Jane Holloway (1)

This anthology opens with a delightful short story by Ray Bradbury – a late-night conversation between a soldier on leave and his hometown librarian. The anthology closes with another Bradbury short story, one with a slightly darker note to the narrative, but displaying Bradbury’s very evocative writing. In between there are selections from Seneca to Helene Hanff, from Reading Lolita in Tehran to The Well of Lost Plots. There were extracts from books I had never known existed, including show more the touching account from Everyman Remembers of how the Everyman’s Library book series got started. This in particular delighted me as I have a very real fondness for the series with multiple editions sitting on my shelves and had in fact wondered in passing about the history. For the record, I don’t think I will be passing this one on to a little Free Library anytime soon. I want to hold on to it (despite the fact that they went artistic on the book design, using a book cloth in a distressing seafoam shade rather than in the burgundy, navy or evergreen that is more traditional). I heartily recommend this. For me, the choices included in the anthology touched all the right emotional buttons. Some new (to me) content, some comfortably familiar content, a number of worthwhile extracts that I might never have thought about when reading the original texts. So I want in particular to acknowledge the editorial work of Jane Holloway in this volume. Artfully considered and well done! show less

Divided by the seasons, this little book travels through time with centuries of odes, poems and elegies from all over the world. I enjoyed the diversity and the ability to pick up a poem here and there, like one might choose a chocolate from a box of assortments.
As a traditionalist, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the modern poems and how starkly they contrasted with the classical forms: a great way to do a bit of comparative literature!

I love this anthology! Not usually a fan of short stories, but each of these has been a wonderful read. As a librarian, it is the perfect addition to my bookshelf. In particular, Lorrie Moore's "Community Life" is a story I could read over and over again, and I consider a flawlessly written story. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys, books, libraries, or short stories that can easily be read in one sitting.

This small volume of 280 pages, offers a feast of poetry — eight to ten poems from all eras in each of the twenty chapters around the theme of "home". From Derek Walcott to John Donne, Carol Ann Duffy to Marina Tsvetaeva, Wendell Berry to Thomas Hardy, Eavan Boland to Basho.
It's an enjoyable collection in a small size that might fit in a purse, briefcase, pocket or tucked into a gift basket.

STAY HOME / Wendell Berry (1934 - )

I will wait here in the fields
to see how well the rain
brings on show more the grass/
In the labor of the fields
longer than a man's life
I am home. Don't come with me.
You stay home too.

I will be standing in the woods
where the old trees
move only with the wind
and then with gravity.
In the stillness of the trees
I am home. Don't come with me.
You stay home too. show less