As my living room turns more into a book-clogged library every day, I wonder whether I should leave the volumes' dust covers on. There's something about the naked spines of hardcovers that I find elegant and timeless. Where do you stand on this issue?
(Pictured are the books I have been reading since Christmas. All three are highly recommended! Anna Pavord's The Naming of Names charts the history of botany as a science and is lavishly illustrated. Ted Hughes's recently published letters allow the reader to see the poet at work, as he struggles with his writings, and also reveal a lot about his relation to his first wife, fellow poet Sylvia Plath; his letters to his children are quite moving and humorous. As for Bears, which I've only just started, it explores the history the man-bear bond, especially through folklore and anthropological insights - it's a great, great book for anyone interested in animals and/or the environment).
Emily Dickinson
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