One for the Books - Hardcover

One of America’s leading humorists and author of the bestseller Closing Time examines his own obsession with books

Joe Queenan became a voracious reader as a means of escape from a joyless childhood in a Philadelphia housing project. In the years since then he has dedicated himself to an assortment of idiosyncratic reading challenges: spending a year reading only short books, spending a year reading books he always suspected he would hate, spending a year reading books he picked with his eyes closed.

In One for the Books, Queenan tries to come to terms with his own eccentric reading style—how many more books will he have time to read in his lifetime? Why does he refuse to read books hailed by reviewers as “astonishing”? Why does he refuse to lend out books? Will he ever buy an e-book? Why does he habitually read thirty to forty books simultaneously? Why are there so many people to whom the above questions do not even matter—and what do they read? Acerbically funny yet passionate and oddly affectionate,One for the Books is a reading experience that true book lovers will find unforgettable.

Joe Queenan has been a columnist for The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, GQ, and Spy. He has written forTime, Newsweek, Rolling Stone, Playboy, Golf Digest, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, andThe New Republic, and contributes to The New York Times, and The Guardian. He has appeared on theLate Show with David Letterman, Good Morning America, Today, and The Daily Show. His books includeThe New York Times bestseller and Notable Book Closing Time: A Memoir.