Books about Books by Jay

Book lovers are always on the lookout for new, exciting and highly recommended titles.  One fun way to find these is in books about books.  We have several fantastic new ones that can help you find out about great new reads.  One of my favorites,

“Mr. Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookstore” by Robin Sloan, illustrates the power of books.  This book shows what happens when the full force of Google’s servers are pitted against book readers trying to solve an age-old mystery.  Other novels highlighting the power of books in peoples’ lives include:

“Firmin” by Sam Savage- a rat learns to read causing him to become alienated from his rat family, but he is incapable of communicating with the humans who love literature as much as he does.

“About the Author" by John Colapinto - a mystery set around a New York book store, the publishing industry and authors.

“Utopian Man” by Lisa Lang - an award winning book set in the gilded age of Australia that describes literature in a fast changing world.

         

Non-fiction books about books are also great sources for reading suggestions and for tales about the power of books.  

Joe Queenan’s “One For the Books” is funny and insightful and explains his life immersed in books.

“The Child That Books Built: a Life in Reading” by Francis Spufford is a wonderful evocation of a child’s reading life and the importance of books for children and young adults.  Nancy Pearl is the master of book recommendations and any of her always entertaining books about books will keep you reading for years.  

A deep and meditative look at the power of literature in shaping a moral and full human is “When I Was a Child I Read Books” by Marilynne Robinson.  

John Leonard collects his reviews of a lifetime of reading to understand our world in "Reading For My Life”.

Three new books about books are more lighthearted and funny while also giving an interesting take on reading. 

In “Seeds :one man's serendipitous journey to find the trees that inspired famous American writers from Faulkner to Kerouac, Welty to Wharton” by RichardHoran, the author visits other authors’ homes to collect tree seeds to plant, and to think about the context of each author, their writings, and American history and geography.

“Tolstoy and the Purple Chair: My Year of Magical Reading” by Nina Sankovitch chronicles her attempt to read a book a day, while raising her family and working.  Last, Lauren Leto writes a tongue-in-cheek look at books, readers, and their possible love-lives.  The book, 

“Judging a Book by Its Lover: a field guide to the hearts and minds of readers everywhere” is both a funny and serious love letter to books, reading and book lovers of all kinds.