I like to do things slowly, slowly, slowly. But I am not lazy … That’s just how I am. I am also unflappable, languid, stoic, impassive, sluggish, lethargic, placid, calm, mellow, laid-back and, well, slothful! I am relaxed and tranquil, and I like to live in peace. I am lackadaisical, I dawdle and I dillydally. It is true that I am slow, quiet and boring. And on its own time, to no one in particular-the jaguar’s not even on the page anymore-the sloth eventually offers: A rude jaguar comes up and asks why it’s so lazy. The other animals of the rainforest judge it. In the book, the sloth lives an existence that is truly its own. Sloth is all about owning who you are and navigating the perceptions of others. One of his favorites is “Slowly, Slowly, Slowly,” said the Sloth, by Eric Carle, the author of The Very Hungry Caterpillar. He pronounces it like the end of “Malibu,” or like he’s trying to scare someone on Halloween.

He wakes up in the morning pointing to his bookshelf and repeating “Books, books, books,” like an incantation. Something delightful introduced to me by a kid in my life: My 1-year-old is obsessed with books. Everyone knows he was one of the great actors of his era, but if you haven’t seen him slip and fall on the hardwood floor at the start of this movie, well, you don’t really know anything at all.

Something I recently rewatched, reread, or otherwise revisited: Along Came Polly, the 2004 rom-com with Ben Stiller and Jennifer Aniston-and, much more important, Philip Seymour Hoffman. John Mulaney's Baby J takes apart a likable comedian.

Velvet glove cast in iron