A Bloomsday Post

"Some books are meant to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested; that is, some books are to be read only in parts, others to be read but not curiously and some few to be read wholly with diligence and attention.": Francis Bacon

Although I might add an additional category for books meant to be spit out before going too far, Francis Bacon's words resonate with me. "A Passion For Books" (1999) by Harold Rabinowitz and Rob Kaplan fell solidly into Bacon's second category; I swallowed it. What was the last book about books that captivated you?

But...perhaps you'd want just a taste? That would be easy to accommodate. Among the 60 selections are essays, short stories, lists, cartoons, a bibliolexicon and a bibliobibliography. The contributors include notables like Flaubert, Philip Roth, Susan Sontag. Tone ranges from light (Roger Rosenblatt's "Bibliomania") to educational (Ben Zevin's "The Bible Through The Ages") to somber and emotional (Solly Ganor's "The Book Action"). Length? One page to twenty one; something for every taste.

Easy to envision someone tasting this book lover's treasury though I swallowed. Chewed and digested anyone?