What with the heat, I’ve nothing to report. I haven’t done anything; I haven’t been anywhere. I did go out today, but I didn’t go far: the HousingWorks branch at 90th and Second and the Barnes & Noble at Lexington and 86th (the destination of my last street-crossing outing, last Thursday) were the far points.

Kathleen had packed three fat bags of donations for HousingWorks, but she had neglected to Fill Out the Form. To be exact, she didn’t know that we had any forms in the house. She had composed comprehensive lists, specific to each bag, but No Form. “If you want a deduction, you have to name a figure,” I told her on the phone, when I was ready to go out but had just noticed the No Form problem. Kathleen named a figure, and I Filled Out the Form. It was duly stamped, and the appropriate yellow copy is sitting with Kathleen’s mail.

After lunch, I went to Barnes & Noble, in search of books by Jennifer Egan. It will come as no surprise to experienced bookshoppers that notwithstanding the acclaim that has greeted A Visit From the Goon Squad, Ms Egan’s new book (have I mentioned this???), B&N’s “Fiction and Literature” shelves proffered but one title, The Keep. As this was secretly the very title that I was looking for, I didn’t complain. What’s hard, though, is having promised not to open The Keep until I have finished The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet — a book that, I’m happy to report, has really picked up in the past thirty pages or so.

I also bought some CDs. All of Mozart’s string quartets, in a $40 box from DG (the Amadeus Quartet — good late-mid-century stuff). An album of dance music from the halcyon days of Louis XIV. I bought this to go with an article about Versailles in the latest issue of L’Express. Poor Quatorze will simply have to sit there as I ladle it out — did he know about the Musée Lambinet? Can he bear to listen to another cut of Lully? Competitive Versaillesomanie is not a pretty sport, especially when expensive teacups are involved. I don’t gloat; Q’s revenge can be fearsome.

Buying CDs in a store — now that’s a novelty. I’m serious! It has been so long since it occurred to me to do such a thing that I’m ready to write a mash note to the management: what a neat idea, this selling of CDs! It would be utterly pathetic if the odd jewel didn’t turn up. My heart just about stopped when I saw that Keith Jarrett’s recording of (some of) Handel’s keyboard suites is still on the market! I bought my first copy nearly fifteen years ago, at a Borders in Portland, Maine. It is one of the best recordings that I have ever heard, clearing any top-ten list that you can devise. I’m amazed because what makes the recording great is its fantastic taste: Mr Jarrett plays with a scrupulous virtuosity that puts everyone else in this repertoire to shame. Is that why the CD is still out there? It seems too much to hope for.

Here’s why I really braved the scorching heat (but I do exaggerate) to venture all the way to Lexington Avenue: I wanted to see how our local branch of the Shake Shack is coming along. And it is coming along! Whether they’ll be open by the end of the month (some reports) or the end of the summer (per lettering on the window), it won’t be long before I can put on an extra fifty pounds with the Danny Meyer Gutbomb Diet. Yumm!

Drop me a line at rjk@dailyblague.com
This entry was posted on Monday, July 12th, 2010 at 11:32 pm.