If you can't read the book, then read about it

If a book excites me, you know all about it. So do my friends, family, colleagues, patrons, and sometimes even strangers (in bookstores), if I can manage it. I wave my arms and get flushed and grinny. “Take this,” I say, “It’s faaabulous!” I try to speak about said books in my programs, and get others to discuss them in their book clubs. I have no trouble shamelessly plugging what I love.

As a person who can’t get enough of books, ‘what I love’ (besides, of course, reading, buying, and discussing them), is reading about them. There is a terrific little magazine for those of you who don’t already know about it, called Bookmarks. When I say it’s nummy I mean it. This is a mag for book people in every sense. It’s got short reviews for checking out the latest releases, features on classics, book group information, award-winners, and so much more. I discovered it serendipitously at a newsstand and then went crazy when I got home. Before I even finished the first issue, I subscribed. Then I subscribed my library. Do check it out.

An equally good book periodical in French is Entre les lignes. Any magazine that asks the potential subscriber, in the sign-up form, how many books s/he reads a year is my kind of publication. I love knowing that about people. It’s just beautiful, too, as an added bonus.

We can never read all the books we want. I can’t even read all the books in my house. If that must be the case, then we should at least be able to indulge (and keep up with the literary scene) in delicious magazines.