I hit the jackpot this afternoon. The Canton Library, the new library which was so devastated by burst pipes in January, has reopened on a limited basis. The circulation and two adjacent rooms are open with the new fiction and nonfiction. It opened today for the first time at one and I was there at 1:20, knowing I'd have first dibs on loads of new (within the last year or so) books. I chose Brick Lane by Monica Ali and Elizabeth Costello by J.M. Coetzee, two books I'm so curious about because of all I've heard. I also picked up Yoga for People Who Can't Be Bothered to Do It by Geoff Dyer, Gulag by Anne Applebaum (a historical tour de force, believe me, because I borrowed it a couple of months ago and read parts of it), and The Dante Club by Matthew Pearl. I also borrowed four books about New York. So...too bad I have to work! And tonight Ken is going to expect me to watch The Forsyte Saga with him. I am enjoying the series, but the books are pulling at me.

University of Massachusetts Press is my favorite university publisher. I haven't a clue who selects their list, but I find I'm interested in just about everything they publish--nonfiction, that is. When I was at the Wellesley Free Library a month or so ago, I happened upon a UMass Press novel, The Last Days of Publishing by Tom Engelhardt. Now I have to confess that I read the entire book and am incapable of describing the plot. The fact that I am confessing is that I did not stop reading when it became clear that the plot was hidden somewhere in the manic antics of the author. The story lines are so confused that I gave up trying to keep them straight. In spite of that, Engelhardt, a former senior editor at Pantheon, has his main character make many amusing observations about publishing.

So sorry, folks! I need to add links and finish the previous paragraph, but it's essential that I leave the office now to cook the casserole I promised for our dinner tonight. I really can't stand taking the time to cook dinner--I hate it. Links later. Bye.