1. My morning kick
Birds and Beans Cafe (2413 Lake Shore Blvd. W., 416-913-9221) is my favourite place to grab a cuppa. At home, we use beans from Kicking Horse. Nothing fires up unless I’ve had a cup of black coffee, but only before 11 a.m.

2. Notebooks
I cannot travel without my pocket Mole­skine notebook. Ernest Hemingway used Moleskines, and if they were good enough for him, they’re good enough for me. I go through one every month, and it would be a disaster to lose it.

3. My breakfast of champions
Kasha, a Russian buckwheat cereal, is a favourite of mine from childhood. My mother used to make it for me, and now I eat it all the time, especially for breakfast. It will make me live until 100.

4. An heirloom figurine
My great-grand­father brought this wooden figurine back from South America, and it was in my family home when I was growing up. My mother passed it along to me, and I keep it on my bookshelf.

5. Classic conflict resolution
Tolstoy’s my favourite author. There’s a recent translation of War and Peace that’s an absolute masterpiece. My wife, Zsuzsanna, and I had 10 days off during Christmas 2007, and we read the book to each other. It was unbelievable—really, one of the highlights of our time together.

6. Tickled ivory
Alfred Brendel is the greatest pianist in the world. I first heard him in the early ’70s, when I was a student. Now we’re casual friends. Zsuzsanna and I go to his concerts. We listen to him more than any other living artist.

7. A night at the opera
We always enjoy going to a performance of the Canadian Opera Company. The Four Seasons Centre is a beautiful building. Coming down that staircase feels like a big deal.

8. A home-cooked meal
My wife chops up broccoli and puts it in pasta, and you want to eat it until the cows come home. It’s fast, uncomplicated food, and it’s what I like to eat most evenings.

9. Lacing up
I like brown or black shoes with laces, no surprises. I’m currently wearing a pair of comfortable lace-up Ecco shoes. My wife is the boss of everything to do with fashion, but I get to make marginal choices, about things like buying shoes.

10. A little love tchotchke
Zsuzsanna brought this doll back from Hungary in 1999, the year we got married. An older couple made it. A year later when Zsuzsanna went to see them, the woman had passed away and the man said he would never make the dolls again.