THE BELIEVER: ON THE WATER
Anybody who writes a book about fishing is obligated to say, Well it’s about more than fishing. And if they’re in the publicity department they add, It’s really about life.
Read MoreCOLD HARD FACTS: IN PRAISE OF ICE
Ice is cold. We know this. But we should take a moment to appreciate ice’s greatness. I like ice. Ice makes good things better and bad things less bad, which really recommends it.
Read MoreSPRING RITUALS: MEMORY SEASON
There’s a day early each Spring where you sense you’re on the far side of winter and you feel a surge of optimism. The first color appears in the trees, the sun comes out and the parks in New York are suddenly full.
Read MoreYOUR BETTER HALF: GIFTS FOR HER
It’s the busy season, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t give generously.
Read MoreGOOD RESTAURANTS: LE BERNARDIN
When our family is in New York and we want to celebrate something big we go to lunch at Le Bernardin. In a perfect world we visit MoMA beforehand (Robert Rauschenberg retrospective, anyone?). Then we walk around the corner for one of the best meals we’ll have all year.
Read MoreTHE ART OF THE WAGON: ALL HAIL SWEDISH ENGINEERING
Our family got our first Volvo wagon in 1990, the same year we got our first dog. The car was Swedish and black, the dog was Swiss and also black. We updated the wagons every few years and the dog less often. Now it’s hard to imagine our life without either.
Read MoreA LIFE IN AND OUT OF TIME: REMEMBERING DUNCAN HANNAH
In Minneapolis, next to the house where we grew up, lived a girl and boy the same age as my sister and me. We listened to them tell stories of their mysterious and enchanting uncle Duncan, known to the family affectionately as “Uncle Dunc.”
Read MoreGOOD IN EVERY LIGHT: FARROW & BALL
For many years my mom would bring a Farrow & Ball color book with us on trips to Europe. She’s an interior designer and wanted to match, as closely as possible, whatever charismatic shade of rose or pale yellow she came across. She rightly didn’t trust a photo; she needed to match the card.
Read MoreFLY FISHING PATAGONIA: A TRAVEL GUIDE
In January I went to Argentina. It was a trip unlike any other—dream fishing all over Patagonia. I recommend heading south (with a few days in Buenos Aires, one of the world’s great cities) in the strongest possible terms.
Read MoreGood Hotels: Worth The Wait
It’s a complicated time to travel. But let’s focus on the positive. Here are some hotels worth dreaming about. Some grandeur. Some ambition. After all, you never know.
Read MoreTHE TRAVEL DILEMMA: MISSING THE ROMANCE
We continue to live in strange times. We know that, and yet the strangeness shifts and we’re left to navigate new and unsettling circumstances.
Read MoreTHE DIRECT APPROACH: COLD HARD GIFTS
In newsletters and books, I like to provide general principles and then let readers figure out what makes sense for themselves. But sometimes that doesn’t work: people want to know precisely how much to tip a fishing guide or exactly where to stay in Kyoto. Not in theory, but very much in practice. Enough philosophizing. Give us the facts, man!
Read MoreGood Hotels: The Gritti Palace
Sometimes an indulgence evolves into a ritual—usually a promising development.
Read MoreON THE WATER: THE DRAKE'S COLLABORATION
Hey now! I’m very happy to let you know about my collaboration with Drake’s.
Read MoreON INTERIORS: PERSONAL SPACE
Over the next few months I’ll be writing about our new apartment and how it came together. That means painting the walls and arranging the furniture, naturally, but also smaller projects and eccentric ideas and, yes, design theories.
Read MoreOCTOBER BASEBALL: FALL'S FINEST
My sad baseball team has been sad enough for so long that I haven’t watched many games this season. The playoffs, however, are another matter.
Read MoreLAST DAYS OF SUMMER: THE BITTERSWEET SEASON
It’s strange when summer ends. You know the signs. The lake where I swim gets cooler every day, though you pretend not to notice.
Read MoreCENTRAL DIVISION: THE FIFTIETH EPISODE
It’s been a year of Central Division. It’s hard to decide if a podcast’s birthday is something to be proud of or embarrassed about. But here we are.
Read More"WHO SHOULD I MAKE IT OUT TO?": THE ART OF BOOK SIGNINGS
I just had a book event at Mend Provisions in Minneapolis. It’s always nice to sign books in your hometown. I’ve attended book events on both sides of the table, so to speak and they can really go either way.
Read More