Winter is coming. In Iowa, the most typical winter scene is a field of ragged corn stalks. Corn stalks are hard to come by in the city, so I have substituted a photograph of ornamental grasses growing beside a nearby highway on-ramp.
I customarily prepare for the coming of winter by accumulating a list of books that I can read when the weather is particularly bad. This year my list begins with books by two of my younger son's favorite authors: Orhan Pamuk and Peter Hoeg. The list continues with Beowulf, the second part of Don Quixote, whatever Italo Calvino stories I haven't read yet, and the Amber sci-fi anthology by Roger Zelazny. Bring on the blizzards!
