There was something about Restoration Hardware for a long time — maybe ten years — when everything that they sold just was my exact taste. It was like my personal fantasy museum: that slightly old-fashioned, slightly distressed, casual but sophisticated look. I’m actually probably their best customer in the history of the world. I love this desk, where I do my writing, so of course it’s completely essential, but I also have Restoration side tables and clocks and a Sorensen sofa that’s perfectly distressed. I love it all.

When I’m not reading books, I’m reading magazines. I really regret that print magazines are going more and more online. Even though I read a lot of books, I love bite-size magazine journalism. Both New York and The New Yorker get into long-form writing with real depth and coverage.

Coffee is the second-most traded commodity in the world, but in my house it’s the first-most. Once, I was sent a sample from the Baltimore Coffee & Tea Company, and I liked it so much we went into business. If you read the Jack Reacher books, you know about his love of coffee, and it was kind of a literary decision because most of the guys in thrillers are recovering alcoholics, but I thought it’d be nice to have a guy who just loves plain coffee because I love it so much. I haven’t bought coffee for maybe ten years because people are always sending it to me. Now Jack Reacher Coffee is my favorite blend, though.

I don’t know how you pronounce Vitsoe, but they make my idea of the perfect office shelves. I love how they look, but they were designed in 1959, which means they’re not totally practical. Back then, you never had to account for wires, of course, but now, I have electronics with wires down the back and nowhere for them to go. I do love the elegant look they have, though, if not their practicality.

I actually ran into a problem with the mat boards, though, because they’re very thick (like an eighth of an inch), so the frames I had on hand were too thin. Pottery Barn has great-looking things at a decent price that blend well with practically anything. They’re just a plain, polished metal that’s silver-plated I believe, which suits an old traditional home as well as a modern one. Now, I can display my photos with mats and with nice frames