Time to move the sweaters from the top shelf of the closet to the dresser.

 

Time to put away the grilled-fish-and-salad cookbooks.

 

Time to order The New Yorker Desk Diary for the new year.

 

I’ve been using these calendar/date books for more than two decades. I keep them all on one shelf — a row of my personal history that, when it’s time, will be the raw material for my memoir. (I picked up this idea from Anita Loos, who kept no diary. Her calendars — the brief record of her lunches, assignations and social obligations — were all she needed to jumpstart her memories.)

 

I like the New Yorker diary because, at 7 1/4" x 10", it’s hard to misplace. Because it starts with a dozen pages of useful information: phone numbers for airlines, hotels, credit cards, car rental agencies, international dialing codes. Because its local information is just what I want:  top-flight New York restaurants, art galleries, a subway map. Because, in the back, there’s a pocket that holds papers I need with me. Because the binding is strong, the cover looks like leather, and there’s a grosgrain ribbon that’s a useful bookmark.

 

And let’s not overlook the mood elevators — there’s a New Yorker cartoon on every spread.

 

Well worth $25.

 

Oops. That’s what it used to cost. 

 

Now The New Yorker sells its diary for $32.95. Plus $7.95 for shipping and handling. Plus New York sales tax of $3.63.

 

Buy the 2011 New Yorker Desk Diary from The New Yorker and it will cost you around $44.53.  (To order The New Yorker Diary from The New Yorker, click here.) 

 

Buy it at Barnes & Noble, pay $29.95, plus tax.

 

Or you can buy it from Amazon and pay just $21.75. I get free shipping; you probably do too. New York sales tax is $1.93.

 

So if you buy The New Yorker Desk Diary from Amazon.com, you’ll pay — depending on tax where you live — as little as $23.68.

 

Amazon saves you approximately $20.85. (To order the Desk Diary from Amazon, click here.) 

 

What’s the difference?

 

Order from The New Yorker, and you can choose from six colors. Amazon offers the Desk Diary only in Navy Blue. (No problem for me — I started buying the New Yorker Diary when they only offered it in one color: navy blue.) And The New Yorker will put your name or initials on the cover for you.

 

Yeah, I like color and personalization. I also like good champagne and Paul Stuart shirts. But our kid has just started the palate expander stage of her orthodonture — if you’ve been there, you know that bill is honkin’ huge.

 

And, be honest, it’s very satisfying to buy The New Yorker Desk Diary for about half-price.

 

With the savings, you might want to buy a second diary as a gift. (By one school of economics, the second diary will be free.) I’d bet that no one you might give this diary to will think you bought it on Amazon.

 

Our little secret, ok?