Michael Dirda, a Pulitzer-winning critic and longtime columnist for Washington Post Book World shares his love of literature and books in BOOK BY BOOK. This book ignites the passion for classics in me and in my opinion, is an effortless read. In BOOK BY BOOK, Dirda speaks not only of classics but he also covers contemporary works ranging from Cicero to Dr. Seuss.

I had a wonderful time pondering Dirda’s observations and the quotations he lavishes on his readers. Needless to say, my copy of the book is filled with markings and scribblings. He did encourage readers to do the same and perhaps from our own reflections, we create our own reader’s guide as well.

Reading third chapter into THE HAUNTED BOOKSHOP (my post here), I came across a text that I liked very much, and which Roger Mifflin the proprietor of The Haunted Bookshop is also very much fond of. He had it hung over his own desk while I’ve reproduced it below:

ON THE RETURN OF A BOOK LENT TO A FRIEND

I GIVE humble and hearty thanks for the safe return of this book which having endured the perils of my friend's bookcase, and the bookcases of my friend's friends, now returns to me in reasonably good condition. […]

The Haunted Bookshop draws me straight into its story. I’m intrigued by its title and this American classic first catches my attention when I read Wendy’s review Musings of a Bookish Kitty. It’s a story book-lovers will enjoy—a romance with books and a mystery to be solved—and there’s nothing haunted or spooky about it.

Roger Mifflin owns the second-hand bookshop on Gissing Street, Brooklyn. The bookshop operates under the name “Parnassus at Home” and is known as the Haunted Bookshop. He has a loving wife, Helen, and she is a fantastic cook. Her signature dish is the chocolate cake […]

INDIANA JONES AND THE HOLLOW EARTH by Max McCoy takes us on an adventure with Indy traversing the Arctic to retrieve a canister that contains the crystal skull. With a team of military folks, they fly the B-18P (P for Polar), also affectionately called the Penguin by Indy’s copilot friend, Clarence. The name seems to rub off on the others too.

THE HOLLOW by Nora Roberts (NR) is the second book of the Sign of Seven Trilogy.

In the first book, the story romantically links Caleb and Quinn together and in this one, we see Fox and Layla together. Book 2 builds on the suspense from book 1 and the nightmare is about to begin.

Fox O’Dell practices small-town law with an ability to read minds. Coincidentally, Layla shares the same ability.

OUR ICEBERG IS MELTING by John Kotter and Holger Rathgeber is not just a story about cute emperor penguins in the Antartica but there’s much more in this short tale. The penguins fable drew on the frameworks found in Leading Change (by John Kotter in 1996) and The Heart of Change (also by Dr Kotter and co-written with Dan Cohen in 2002). At first glance, the book may look silly but it draws on the power of good stories to influence behavior and compel actions.

Discover how to use the “Eight Steps Process of Successful Change” (as the penguins did even without knowing them) to enjoy even more success in these changing times. […]

Do you have a six-word memoir? Can you write one? When I saw the 225-page book Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure, I grabbed a copy off the shelf at the bookstore. And finished reading it in one sitting.

The six-word memoir was launched online in 2006 by SMITH magazine and they’re now compiled into a book, and published this year. It is personal storytelling that soon creates a storm across the Internet.

THE ENGLISH PATIENT is a historical fiction set in the hills of Tuscany during World War II—a tale of tragedy and passion. The novel does not go according to chronological order, but alternates between the present and flashbacks to memories, seen from the point of view of each of the main characters. It slowly reveals the identities of the characters as the story progresses.

I can’t believe it took me ages to begin reading The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje. I bought the book in May 2007 […]