  • Senegal : Lac Rose in Greater Dakar
  • Jamaica : Floyd's Pelican Bar in St. Elizabeth
  • Jordan : The Petra Great Temple
  • Italy :
    • Tuscany
      • Saturnia Mineral Bath
    • Verona
    • Rome
      • The Spanish Steps
      • Trevi Fountain
    • La Scala Opera House in Milan
  • Singapore : Infinity Pool
  • Saint Vincent and the Grenadines : Tobago Cays
  • Spain : Benidorm
  • The Philippines : Villa Escudero
  • Portugal : Sol e Pesca in Lisbon
  • Thailand : The Archipelago Cinema
  • Vietnam : Bacson Valley
may 21 2015 ∞
may 8 2021 +