D

What I’m Reading Now: Wick Allison

Wick Allison, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief, D Magazine Partners

Books: Right now, I’m deep into Hilary Mandel’s Booker Prize-winning novel Wolf Hall. Actually, I am past the midway point of this absorbing, marvelous character study of Thomas Cromwell, and I don’t yet know why it is titled Wolf Hall. I am also in the middle of the Everyman’s Library edition of Montaigne’s Essays, edited in 1943 by Donald Frame. As Hilary Mandel has become my new favorite author, Montaigne has become my new BFF. Jane Kramer wrote a piece in the New Yorker in September entitled “Me, Myself, and I” claiming that Montaigne was the first modern man. Certainly he was the first to explore so entertainingly the ins and outs of the human psyche, using as his touchstone his own. But I am reminded that I am also (on my IPhone Kindle app) in the middle of another book, Bill Bryson’s In a Sunburned Country, which has made me never want to go to Australia, for the fear that it may not turn out to be as hilarious a continent as he makes it out to be. Then again, as one critic wrote, Bryson could make dryer lint funny. So you can imagine his recounting of a cricket match he listens to on the only radio station he can get as he drives 480 miles through an Australian desert without ever seeing another car.

Websites: Andrew Sullivan and Megan McArdle at The Atlantic are daily musts, along with HuffPost and Memeorandum.com. I regularly check in with economist Tyler Cowan at Marginal Revolution, for Texas news with The Quorum Report and Texas Tribune, for local art at Renegade Bus, and for industry news at Silicon Valley Insider and I Want Media. Of course, I check in with FrontBurner a couple of times a day and with our other D Magazine blogs at least daily.

Print: New York Times daily, usually when I get home from work. I tried reading it on Kindle, but hated the experience. The eye is a natural editor.  A digitized table of contents only makes me want to skip everything. Instead, with the print edition, I find myself stopping on page 17A and reading a story on a subject that up to that moment I didn’t know I cared about, say teenage ophan boys tending fish farms in Zambia. The combination of headline, subhead, photo, photo caption, and pull quote will attract me to things I otherwise could have cared less about, and that’s what I love about print — it allows me to suprise myself. I try to keep up with The New Yorker, but fail and end up stuffing a bunch into a knapsack when I’m going to be on a plane. I also subscribe to Conde Nast Traveler, for aspirational purposes only, and to The Week, for the book reviews. I would subscribe to D Magazine but I get it at the office. D Home, strangely, is one of my favorite magazines, and I love to learn from D CEO about my peers in business.

What I’m Reading Now: Ken Knight

Ken Knight, retailer, currently living in California

Books: I’m a mixed bag in the “reading department,” as I am more a scanner than a deep reader — but I enjoy sitting still and reading, and putting aside all the distractions of my constant online work and the daily input from The New York Times (Tom Friedman, Frank Rich, Paul Krugman are my favorite columns).  I’m an avid Charlie Rose watcher–nothing like the benefit of a one-to-one conversation to know a personality in our culture, and he has access to so many people–from politicians to business leaders and celebrities.
 
  Once I heard some jovial guy say, “I don’t read–that’s why they invented TV and movies.”   
 
Granted, it is a lot easier just to sit back and gather visual images with words read for you, but obviously we’re missing some details in the process. 
 
I recently saw “The Lake House,” a twisted angle on the Jane Austen book, “Persuasion,” in which Sandra Bullock engages in a time-warped romance with an unreachable soul mate, played by Keanu Reeves.  The movie actually made me want to tackle the subject more, so I got the book and am just starting it.  Always up for a wrenching romance story.  (I’m living in one, myself, so I might as well see how to handle it!)
 
I’m also a big non-fiction fan, and recently stumbled upon a coffee table book about all the maps (from the beginning of making maps to the present) for my alternate state of residence, California.  Title:  “Historical Atlas of California,” by Derek Hayes.
 
The entire process of watching the geography evolve in the eyes of the old world to the present has allowed me to learn a great deal of history. In Texas, we all (by state law) are taught about our state in the seventh grade.  Out here, I’m a newbie, and it was surprising, for instance, to learn that as late as 1830, before the Gold Rush brought hundreds of thousands this direction, the entire land mass of California was only inhabited by about 24,000 people!  Maps are amazing learning tools if you have a book in which the writer tells the stories behind the cartography.
 
Another interesting book I’ve started is, “The Black Swan,” by Nassim Nicholas Taleb.  With watershed events like 9/11, our recent financial debacle, and even the unexpected creation of a company like Google, the author shows us that our minds are trained to focus on specifics while we should really think more in generalities.  A “black swan” is a term for an improbable event that is unpredictable, carries a massive impact, and afterwards we concoct explanations that make the event appear less random, and more predictable, than it was.  After our world financial picture’s trip to the abyss, I think we all need some understanding–another vote for reading!
 
Websites:  With blogs–I’m not so watchful.  With the advantage of holding lots of friends in my little “filing cabinet” called Facebook, I get my share of suggestions and random thoughts and entertainment–and all the gossip, openings, and even weather reports in Dallas.  It’s amazing to watch the evolution of where our eyeballs are moving online.  Who knew we would have so much time to be voyeurs into the lives of others.  For me, spending so much time in California now, it is a way to stay connected to home.  It’s been a lifesaver at times, so if you’re reading this now–friend me!

What I’m Reading Now – Donald Fowler

Donald Fowler – manager and buyer Nest Dallas

Books: You know I am closing in on the musical I am writing about Jack the Ripper called “Creep – the very,very sad but unfortunately true and completely fabricated tale of Jack the Ripper”. So at my bedside currently are three books.
“Jack the Ripper-the facts” by Paul Begg
“Portrait of a Killer- Jack the Ripper- case closed” by Patricia Cornwell
“What Jane Austin ate and Charles Dickens knew”- Daniel Pool
The last 2 books are really interesting. Patricia Cornwell has a very interesting theory about who Jack was.
Also I am rereading “Minding the Store” by Mr. Stanley Marcus and Deluxe-how luxury lost it’s luster” by Dana Thomas
Also I am re reading a book I love on the Group Theatre called “Real Life Drama” by Wendy Smith. This book really brings all the people alive…I love it!
Magazines:
I always pick the following mags
DHome!    Vanity Fair, Surface, Metropolitan Home, Wallpaper, and Details

What I’m Reading Now – Tyler Sweatman

Tyler Sweatman, manager Mecox Gardens in Dallas

Books: The Conscious Cook  by Tal Ronnen
I love to read cook books more than any other books.  I enjoy the chemistry of food.  I know it is weird, but recipes are like short stories.  I bet you’ll never look at a recipe the same way again.
Million Little Pieces  by James Frey
Oprah loved it then hated him for fabricating part of the story.  Wish someone would do the screen play.  This is the second time I am reading this.
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
I will start this next week.  Check back and I’ll let you know.
I must be the only person in the world that has not heard of this until now.  What kind of a bubble do I live in?

Bookmarks: ITunes, Amazon, Mecox.com, IMDB.com Bing, Google. What else do you need, those will get you anywhere you want to go.

Magazines: All of the D’s…Elle Decor, Vanity Fair, GQ, Mens Health, O, Garden & Gun, Veranda

What I’m Reading Now: Barbara Buzzell

Barbara Buzzell, President and Founder, The Buzzell Company

Books: I am a Kindle fan and I love it. Great for books. Not a fan for newspapers. The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe by J. Randy Taraborrelli.  An easy read.  It is a haunting and intimate biography with amazing research that captures Monroe’s sensitivity, desperation and despair. Last Night in Twisted River by John Irving.  I love anything by Irving.  His unique blend of rich details and surprises in the characters and story line makes every Irving book a must read. Wildflower: An Extraordinary Life and Untimely Death in Africa by Mark Seal.  Recently finished this book.  I first read Mark’s story in Vanity Fair and his deeper description of lifelong conservationist Joan Root’s life and her hard-fought crusade to save Kenya’s beautiful Lake Naivasha truly makes her a modern heroine. I hear it has been optioned for a movie by Julia Roberts.  Can’t wait. My Father’s Tears and Other Stories by John Updike.  I had the chance to meet Updike at the Nasher Series last year and have always been amazed by his story-telling.  These short stories have all the classic Updike characteristics. Amazing.

Bookmarks: The Daily Beast (for a first read in the morning of the top stories from around the world—love it!); Lindsay Pollack (for art world info); Associated Press (for breaking news); American Airlines (always want to travel!).

Magazines, newspapers, journals: I read four newspapers every morning: Dallas Morning News, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today.  Favorite magazines include Vanity Fair, New Yorker, Travel &Leisure, Conde Nast Traveler…and, of course I always read all the D magazine group of publications.

What I’m Reading Now: Geoffrey Henning

Geoffrey Henning, Design Director, J. C. Penney

I just finished reading the Twilight books, and I am glad I am done. I was excited to start reading them; they ended up being a huge disappointment as I was not the target audience. It was very juvenile and I wanted the series to be much darker and deeper.

Bookmarks: Love to go to retail sites now. Club Monaco is my favorite, not only for the fashion and how they approach their buisness but with the art. music and social info they provide as it relates to their brand. Also like The Joe Fresh site, a Canadian retailer from the founder of Club Monaco.

Magazines: Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue, New York Times,Vanity Fair, D Magazine.

What I’m Reading Now: Bart Weiss

Bart Weiss, Associate Professor, UT Arlington, head of the film video program, Director Videofest

Books: For several years I have been working on a documentary about the fundamentals of Fundamentalism so most of my reading centers on that. I have been reading Bruce Lawrence’s “Defenders of God” which reads more as a textbook, and “Religious Fundamentalism: Global, Local and Personal” by Peter Herriot.  But I have been really enjoying “Rapture Ready “ by Daniel Radosh, who takes his readers around the US exploring the parallel pop culture of Christian fundamentalists.  We start with trade show t-shirts, buttons and other items but then visit Christian raves (if there are any here I would love to see them) and onto Christian comedians, evangelistic wrestlers, theme parks, and book stores. But the best writing is about Christian music and the lalapalooza of Christian music, the Cornerstone festival.  Radosh bring us along almost like an anthropologist trying to understand the culture, and the people who both create this universe and the consumers of it.

Bookmarks: NewYork Times (technology and op-ed love David Pogue); Art and Seek blog; Politico; Sad Steve; Kenstone.net and of course videofest.org

Magazines: Wired, Funny Times, Washington Monthly; Mac World; D Magazine

What I’m Reading Now: Alan Lidji

Alan Lidji, Principal Lidji Design

Current book: Indignation by Philip Roth. A charming story that recalls his early classic Portnoy’s Complaint. I ate up the first 120 pages and now find myself uninterested in finishing it.  Earlier, I read The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan and The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck as our economy crashed all around us. It’s fascinating to think that only 75 years ago there was such a disaster in our country, starvation and hopelessness on scale that is really unimaginable today. And to see how Americans coped makes anything we are going through seem inconsequential by comparison.

Bookmarks: Designobserver.com globalpost.com tabletmag.com cartype.com

Magazines, newspapers:  New Yorker,  Vanity Fair, New York Times and Dallas Morning News

What I’m Reading Now: Brian Bolke

Brian Bolke, Owner, Forty Five Ten

Books: I wish I had more time to read. I guess Vanity Fair isn’t really a book. But here goes. Just finished The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson when I was on vacation. Couldn’t put it down — a great mix of murder mystery and family anthology. Looking forward to the next one, The Girl Who Played With Fire. The author is now deceased, so I have to read it slowly.

Bookmarks: WWD.com, Style.com, and, yes, perezhilton.com

Magazines: W, Elle Décor, Vogue, Details, Vanity Fair

Newspapers: New York Times junkie

What I’m Reading Now: Michael Solis

Michael Solis, Creative Director, Store Development, Visual Planning, Neiman Marcus

I”m reading Outliers : A Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell, a blue print of the hidden advantages that got certain people to where they are — from athletes, The Beatles and Bill Gates to even your date of birth. It’s a great ” WOW ” book. Also Process: 50 Product Designs from Concept to Manufacture by Jennifer Hudson . This book is an in-depth study of the creative and manufacturing processes behind 50 contemporary domestic design objects. I love the thought process involved in making things. You see design morphing though the initial ideas /sketches to the final product. Its always amazing to see how things come to fruition.

Bookmarks: core77.com; youtube.com – ( any daily monster video); instructables.com;mocoloco.com; neimanmarcus.com

Magazines, newspapers: Frame magazine; dwell; Rolling Stone; New York Times

What I’m Reading Now: Richmond Punch

Richmond Punch, Musician, Artistic Director of Uptown Dallas Youth Orchestra

I am reading a great book called the Little Book of Hindu Deities by Sanjay Patel. I love discovering the principles of the various Gods of Hinduism. This book was a gift to me and serves me well on my journey in life. Another source for my journey has been reading Making Great Decisions by T.D. Jakes. It’s  important for me to connect on a spiritual level to the various styles of music I play, including Indian music and Gospel music among many others. I recommend artists make such discoveries when learning music. Don’t be distracted by the music. Reading about what’s behind it will make the difference.

Bookmarks: Foodnetwork.com is great to read about ingredients and new recipes, Linkedin has been a great way for me to connect in my business, also DailyCandy, which is great for what’s new and unique in town. I can’t wait for them to cover my story, lol.

Magazines, Newspapers: Town and Country is great for discovering some of life’s best pasttimes. Uptown Magazine is a fun national publication. I also enjoy the D Magazine, New York Times, Dallas Morning News, and Rolling Out.

What I’m Reading Now: Allison V. Smith

Allison V. Smith, Photographer

Books: Looking in: Robert Frank’s The Americans: Like any good photographer, I am a big fan of Robert Frank’s The Americans. I have two editions of the 50-year old classic and recently purchased Looking In which documents the book in every way possible. The most breathtaking part of the book is the countless number of Frank’s contact sheets, printed in full with Frank’s own editing marks. Basically, I could stare at those pages for hours. It’s fascinating to see how a real master works. Asakusa Portraits by Hiroh Kikai: Japanese photographer Hiroh Kikai’s black-and-white street portraits from the Asakusa quarter of Tokyo are as haunting and beautiful as Diane Arbus and simple and striking as Avedon’s American West. Kikai’s portraits span over 30 years and each portrait is more intriguing than the last. I feel very lucky to have a personalized signed copy. Pyramids by Mike Slack: Polaroid announced last year that they would no longer be producing their famous instant film. This will be Slack’s final book of Polaroids. Slack finds beauty in the overly offbeat and obviously overlooked. I recommend his past two books OK OK OK and Scorpio for the full Slack collection (together they look sharp on the bookshelf!) New Mexico by Lee Friedlander: Friedlander’s latest book of scenes from New Mexico is exquistly printed by Radius Books. The large format black-and-white book is filled with Friedlander’s quirky view of life. Most appear to be shot out of his driver’s side window.

Blogs: lens.blogs.nytimes.com; myparentswereawesome.tumblr.com; journal.davidbyrne.com; glasstire.com; gotopublicschool.com/

Magazines: Oxford American, Texas Monthly, SHOTS magazine

What I’m Reading Now: John Sughrue

John Sughrue, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Brook Partners, Inc.

I’m currently reading True Compass, the memoir by Ted Kennedy.  I enjoy contemporary political history and also am a product of the Boston Irish political tradition.  I find the work enjoyable and informative bringing me back to the days of my grandfather and the influence the Kennedy’s have had on Boston for now four generations.  True Compass is written in an anecdotal style and for that reason is more breezy than scholarly.  In addition, it is not a ” true confessions” but a work that Kennedy spun in an effort to contribute to his legacy.  He touches briefly on Chappaquiddick but does offer something to the effect that “…atonement lasts a lifetime.”  Kennedy is certainly a controversial political figure but he is also a giant personality exercising great influence as an effective legislator on the America we know today.  It’s a good read.

Magazines, newspapers: Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Dallas Morning News, D Magazine and the New Yorker.

Bookmarks: Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg and Front Burner.

What I’m Reading Now: Ike Isenhour

Ike Isenhour, Dallas-based interior designer

I’m reading John Irving’s Last Night in Twisted River. He wrote my favorite book, ever, A Prayer for Owen Meany. I am also reading, less aggressively, The Clinton Tapes: Wrestling History with the President by Taylor Branch. Next on my list is: The Laguna, by Barbara Kingsolver. I keep on my coffee table two books from the exhibits  Jacqueline Kennedy: The White House Years and  Chanel at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Always on my nightstand is  In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, which I read a bit at a time, because his writing inspires my design sensibilities. Capote’s voice was so American and I find his writing beautiful, artful, descriptive, almost minimal, yet effective – the way I like interiors to “read”. And for the beach in Mexico over Thanksgiving: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz.

Magazines, newspapers: I read the New York Times. And all the trade magazines.  I am sad that Metropolitan Home is folding. My favorite is World of Interiors and I always grab German Architectural Digest, which I think does a superb job. The British Magazines are great (House & Garden) and they keep me busy when on my connections through Heathrow.

What I’m Reading Now: Scott Simons

Scott Simons, Executive Marketing Director, Whole Foods, Southwest Region

Right now, I’m reading two books.  Moral Disorder and Other Tales, a collection of related short stories by Margaret Atwood, and You Better Not Cry, the new holiday-themed memoir by Augusten Burroughs.

I’m reading Moral Disorder because, after having my heart broken and mind blown by Atwood’s The Blind Assassin a few years ago, I set out to read all of her books. She’s one of my favorite authors and I’m fascinated by her writing style, smart feminism, themes and cleverness. Moral Disorder tells the story of one family’s emotional and psychological struggles through the eyes of a daughter, and is, so far, fairly somber and far from uplifting. However, the stories live in Atwood’s inimitable clever style, which makes it worth it. I love her use of language.

You Better Not Cry is an absolutely hysterical set of stories that had me belly laughing on a plane this week, much to my embarrassment. I highly recommend this one as a hilarious holiday ride with the hyper-creative child of a 1970’s dysfunctional family. The book also manages to be quite poignant in many instances.  A delight to read.

Bookmarks: Homesick Texan – great food blog all about Texas fare with good photography; Boston Herald’s The Big Picture – amazing aggregate site for photojournalism; Desire to Inspire – total and complete design porn; New York Times online – for real news.

Magazines, newspapers: Elle Décor, my heart sings when a new issue hits the mailbox. I love their aesthetic. Bon Appetit– don’t care for their new photo styling at all, but always like their recipes. Dwell – I waffle on the content in almost every issue, and their art director is heavy handed, but I can’t imagine my life without it. Saveur – my absolute favorite food publication.  Great photography and an egalitarian love of all good food.

What I’m Reading Now: Lucy Billingsley

Lucy Billingsley, Partner, The Billingsley Company

Books: Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese – beautifully written and totally absorbing; The Case for God by Karen Armstrong – clarity  and depth of knowledge; Too Big to Fail by Andrew Ross Sorkin – required reading; The Brain that Changes Itself by Norman Doidge – the best survey of the great research and insights on the brain.

Websites: I only go when required.

Magazines: D Magazine (Dallas’ Best) and if I read magazines  regularly I would read The Economist. Sadly office paper work takes precedent every time.

Newspapers: The New York Times and Dallas Business Journal.

What I’m Reading Now: Heidi Dillon

Heidi Dillon is founder and CEO of The Fashionistas

Books: I am obsessed with books about queens.  Go figure! I love Alison Weir’s books – The Life of Elizabeth, The Princess in the Tower, Queen Isabella, etc.

Bookmarks: I confess that I have become a bit of a Facebook addict (feel free to friend me!).  My friend Tina Craig’s site, bagsnob.com, is a favorite as well as style.com.

Magazines, newspapers: Most people can’t start their day without their morning cup of coffee.  For me it’s Women’s Wear Daily and the New York Times that get me going.  I adore Vanity Fair and would be remiss if I didn’t include D Magazine on my list of favorites.

What I’m Reading Now: Peggy Levinson

Reading is probably my favorite pastime – I’m basically a lazy person so I just like to sit and read.  It is also my drug of choice, if I’m stressed or upset, my family knows to look for me in my bed under the covers with a book.  I also superstitiously will not get on a plane without at least two books that I haven’t read in case we get stuck somewhere. Hijacked?  No problem if I have enough to read.  That being said, I always have several books that I’m reading at the same time – depending on my mood is which one I pick up.

Books: I just finished “The Girl Who Played With Fire” by Stieg Larssen.  This is the sequel to “The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo”, and if you haven’t read them, I highly recommend.  Lisabeth Salander is one of the most interesting characters I’ve run into lately – good, bad, smart, sensitive, amoral, and completely enthralling.  The novels are posthumous, the author delivered these 2 and one other manuscript right before he died.  Can’t wait for the third.  I’m also reading “Girls Like Us” the biography of Joni Mitchell, Carole King, and Carly Simon.  A must read for those of us who listened to “Tapestry” and “For the Roses” until the grooves wore out. (The subject is music, of course, but the sub-plot is all about drugs, sex and rock n roll – James Taylor was really getting some.)  I’m also reading “A New Earth” by Eckhart Tolle – just to keep me in touch, not to dream, plan, and worry so much.  I try to “be here now” always right after I’ve read some of the book.

Bookmarks: Not a lot – I’m still a print in hand junkie.  But, I do read Frontburner everyday, I like to check out Wikipedia because I can find out such interesting, random facts like that Talavera pottery is made in Pueblo, Mexico exactly how it was made in the 1500s.  Obviously, some things can’t be improved.  I, of course, love many design sites.  Some of my favorites:  Design Milk – kind of a mix of design and architecture, The Style Files – great shots of products, rooms all over the world.  I got totally fascinated with all things Swedish (the Stieg Larssen books are all set in Sweden) and this site has some great Swedish style.  Also, Dezeen, which shows cool design and cutting edge architecture from all around the world.  I’m amazed how much we can really find here, too.

Magazines: Everything I can read:  I take Time, Newsweek, Vanity Fair, Town & Country, National Geographic, House Beautiful, and all the D products.  I actually read Time and Newsweek – just because I always have (sort of stuck in my ways, I am), although their content is almost identical lately.  Vanity Fair has really great articles – some a little tabloid-ish but always written so well, and I get a kick out of Christopher Hitchens.  I aspire to Town & Country, just like everyone who reads it but doesn’t have 50 million dollars, does.  Seriously, it always seems like a slice from a more gentile time – when everyone’s manners were perfect because that’s all they had to worry about were manners.  And, National Geographic is absolutely the best for pictures and stories about places on the earth that probably I’ll never get to.

What I’m Reading Now: Jan Strimple

Jan Strimple, International Model, Dallas Fashion and Event Producer

Books: Wacky Chicks by Simon Doonan. Doonan is devilish, and it’s a fast read.  With his staccato phrasing it’s irreverent and entertaining — the dish on some less-than-privileged oddities who have parlayed their way into pop-culture-society’s curiosity.  Purely for fun.  Very Simon. Message to Irene by Patricia Pfeffer. This is also a collection of life lessons, most barely filling a page .. with wonderful reminders about how our actions, words, and thinking manifest themselves in our lives. I like it because it’s easy to do a random read and take a daily message with you about the choices we make in this lifetime.  The source of these messages may startle a few.  They came via automatic writing between 1968 and 1974 through my Ohio grandmother Irene’s hand, from an Ellis County man by the name of John T.White who was killed in Germany in 1945 during WWII.   His writings share spiritual guidelines from someone with the perspective of both a physical and a non-physical existence.    When Grammy died, my mother,  Pat Pfeffer, collected these writings, transcribed them from his penmanship (shown in the book), and collated them by subject. The result is a book that provokes deep thought, while fueling you with a daily vitamin for your soul. Her email is karmaexists9@aol.com.

Bookmarks:  style.com for updated and archival runway shows and beauty images, always inspiring! Iqons.com, an online journal-meets-blog-meets-networkingsite for an underground slant on the international fashion/club/music consumer scene (not an industry site); basbleu.com, off-beat books/finds, a well edited selection of non-mainstream reads.

Magazines, journals, newspapers: American Vogue, which lost itself in the early 90’s, but is now the journal it should be – addressing varied aspects of a woman’s life and interests, with stellar editorials. Fashion156.com, an online mag that focuses on emerging talent in fashion/beauty/film. Vanity Fair – always a good, meaty read. Women’s Wear Daily, my daily business journal, keeps me up on the rapid changes in my industry and its environment . D CEO, great for reading more in-depth about the people who shape our city – about failures, triumphs and future visions.  It’s a stong addition to the D family.  The Optimist Magazine (great info about child related programs/fundraisers that have succeeded across the U.S.), filled with event profiles and photos submitted by the foundations/fundraisers.

What I’m Reading Now: Michael Cain

CEO and Artistic Director, Dallas Film Society/DALLAS International Film Festival

Books I’m reading: Stealing Castro’s Daughter by first time author Lee Brooks, is an enthralling book. It is a true story of an American man’s quest to liberate the woman he loves from the clutches of Cuba. Full of unbelievable adventure and romance; even in the most desperate of times, humor prevails. You want to cry, but find yourself laughing out loud. It reminds me of how fortunate we are to be free. My wife Melina finished the book last month so she teases me with more information each night, sort of competitive reading. It will be a fun movie! The book is self distributed on http://www.facebook.com/l/dc244;Amazon.com. The New Earth, Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose by author Eckhart Tolle is sort of my mental yoga. When we returned from Greece this summer I committed that my next real project would be “me.” This book allows me to focus my thoughts and remember the power and calmness of fully living in the moment and making friends with now. I’m half way through the book and I look forward to picking it up and escaping the static that can block out the good that surrounds us, if we are only open to it.

Websites: facebook.com; TED.com; dallasfilm.org; nytimes.com; variety.com; pandora.com; asmallworld.net; kcrw.org; indiewire.com; attpac.org; snopes.com(it’s just fun); archive.org, (I’m hooked); twitter.com/dallasfilm; theonion.com

Magazines, newspapers, journals: Zoetrope -All Story, Vanity Fair, D Magazine, NY Times, Robb Report

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What I’m Reading Now: Roger Horchow

Roger Horchow, catalog magnate, Broadway producer, author.

Books:  The Outliers by Malcom Gladwell; Rogues Gallery: The Secret History of the Moguls and the Money that Made the Metropolitan Museum by Michael Gross; Texas Rich: The Hunt Dynasty from the Early Oil Days Through the Silver Crash by Harry Hunt III; Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Journey to Change the World… One Child at a Time, by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin.

Magazines:  Economist, Forbes, D Magazine, Vanity Fair, New Yorker, Town and Country

Newspapers:  New York Times, Wall St. Journal, Dallas Morning News, Nantucket Inquirer & Mirror, New York Observer

What I’m Reading Now: Elaine Liner

Elaine Liner, Editor, Theater Jones, and Dallas Observer theater critic

I’m reading The Mirror Effect: How Celebrity Narcissism Is Seducing America by Dr. Drew Pinsky. Smart new book about everything wrong with celebrity culture and celebrity journalism. Dr. Drew is by far the smartest, nicest celebrity I’ve ever interviewed. I keep in touch with him just to remind myself that there are “TV doctors” who are the real deal. Just last week, he saved a kid’s life at his own sons’ prep school football game. I’ve often said that Dr. Drew is like Google and God — he’s everywhere and knows all the answers. Acting in Film: An Actor’s Take on Movie Making by Michael Caine. I’ve read and re-read this one many times. Caine breaks down the technique of film acting better than anyone else I’ve ever seen, heard or read. Read this and you’ll be a better movie viewer. Sam Mendes at the Donmar: Stepping into Freedom by Sam Mendes. Tim Shane, founder of the Dallas Hub Theater, recommended this book about how Mendes turned a low-budget warehouse performance space into London’s most exciting theater. It’s what some good, small Dallas theaters, including the Hub and Matt Posey’s Ochre House, are trying to do right now.

Bookmarks: http://TheaterJones.com, of course. www.HuffingtonPost.com, www.The Daily Beast.com, www.Gawker.com, nytimes.com and www.londondailymail.com just to see if the royals have done anything trashy, which they usually have. http://djmrswhite.livejournal.com/ — a daily blog by gay L.A. film critic Dave White. http://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/ — Andy Dehnart’s terrific blog and reviews of the reality TV shows I don’t have time to watch. http://hulu.com — which makes having a TV redundant. My “queue” includes the old Bob Newhart show and “30 Rock.” http://lovelineshow.com — a library of Dr. Drew’s late-night call-in show, still on the air (except in Dallas) after 25 years.

Magazines, newspapers: I do almost all my periodical and news reading online. Haven’t bought a dead-tree newspaper in at least five years. The only magazines I buy are Tatler and Vanity Fair. I used to subscribe, but they arrived up to a month after they hit newsstands, so now I waste money to get them earlier.

What I Am Reading Now: Pam Nelson

Pam Nelson, Dallas-based painter and public artist

Right now I’m reading “A Short Life of Trouble” by Marcia Tucker. Just finished “Gate at the Stairs,” by Lorrie Moore. I abandoned but may pick it back up, “Abide With Me” by Elizabeth Strout. I occasionally read the very repetitive “Inside the Painter’s Studio” by Joe Fig.

Bookmarks:  artsjournal.com/man/MAN ( Modern art notes by Tyler Green); renegadebus.com (Dallas art scene); glasstire.com (Texas art scene); artcards.com (announces every  New York art opening, also DC, SF and LA).

Magazines, newspapers: New York Times, The New Yorker (duh), but also really enjoy D Magazine and especially D Home.

D Reading Room:Back to you, Dallas

Our next book selection will be announced in January (I can’t wait to spill the details, but must).  In the meantime, we are turning this blog over to you, our dear readers, for some sharing. We want to know what you are reading: books, blogs, websites, magazines, and newspapers.  To get started, we asked some interesting friends what they are reading now. I’ll be the warm-up band.

Books I am reading now: The Green Metropolis, David Owen. I bought this because the author is the father of my daughter’s boyfriend. Kind of a solidarity thing. Turns out I am fascinated. Owen makes the counter-intuitive case that New York City is more sustainable by design than the suburbs, or even places like green-proud Portland. Recommended if you are into that sort of thing. The Garden of the Last Days by Andre Dubus III. I’m just half way through this; it’s a psychological page-turner about some desperate characters whose lives intersect on 9/11. Beautifully written. Disturbing but not depressing.  Recommended. 200 Spanish Verbs, compiled by LEXUS. Don’t ask.

Bookmarks: My favorite new go-to is Atlanticwire.com, which aggregates opinion and analysis by topic. I also read Andrewsullivan.com every day. I check Newyorkmag.com regularly for shameless lifting of ideas for D’s website. Netflix.com for instant play independent and foreign films, and documentaries (and 30 Rock re-runs). Sciencedaily.com, where I can peruse miles of entries like “Licorice shown to cause birth defects” or “The Physics of Basketball Free Throws” or “Archaeologists Uncover Prehistoric Landscape Beneath Oxford University.” I’m over The Huffington Post. The format is wearing thin.

Magazines I subscribe to: All D products, obviously. The New Republic, The Economist, Vanity Fair , The Atlantic, and, until recently, Gourmet. I pick up the New Yorker every time I fly

Newspapers: Park Cities People, obviously. The New York Times and Financial Times. And, of course, Briefing. God I love that paper.

Play It As It Lays : We’re Number Two! We’re Number Two!

Before we head off into the Hollywood sunset, wondering where we parked our convertible so we can take a numbing ride on the freeway,  let’s see who showed up for our little club. Scroll down to chart on best-selling local paperback fiction here. (HT to Peggy Levinson.)