St Louis County Library

This Christmas I was fortunate to receive many wonderful books. All I need now is more free time to devour them. Two of my favorites are about books and reading.

First is "One for the Books" from columnist Joe Queenan. When I pick up the weekend Wall Street Journal Review section I read Queenan's column before turning to the book reviews. His sharp commentary on topics ranging from sports to movies to tattoos is often harsh, but is always amusing. In this book he writes about his lifelong love of books and some of the challenges faced by avid readers.

Second is "My Ideal Bookshelf" in which editor Thessaly La Force asks 100 creative people in various fields to select a smallish group of books to represent their lives. Each entry contains an essay and a painting of the books chosen. Contributors include chefs, mystery writers, film producers, journalists, and musicians. The images of the books, including one virtual bookshelf on an iPad, seem to offer more than a simple list of titles. Reading about which books people hold dear is great fun for me. I can't wait to get started.

--Jennifer A., Headquarters