I suspect that my life, like yours, may seem like it has been ingeniously designed for the sole purpose of strangling chance. Workdays are based on consecutive meetings and video calls; The nights revolve around the children’s bedtime; date nights must be scheduled weeks in advance; Even phone calls to catch up with friends can require multiple rounds of text message coordination.
I have found a secret antidote to that entire structure, a magical portal that has no clock or key. It is a neighborhood porch, or rather, of the discarded books that accumulate there. For you, maybe that means a bargain bin or a pile of gifts; wherever you can find worn, worn books written in someone else’s name. They call to me like porch lights call to an insect.
Why do I love other people’s books? Because they do not carry obligations or expectations, unlike that novel that weighs on my nightstand, from a friend who insisted that I love. Or that other one who won an award I should care about. Or the one I’ve been halfway through for a year. If you’re not on guard, your free time can easily become someone else’s.
Meanwhile, the books found are happily dislocated from any hint of duty or “speech.” They are desert islands. Population: one.
On a recent Sunday afternoon, I purchased two well-reviewed books that had been on my reading list for a long time. That night, while walking the dog, I found a 1982 Saul Bellow novel on a porch. I’d never heard of it, and the cover had an unappealing illustration of a bald man’s forehead, but I picked up “The Dean’s December” like I’d won the lottery. Later that night, as I stayed up reading Bellow about communist Romania (why not!), I smiled as my carefully considered new purchases sat untouched in my bag.
I delighted in each yellowish phrase: “The meat tasted like fire and suggested sacrifice. It carried a creaturely flavor; The smell of the stable, of the leather, was still there, and she had to repress the unwanted feeling of animal intimacy it provided.”
Excellent! It is not like this? Or am I too in love to see clearly? Am I predetermined to love slouched books excessively because of my gratitude for fate? Did Ann Beattie write one of the best novels of all time in 1976, or do I love “Cold Winter Scenes” because I found it next to a fireplace in an old ski house? Is Vikram Chandra’s Indian gangster epic the richest thriller ever conceived, or do I love “Sacred Games” because I discovered it in someone else’s guest room?
My search for gems hidden in plain sight has me slowing down as I walk the dog at night, exploring common blocks that would otherwise pass by in a blur. It has piqued my curiosity: a Spanish translation of Nicholas Nickleby? Hey! – and reliably rewarded me for it.
Serendipity can be difficult to summon, but when you manage to find it, in a doorway or elsewhere, pause to appreciate the alchemy taking place: drab artifacts begin to glow, while obedient ones fade.
-
Viktor Orban, Hungary’s prime minister, backed Sweden’s bid to join NATO after it agreed to give Hungary more fighter jets, ending a 19-month blockade.
Other great stories
-
Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, has proposed maintaining indefinite military control of Gaza once the war ends. The Palestinians denounced his plan.
-
A Manhattan jury found Wayne LaPierre, the former leader of the NRA, responsible for wasting charitable funds and ordered him to repay more than $4 million.
-
Many Republicans are distancing themselves from an Alabama Supreme Court ruling that frozen embryos are children. Donald Trump said in vitro fertilization should be legal, and Alabama lawmakers are considering legislation to protect it.
-
The US government said it considered new Israeli settlements in the West Bank, Palestinian territory occupied by Israel, illegal under international law.
-
Odysseus, the first private spacecraft to land on the Moon, capsized but remains operational.
CULTURAL CALENDAR
🏆 Precursor Bonanza (Saturday and Sunday): The Academy Awards ceremony is on March 10, but if you’re trying to win your office job or are just an awards show nerd, this is a weekend worth watching. The Screen Actors Guild Awards (aka SAG) stream on Netflix on Saturday, followed by the Film Independent Spirit Awards (streaming on YouTube) and the Producers Guild Awards on Sunday. Since so many Oscar contenders are also nominated for these so-called precursor awards, you’ll have an idea of who the favorites are and can bet accordingly.
📺 “Shogun” (Tuesday): The first two episodes of this 10-part series will air next week, so we’ll soon learn what a TV show in the works for more than a decade is like. Anything to fill the “True Detective: Night Country” void in our hearts!
RECIPE OF THE WEEK
San Francisco Style American Vietnamese Garlic Noodles
How much garlic is too much? The answer depends on your adoration of Allium sativum, the species of garlic, and mine runs deep. Naturally, I’m happy to make J. Kenji López-Alt’s excellent San Francisco-Style Vietnamese American Garlic Noodles. A spicy paste made from 20 cloves is cooked in butter, which softens it quite a bit, while oyster, fish and soy sauces add a complex and flavorful depth. (Watch Kenji prepare the dish on YouTube.)
The hunt: A couple wanted a place in upstate New York with room for art supplies, music equipment, and chickens. What house did you choose? Play our game.
What you get for $300,000: A 1920s two-bedroom cabin in New Braunfels, Texas; a one-bedroom condo in Atlanta; or a 1925 Craftsman Bungalow in Omaha.
LIVING
WIRECUTTER TIPS
Get a head start on spring planting
Sowing seeds indoors is a great way to get ahead with planting and spend much less money than you would buying adult plants come spring. You will need a light source that is strong enough to nourish the seedlings during their early stages of life. But don’t be fooled by fancy packaging. After growing hundreds of seedlings in my living room, I can attest that standard LED shop lights (yes, the $20 ones you see in dirty basements or garages) are just as good as expensive grow lights. — Sebastian Compagnucci
GAME OF THE WEEK
No. 2 Houston vs. No. 11 Baylor, men’s college basketball: What does that say about an unstoppable force and an immovable object? Baylor’s offense is among the best in the country, while Houston has the number one defense by a wide margin. The NCAA tournament is less than a month away; You might consider scoring the winner of this one for a deep race in your group. Today at 12 pm ET on CBS.