Of all the potentially embarrassing things I confess to friends and acquaintances, perhaps the one most guaranteed to get a reaction is this: I don't have broadband Internet at home. And here's something I've never said aloud: I don't think you should, either, because it is ruining your productivity, if not your life.

I'd love to tell you my disconnection is deliberate, but it is mostly a consequence of living on the top floor of an extraordinarily old and bohemianly cared-for building, in which, despite my best attempts,...