Ex Libris: Random Book Recommendations
Just the other day, the New Yorker’s Adam Gopnik published a short list of six books he thought “literature lovers” should read, and of course I not only read the list but
Ex Libris: The Proddings of Chance
Is there such a thing as planned serendipity?
It might sound like an odd idea, but I’m thinking it must apply to the life of a professional book reviewer. Although it’s true that I never quite know what’s going to show up in the next day’s book-mail, I know it can’t be just flat-out ANYTHING.
Ex Libris: Vacation Reading
I recently had a five-day visit from a friend who’s every bit as inveterately bookish as I am, so I couldn’t help but recognize the two foremost signs:
Ex Libris: The Permanent Library
An old bookish friend of mine, compatriot at many a library book sale, used to have a clear organizational hierarchy for the books he acquired.
Ex Libris: Getting Away With it
Many years ago, I had an old friend who was severely addicted to murder mystery novels. He wasn’t interested in true tales of actual murders (he could be surprisingly squeamish), nor was he all that keen on murders when they happened elsewhere in the fictional world.