Where can you find Paolo Sarpi and Mick Jagger, the earliest book peddlers and Nazi's, comfort reads and medieval marginalia, bouqinistes and UNESCO bookstalls, shy nerds and arrogant pedants? The answer is...in Martin Latham's book. Not only is the subject matter varied, but so too is the wide variety of characters you meet along the …
Tag: Reading
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
This book was recommended to me by a friend. Do your friend(s) a kindness and do the same because it is worth it. Written in a genteel manner, this elegant read is part history lesson and love story, part etiquette manual and cuisinay guide, part class study and artistic/literary essay. You will find yourself in …
In the Woods by Tana French
Tana French's novel, In the Woods, (the first of her Dublin Murder Squad Series) is for those who aren't put out by the unexpected. You won't find the neatly wrapped up finish wherein, as per usual, the boy gets the girl and justice is had by all, where all problems are resolved and all enigmas …
Fear from Fiction
Picture this...Grade five, recess time and a ball buster boy in my class (Martin) told me that years ago someone had hung themselves in the basement of my house. He offered up horrific details as I stood silent, my insides churning and a cold sweat running over me while the other kids laughed and played …
Wine, War and more
For history buffs, wine lovers and those who just like a good old fashioned mystery, I need to share the following reads. Wine and War by Don and Petie Kladstrup. This book was gifted to me years ago and although I initially thought it would be somewhat dry, I couldn't have been more wrong. It …
Revelations of a bookcase
If you want to gather insight so as to know someone better, spend some time checking out what they read. Or better yet, take some time to peruse their bookcase. Allen Ginsberg famously said, "You are what you think about all day" and Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin remarked, "Tell me what you eat and I will …
Falling for Autumn
Some say it is because I was an October baby, others believe it is because I am a Libra, still others disagree completely with me. But I have always maintained that Autumn, for me, is the best season of all! Against the brazen optimism that is spring, the carefree spirit of summer and the crisp …
Another place
We were completely surrounded. Bodies pressing into us, hands prying and violating; a crush of human flesh and bones. The ATM's had been emptied out days before, so we had stashed as much cash as we were able to withdraw underneath our clothes, to tide us over. The air thick with the mixture of sweat, …
Jessie the cat
Jessie the cat Lived in our flat On the last floor Behind the green door Jessie sat on the sill All curled up and still Watching the world go by Six floors up in the sky When dad came home She wouldn't leave him alone Till he played hide and seek So cute to see …
European Bookshops to adore
Libreria Acqua Alta This bookshop in Venice, Italy is absolutely dreamy and inspirational. You will find books in gondolas, on steps, chairs and anywhere there is available space Shakespeare and Company Located in Paris, France, Shakespeare and Company, although not at the original address, still possesses oodles of Old World charm, down to the lighting, …
Manu writes 