December 15, 2007 -- Saturday evening

Reading 1945: What if Japan hadn't surrendered in World War II?, by Robert Conroy.

His favorite book of all time--A Prayer for Owen Meany, by John Irving. If John Irving decides you're going to cry, he said, m.f., your going to cry. And, in the last chapter, all the components in the brick come together. An astounding literary sleight of hand.

Here, he's reading at New York Pizza on Valencia Street, where a chair is just a chair and a table just a table, but, at the Kilowatt, a bar on 16th Street, he has his own reading booth--the only one with good light. He's been going there for, maybe, seven to ten years. The booth is roped off and a plaque reads: Reserved for Scott, 4-9pm. It's no good to read in the dark.