What I'm reading:

The Anthologist by Nicholson Baker

Simon & Schuster, 1416572449, $25.00

Why would anyone want to read a novel about poetry, or about a teacher of poetry who can't bring himself to write an intro to an anthology of collected poems for a tidy fee despite having lost his teaching position and needing the income badly? Well, those few, those happy few ardent Nicholson Baker fans who have so deeply enjoyed his previous works will not be disappointed with The Anthologist, in which we share the musings of this thoroughly imperfect man who, despite his shortcomings, offers us so many brilliant, fascinating and often laugh-out-loud observations on the world of words that I could only stop reading when the book fell from my hands in the late hours of the night.