Posted on by Joelendil · 5 Comments

Vacation Finds (and Frank the Bear)

I’m finally on vacation! The phone is set to “do not disturb” for everyone but immediate family, my friend Rabbi Glenn is filling the pulpit for me this Sunday (he’s promised to “introduce subtle heresies” to give me a challenge when I get back), and my wife and I just got back from a trip “up North” to celebrate our anniversary. My brain is in low power mode, so I’m not going to write a review right now. However, to keep this blog at least slightly active, here are my book finds from our anniversary trip…a blend of classics, pulp SF&F, a history book, etc. found at several different antique/junk/book shops:

And, as a bonus, here’s a picture of Frank the bear who accompanies us on our trips up North:

Posted on by Joelendil · 2 Comments

Look on My Works…and Despair

Title: I Met a Traveller in an Antique Land
Author: Connie Willis
Genre: Magical Realism?
Pages: 88
Rating: 3.5 of 5
Future Release Date: 4/30/18 (Thank you to the author and publisher for a free eARC through NetGalley…this does not affect the content of the review)

This short novella explores an idea more than it tells a story. Our protagonist, a cynical blogger who is more than happy to see outdated things disappear for good, stumbles upon the dusty old Ozymandias bookstore and its vast underground collection of rare books. His attempt to understand what he is seeing and to find it all again after he leaves is basically a way for Connie Willis to ponder how books become lost to history (and how all deserve to be preserved). The blogger’s “tour guide” (Cassandra – who seems to be the author’s mouthpiece) is especially hard on librarians “culling” outdated, unpopular, or otherwise unwanted books without regard for rarity.

Overall, I’m not sure how to feel about this book. I’m going back and forth on whether the book as a whole is melancholy and thoughtful or just cranky and whiny. If it sounds interesting to you, give it a read but don’t expect it to be anywhere near the level of her novels like The Doomsday Book or To Say Nothing of the Dog (one of my all time favorites).