I’m a night owl, and I have been as long as I can remember. Sometimes I write after dinner, when the distractions of the day are over, or I watch the Warriors. Maybe I’ll start binge-watching a new limited series or catch up on email. Most often I’ll do some reading. But if the television is on after 11, it’s most likely the lights are out and I’m watching an old movie. Something from before 1980, most often pre-1960.

It’s a quirk I’ve developed over the years. In…