Have you heard of The Handsell, run by Ron Hogan? You list three to five books you like, and Ron and a guest — an author or a bookseller — will offer a recommendation based on your list. You enter your list of books here. A week or so ago, I entered my list, and today, this video appeared with my recommendations. Kind of fun!
I’m happy with the recommendations, although I suspect the recommendation Ron’s guest made — James Salter’s All That Is — wasn’t based on my list but was just a book he happens to like a lot. But still, I’ve been meaning to read Salter for a while now and haven’t gotten to it yet. I may start with A Sport and a Pastime, though, which is what I have on hand. Ron’s recommendation is more appropriate to my list — Iain Sinclair’s Ghost Milk: Recent Adventures Among the Future Ruins of London on the Eve of the Olympics. Sinclair is someone I’ve been aware of for a while but haven’t read yet. Ron’s description sounds perfect: the book is a mix of memoir, history, walking tour, and discussions of the city. It’s exactly what I’m looking for — unclassifiable, voice-driven nonfiction.
I can’t post these days without a baby picture or two, so here they are, first, a picture that makes clear what Cormac thought of his vaccinations yesterday:
And then a happier picture, with Muttboy in the background:
Of Books and Bicycles 