Erik is on Twitter: Follow Him or Die

Erik Larson has taken the plunge and is now on Twitter: @exlarson

He promises not to tell you what he has for breakfast, unless it’s something truly exceptional, like the “Ole Miss” plate at The Friendly Toast restaurant in Portsmouth, NH (cheddar toast topped with chorizo, scrambled eggs, melted cheese, and miscellaneous other ingredients).

The Friendly Toast, in Portsmouth, NH

And he promises not to regale you with the brand of floss he uses or the number of calories in a double-stuff Oreo cookie. He may, however, provide intel on bars (for example, the Sofitel-LA bar, and the bar at the Valencia Hotel in La Jolla, CA) that can actually make a decent Manhattan, a drink that in his view requires Wild Turkey 101 and a real cocktail glass, not the fussy little glasses that seem to be increasingly in style and that remind him of the plastic snap-together things that came with his daughters’ toddler-years play sets; he may also comment now and then on books that he finds particularly compelling, and on current events that he finds particularly appalling.

Why did he do it? He was persuaded by an interesting essay in the book review section of the Sunday New York Times, May 20, 2012, by Jeff Howe, about a Twitter book club with 64,000 members. Sounded intriguing, and powerful. And so, he said, why not?

His favorite Twitterer thus far: Susan Orlean. But then, she’s also one of his favorite writers. As of now, 72 hours into his new Tweety life, Erik has exactly 19 followers. He had 20, but one of them cut him loose, possibly out of spite or simple bad judgment, or after having confused him with Stieg Larsson.