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bettie

Bettie's Books

A Stuga On the Cusp of the Orust Riviera, tucked away next to a hobbit hole in the woods.

A Box of Matches by Nicholson Baker

A Box of Matches - Nicholson Baker

bookshelves: published-2003, paper-read, lifestyles-deathstyles, hardback, winter-20132014, bellybutton-mining, amusing, giftee, lit-richer

Read in January, 2014


Dedication: For Margaret

Opening: Good morning, it's January and it's 4:17am, and I'm going to sit here in the dark

Emmett (I am sure that means 'ant' in Cornish!) is an editor of medical textbooks and is married to a Claire, who likes to read in bed at night.

pub 2003
lit-richer
paper> hardback
giftee
belly-button> OCD> existenstial angst
amusing
duck worry

My first quibble came early and it had to do with the blurb not the book itself: 'A man gets up earlier and earlier each day': he doesn't, and that ant query seems to be spot-on: see page 163.

This is a perfect New Year's eve book - each chapter read outloud by a different person whilst the others watch the fire and sip brandied coffee, giggle, and contemplate emulating the New Year's Dawn Watch with hot flasks and doubled-up mittens. This whimsical story has made for a beautiful collective consciousness for some close friends at the last embers of a dying year.

slow tv - perfect accompaniment

The music is James Taylor

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