Treehouse

from Thomas Mundt, author of Out-of-Office Reply:

1. Lorrie Moore’s Birds of America. I’m pathetically late to the Moore party but, now that I’m here, I’m not leaving until the last of the beer’s been killed and folks are Frenching in the stairwell. The Flying Wallendas of literature, she walks the sad/hilarious tightrope better than just about anybody in this book.
2. Jose Canseco’s Twitter feed. Chronicles his less-than-successful on-field exploits with the Worcester Tornadoes, environmental activism, batting gloves marketing, and, most important, hater condemnation.
3. Alton Ellis’ Mr. Soul of Jamaica. I do a reverse-commute from Chicago to the suburbs for work M-F and, as expected, sit in a lot of road rage-inducing traffic. Mr. Ellis and his rocksteady compatriots keep my blood pressure (and kill count) at a manageable level.
4. The NBA offseason. Between the last-gasp efforts of Steve Nash and Ray Allen to secure championship ice, the never-ending man tantrum that is Dwight Howard, and the Dream Team ’92 vs. Whatever Team ’12 non-controversy, it’s been a busy month.
5. Cucumber Lime Gatorade. Only select retailers in my neighborhood sell this drink, and I’ll take circuitous routes to get home and/or shirk various responsibilities to obtain it. Replacing electrolytes has never been so exhilarating.