Style is not all about clothing, but about a Lifestyle of refinement and personal growth. And Fun. So here are three things that will bring some spark to these chilly evenings.

Kafka Was The Rage, by Anatole Broyard, is a memoir about living in Greenwich Village post WWII. It’s the story of a young man who dives head first into the infamous bohemia of downtown NYC in the 1940s. He moves in with a modernist painter, rubs shoulders with famous poets, chases women, and generally has a wild time. Wonderfully written, intensely engaging, and far too short, I read this in one sitting and was genuinely let down when it was over. Not because the end was bad but because I was upset that there wasn’t anymore to read. Get this and read it, and reread it, and give to your friends. And start sifting through Craigslist ads for apartments on Thompson St.

Recommended by my local purveyor of Bourbon, comes Sazerac Straight Rye. I was told that Bourbon is nice to cut your proverbial teeth with, but Rye is a real man’s Whiskey. American Straight Rye can only be called as such if it is made with at least 51% Rye and aged for at least 2 years in oak barrels. It largely died off after prohibition, but a handful of distillers still produce Rye, one of which is Sazerac. Affordable, and very tasty, this stuff over rocks will keep you nice and toasty on an October evening. Sazerac is also one of America’s oldest known cocktails, apparently invented in the 1830s by Antoine Amédée Peychaud, the cocktail consists of Straight Rye, a dash of Peychaud’s bitters, a bit of simple syrup, and, back in the good old days, a splash of absinthe. Could be an interesting change of pace, and with the Absinthe, dangerous, although I don’t know how many bars will have the necessary ingredients to make this.

Finally we have Primer, an indy flick that came out in 2004. It was made with less than $7k budget, but you wouldn’t know it. What is really interesting about this movie is the deeply confusing but thought provoking paradoxes and morality issues that arise from the creation of the mystery device (which I won’t explain or spoil, just rent the movie, don’t read about it online first). This film is short and sweet, and needs to be watched and re-watched, discussed and analyzed. It’ll turn your head around. Really cool stuff, and great to start some interesting conversation over a glass of Sazerac!