Monday, September 21, 2009

Harry Lee Poe/James Ray Veneman


Dear Readers,

I know I don't review non-fiction very often on this blog. Here's an exception. The Inklings of Oxford by Harry Lee Poe and photos by James Ray Veneman is a lovely coffee table book. I actually read/looked at this book because a friend recommended it. I am really glad he did.

One of my life's "wish list" vacations is to England. ( I don't know if I'll ever go, but...) One of the things I wanted to do when I visit is go to the different sites of some of my favorite authors, with C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien being high on that list. This book will help with that a great deal.

Not only is this book full of great pictures and stories about these two gentlemen and their friends, the back of the book has several walking tour maps. This way I could enjoy the book itself and then when I go to England I can go and see the different places where they hung out with their friends, worked and lived.

Sally, our assistant manger, couldn't wait to get her hands on a copy. I believe she bought one the day they came in. My son-in-law tried to steal my copy of it. So I am getting the feeling that this is a must read for anyone that is a fan of these two guys. It might even be a great Christmas gift idea for that hard-to-buy-for person. :-)

Happy Reading

2 comments:

Andrew R said...

Chris - if you ever get to go to England - take me! I was able to visit once a few years back but didn't get a chance to see Oxford. I would love to see some of the rooms pictured in that book.

If you want to see a video of one of the tours from the back of the book, go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7m34dtnSDNE Not quite as nice as being there I'm sure, but still...

Thanks for this review!
AR

Chris Jager - Baker Book House-fiction buyer said...

Sounds good Andrew. I will check out the video also.