Favorite things???? I'll show you favorite things....
1) The Sun Room. On Sunday, when the sky was a vivid blue, light reflected from the ripples in the pool displayed matching white-on-white ripples on the ceiling of the Sun Room as we read peacefully. It doesn't get much better than that.
2) Music, in its remarkable variety, and its mystical power to calm and relax. As we read, I listened to classical guitar on my iPod without disturbing another reader less enchanted by classical guitar. Later we both listened to City of Angels on the stereo (best lyric: "Truth to tell, L.A. isn't much different than a pretty girl with the clap.")
3) The Internet. Information about almost anything, almost instantly. I read a book that made reference to the remarkable French diplomat Talleyrand, so I Googled him and found (1) his career was even more remarkable than I thought; (2)an image which showed that he pretty much resembled the physical description of the book; and (3) an image of his wife (also described fairly accurately in the book). Those who grow up with such information resources readily available live in a very different world than when I was young, and would have needed an afternoon in an extensive library to approach the same level of information that Google turns up in a few minutes, at home.
4) Cheap long distance. It rocks to be able to talk to Elizabeth P. in Florida, and Catherine C. in Illinois, and John C. in California, to say nothing in particular, because the cost is essentially irrelevant. So, call often.
