I’m in this odd spot right now. For the month of March, I’m guest blogging at Gawker. It’s exciting, but also scary and weird. So as soon as I finish Why Switzerland?–much more on that selection later—I’m going to read Norman Mailer’s The Executioner’s Song.

The Executioner’s Song is a very long book. It’ll probably take me the entire month to finish. But I like the idea of tying a book to a time in my life. When I’m done with the Executioner’s Song, I’ll be done with my guest blogging stint and the two will forever be connected in my head.

For me anyway, culture is the best way to remember an experience. One Wednesday evening in high school, my mom was teaching, my brother was in college, and my dad suggested I come into the city to meet him for dinner. I still remember the short story I read on the train in.