The White Album, by Joan Didion Bad Behavior, by Mary Gaitskill There Are More Beautiful Things Than Beyonce, Morgan Parker Jesus' Son, by Denis Johnson Dream Jungle, Jessica Hagedorn Faces in the Crowd, Valeria Luiselli Autobiography of Red, Anne Carson Labyrinths, Jorge Luis Borges Days of Being Wild, Wong Karwai Henry Fool, Hal Hartley Wings of Desire, Wim Wenders

I grew a hibiscus from a little shrub in a quart container to a seven-foot-tall plant-beast and transported it between apartments in a wagon. (She will not be accompanying me.)