I’ve had The Secret of Lost Things on my shelf, unread, since 2007. That’s 17 years, and I finally decided now was the time to read it. (Tucked inside I found my old ALA Member card, which expired in 2010). It’s a coming-of-age story set in a NYC used bookstore, and features an oddball cast of characters, and a mystery surrounding Herman Melville and a lost manuscript. I found the characters interesting and frequently irritating, but also sympathetic. It’s a vivid snapshot of a time and place.

Reading that book led me to pull The Whale from my shelves, a book I picked up from a thrift shop last year, intrigued by the notion of a love story between two of America’s preeminent 19th century writers. I never imagined Melville as such a passionate, intense individual, but he certainly was, as even just his own letters to Hawthorne (which factor into both novels) demonstrate. The Whale is also quite funny in places, and poignant as well. I’m glad I read both of these books.