Emily Dickinson's Family Secrets

Looks very interesting. 

UNTO my books so good to turn
Far ends of tired days;
It half endears the abstinence,
And pain is missed in praise.
As flavors cheer retarded guests
With banquetings to be,
So spices stimulate the time
Till my small library.
It may be wilderness without,
Far feet of failing men,
But holiday excludes the night,
And it is bells within.
I thank these kinsmen of the shelf;
Their countenances bland
Enamour in prospective,
And satisfy, obtained.

The Art Thief

By Noah Charney





I picked this book up on a whim while wandering through a bookstore and I'm glad I did. I love mysteries and novels that incorporate art history, and The Art Thief manages to do both very well. The book follows three seemingly unrelated art heists in Paris, Rome and London while exploring the varied and eccentric outlets of the art world: museums, private collections, auction houses, artistic societies, experts, wealthy collectors, thieves and forgers. There's also a bit of art history thrown in for good measure. Charney has a gift for explaining the cumulative nature of art and the reasons for the value placed on specific pieces in a way that a non-art lover could understand. 


Through the years I've read various "art history novels" and I have included a list of my favorites below: 


Girl With the Pearl Earring, by Tracy Chevalier
The Lady and the Unicorn, by Tracy Chevalier
The Birth of Venus, by Sara Dunant
In the Company of the Courtesan, by Sara Dunant
The Flanders Panel, Arturo Perez-Reverte
*The Gardner Heist, by Ulrich Boser 
This book is non-fiction, but recounts the events surrounding the largest unsolved art heist which occurred at Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. 

An Expert In Murder: A Josephine Tey Mystery

By Nicola Upson





Eh. It was okay. A fairly decent murder mystery. I figured out the identity of the murderer halfway through, which is never a good sign.


To be completely honest, I stopped reading about ten pages from the end. The murder ends up explaining everything to the protagonist and the novel just lost it's rhythm after that point. After that I didn't really feel the need to keep reading.

The World's Coolest Looking Bookstores

Selexyz Dominicanen (Maastricht, Netherlands)





Poplar Kid's Republic (Beijing)








Livraria Lello (Porto, Portugal)





More here.