"A love letter to the book as a physical object, a source of intellectual ardor, and a form of emotional salvation" (Salon)--and a nod to U and I, Nicholson Baker's classic memoir about John Updike--from an award-winning author called "wonderfully bright" by The New York Times Book Review.

Nearly twenty-five years ago, Nicholson Baker wrote U and I, the fretful and handwringing--but also groundbreaking--tale of his literary relationship with John Updike. U and I inspired a whole sub-genre of engaging writing about reading, but what no story of this type...