“A Joyous Season” lampoons good holidays gone bad

Are you already weary of the holiday season? Have you had your fill of good cheer, gaudy gift-wrapped presents, sugar cookies, tinsel ground into the carpet, blue-plastic snowflakes, and saccharine television specials? Do you wince when you see Santa Claus with the three wise men at the Nativity scene? Do you mutter something rude under […]

Is “The Accidental” the next “Beloved”?

I’ve had The Accidental sitting on my desk for the past couple months. I put it there after finishing it, with the intention of reviewing Ali Smith’s remarkable novel. But this tale of a family on holiday in the English countryside is so distinct, enigmatic, and powerful that it has kept me guessing and wondering […]

A gift idea for the bibliophile: five fine books about books by Nicholas Basbanes

In 1995, Nicholas A. Basbanes, a former literary editor and author of a nationally syndicated book column, scripted his first book, A Gentle Madness: Bibliophiles, Bibliomanes, and the Eternal Passion for Books. In the 11 years since, this important and comprehensive work has seen multiple printings and is considered a classic for those who sell, […]

Why I like “I Like You” and Amy Sedaris

“She’s so weird.” That’s the apt appraisal of Amy Sedaris that my boss uttered recently. I agree: Sedaris is a strange one, and her off-kilter personality is not necessarily for everyone. But, to me, this sister of best-selling humorist David Sedaris is consistently entertaining, often hilarious, and sometimes bizarre—a loveable, loopy-aunt kind of bizarre. Yes, […]

“Casanova Was a Book Lover” is a match made for bibliophiles

Serendipity. Another one of my blind forages through the wonderful world of books about books yielded a fine and rather amazingly perceptive volume with the unlikely title of Casanova Was a Book Lover: And Other Naked Truths and Provocative Curiosities about the Writing, Selling, and Reading of Books. As the author, John Maxwell Hamilton, blithely […]

Consider “The Tipping Point” on election day

Editor’s note: It’s election day in the United States—a perfect time to be reminded about little things (like voting) that can make a big difference. That’s why we’re revisiting this book review, which originally published in July.
As I write this, The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference is sitting in the […]

“Gil’s All Fright Diner” serves up a satisfying, scary main course

On a recent forage into the haunted and ghostly corner of a tony, upscale, and astonishingly bright bookstore, I discovered a garishly embellished softcover with the unlikely and totally camp title of Gil’s All Fright Diner. Forging bravely onward, I encountered a strong opening that reached evilly from its pages and clutched me about the […]

“Book by Book” makes a fascinating gift for book explorers

The idea of giving a book as a gift is not an unusual one. It becomes a pleasure to locate tomes that others might enjoy, searching numerous nooks and crannies for off-the-beaten-path and well-hidden jewels. In my own case, a recent Internet expedition yielded a comprehensive list of books about books, including Book by Book: […]

“Lisey’s Story” is a Stephen King story to skip

Lisey’s Story will be published tomorrow, which makes October 24 a holiday for Stephen King fans—an early Halloween for those who revere the prolific author of horror tales ranging from Carrie to Cujo to Cell. Lisey’s Story is being positioned as an eerie account of the romance between a woman and her two-years-dead husband. The […]

“Book Talk” discusses book collecting in depth

In Book Talk: Essays on Books, Booksellers, Collecting, and Special Editions, edited by Robert H. Jackson and Carol Z. Rothkopf, 18 perceptive and thought-provoking essays by noted collectors and sellers of books are presented. The result is a kaleidoscope comprised of the many textures, flavors, tones, and hues found in the book field. The authors […]