Hello friends. Here are some current must-reads, because reading is the best thing to do for your eyes and your brain, and your back and legs too because you can sit or lie down while doing it. Sitting is the best! I have had some of the happiest times of my life while sitting. Anyway:

1. The NYT’s 1990 report of the Charles/Carol Stuart case. Charles allegedly (hah!) shot and killed his preg. wife because he was worried she would never work again and be a financial burden. So he did the logical thing: Killed her, and then made up a sham story about how a black man carjacked them. He even shot himself to make it seem plausible! A few months later he “committed suicide” (In certain cases throughout history, “committing suicide” is mafia-ese for getting whacked –ed) by “jumping off of a bridge.”

2. This lovely ditty about the lone woman of San Nicolas Island, now home to secret naval tests of foreign-made missiles. Choice passage:

Alone on the island, Juana Maria proved quite resourceful. She cast fishing lines with hooks made from shells. She built a hut of whale bones. She replaced her worn clothing with garments made from the feathers of cormorants.

Such a role model.

3. The Good Soldiers is the best book I have read this year. This is how good it is: I started reading it on a train. When I got off the train I had to sit down in the station to continue reading it. I stayed in the station until I was done.