Books about Books, v 2.0

A few more selections for the bibliophiles out there. I noticed while I was compiling these that they all had to do with bookstores in particular. After years of working in a bookstore (and missing it terribly) I felt like I was home again reading these books.

The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop by Lewis Buzbee

In The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop, Buzbee, a former bookseller and sales representative, celebrates the unique experience of the bookstore—the smell and touch of books, getting lost in the deep canyons of shelves, and the silent community of readers. He shares his passion for books, which began with ordering through The Weekly Reader in grade school. Interwoven throughout is a fascinating historical account of the bookseller’s trade—from the great Alexandria library with an estimated one million papyrus scrolls to Sylvia Beach’s famous Paris bookstore, Shakespeare and Company, which led to the extraordinary effort to publish and sell James Joyce’s Ulysses during the 1920s. Rich with anecdotes, The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop is the perfect choice for those who relish the enduring pleasures of spending an afternoon finding just the right book.

Genre: Non-Fiction - Memoir. This is a must-read for any former bookseller, or anyone who gets that shaky feeling every time they walk into a bookstore.

Murder is Binding by Lorna Barrett

The streets of Stoneham, New Hampsire are lined with bookstores...and paved with murder.

When she moved to Stoneham, city slicker Tricia Miles met nothing but friendly faces. And when she opened her mystery bookstore, she met friendly competition. But when she finds Doris Gleason dead in her own cookbook store, killed by a carving knife, the atmosphere seems more cutthroat than cordial. Someone wanted to get their hands on the rare cookbook that Doris had recently purchased-and the locals think that someone is Tricia. To clear her name, Tricia will have to take a page out of one of her own mysteries-and hunt down someone who isn't killing by the book.

Genre: Mystery - Cozy Mystery. I read all three books in this series in one week. Need I say more?

The Secret of Lost Things by Sheridan Hay

Eighteen years old and completely alone, Rosemary arrives in New York from Tasmania with little other than her love of books and an eagerness to explore the city. Taking a job at a vast, chaotic emporium of used and rare books called the Arcade, she knows she has found a home. But when Rosemary reads a letter from someone seeking to “place” a lost manuscript by Herman Melville, the bookstore erupts with simmering ambitions and rivalries. Including actual correspondence by Melville, The Secret of Lost Things is at once a literary adventure and evocative portrait of a young woman making a life for herself in the city.

Genre: Fiction - Literary Fiction. I'll be honest, I couldn't really get into this book. I gave it 3 out of 5 stars on GoodReads. I'm including it here because it fits the topic, and who knows? Maybe you'll love it.

My Library Haul

I've been dying to get over to the library, but for the past few weekends it's been closed for the holidays, and I can never get over there during the week. So after paying about $9.00 in fines, I checked out the following books:

Fault Line by Barry Eisler

Not something I would pick up normally, but I saw on a few blogs he's been trying to get romance readers to check out his books. This intrigues me - does he recognize the buying power of the romance reader? Does he think simply because that there's some hot scenes in his book that the romance community will love his book? I've started it, but I'll hold my judgement until I finish.

Monet Talks by Tamar Myers

I'm on the worst kind of cozy mystery kick right now, and I heard about Myers' "Den of Antiquity" series and had to check it out (with that series title, how could you not?). Unfortunately, the first book Larceny and Old Lace is way too much in ebook form, and the library didn't have it. So I'm just going to read the series out of order. Hopefully it won't be an issue.

The great thing about my local library is that it has an ongoing book sale. It doesn't have quite the selection that other library book sales have, but I usually come out of there with a handful of books. Immediately I saw A Lady of Persuasion and Surrender of a Siren: A Novel by Tessa Dare, which I've heard good things about but haven't gotten around to checking them out. Even better, they were in almost new condition. I also grabbed The Fax of Life (Molly Masters Mystery) by Leslie O'Kane in hardcover. I've never heard of this author, and considering the title and the publish date ('99), I'm hoping for some spectacularly dated technology.

Books about Books

Over the past few months I've read several books I've enjoyed that are about, well, books. I'll put the spotlight on some of my favorites.

John Dunning's Cliff Janeway Series

(Booked to Die is the first book in this series)

Description: "Denver homicide detective Cliff Janeway may not always play by the book, but he is an avid collector of rare and first editions. After a local bookscout is killed on his turf, Janeway would like nothing better than to rearrange the suspect's spine. But the suspect, local lowlife Jackie Newton, is a master at eluding the law, and Janeway's wrathful brand of off-duty justice costs him his badge.

Turning to his lifelong passion, Janeway opens a small bookshop -- all the while searching for evidence to put Newton away. But when prized volumes in a highly sought-after collection begin to appear, so do dead bodies. Now, Janeway's life is about to start a precarious new chapter as he attempts to find out who's dealing death along with vintage Chandlers and Twains." Genre: Fiction- Action/Thriller

Allison Hoover Bartlett's The Man Who Loved Books Too Much

Description:"Rare-book theft is even more widespread than fine-art theft. Most thieves, of course, steal for profit. John Charles Gilkey steals purely for the love of books. In an attempt to understand him better, journalist Allison Hoover Bartlett plunged herself into the world of book lust and discovered just how dangerous it can be.

Gilkey is an obsessed, unrepentant book thief who has stolen hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of rare books from book fairs, stores, and libraries around the country. Ken Sanders is the self-appointed "bibliodick" (book dealer with a penchant for detective work) driven to catch him. Bartlett befriended both outlandish characters and found herself caught in the middle of efforts to recover hidden treasure. With a mixture of suspense, insight, and humor, she has woven this entertaining cat-and-mouse chase into a narrative that not only reveals exactly how Gilkey pulled off his dirtiest crimes, where he stashed the loot, and how Sanders ultimately caught him but also explores the romance of books, the lure to collect them, and the temptation to steal them. Immersing the reader in a rich, wide world of literary obsession, Bartlett looks at the history of book passion, collection, and theft through the ages, to examine the craving that makes some people willing to stop at nothing to possess the books they love."

Genre: Non-Fiction- True Crime

Kate Carlisle's Bibliophile Mysteries

(Homicide in Hardcover is the first in this series, with the second, If Books Could Kill, due out in paperback in February 2010)

Description: "The streets of San Francisco would be lined with hardcovers if rare book expert Brooklyn Wainwright had her way. And her mentor wouldn’t be lying in a pool of his own blood on the eve of a celebration for his latest book restoration.

With his final breath he leaves Brooklyn a cryptic message, and gives her a priceless—and supposedly cursed—copy of Goethe’s Faust for safekeeping.

Brooklyn suddenly finds herself accused of murder and theft, thanks to the humorless—but attractive—British security officer who finds her kneeling over the body. Now she has to read the clues left behind by her mentor if she is going to restore justice… "

Genre: Fiction: Mystery/Cozy Mystery

Since I can always read books about books, I'm going to keep this as an ongoing series as I find them. Got any recommendations on where I should look next? Let me know in the comments!