I am a voracious re-reader of books. On first read, I charge through the pages devouring the story. Satiated I turn back to the beginning and read slowly, ingesting the sentences and sections that I admire. Also, I confess to writing my thoughts alongside certain passages, circling unusual uses of words, and even dog-earring corners of pages, which befuddle or entrance me. I know some find this distasteful, but I hold onto the school days' joy in finding a previous reader's thoughts scribbled in the margins of textbooks - reading turned from a solitary activity into an interactive one. So my Night Table is often stacked with books that recycle themselves from top to bottom and bottom to top. I have chosen to discuss two of these books, a novel and a collection of short stories.

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Four Fish - The History of the Last Wild Food$25.95 add to cart

With spring's arrival fish is popping up at almost every restaurant, it got me to thinking about the politics of fish. One of the best books on the subject is Paul Greenberg's Four Fish: The Future of The Last Wild Food, it is a witty, snarky read. Four Fish is well-researched and tells you everything you need to know about the current state of seafood through a series of anecdotes regarding the world's four major fisheries: salmon, sea bass, cod, and tuna.

 

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Tragedy Of Arthur$30.00 add to cart

I'm half way into Arthur Philips' The Tragedy of Arthur and it is well worth the read. It is intelligent and hilarious. The novel includes a convincing forgery of a supposedly long-lost Shakespearian play in its five-act entirety. The Tragedy of Arthur offers a fresh look at storytelling and truth-telling, our desire for originality and discovery, and the act of literary mythmaking.

I first read about The Tragedy of Arthur in the New York Times Sunday Book Review, Stephen Greenblatt gave it a positive review. By the way Arthur Philips is a five time Jeopardy Champion, and the author of the much acclaimed Prague and The Song is You.

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The Sea Captain's Wife$22.00 add to cart

Betrayed by her own longing to be at sea with her sea captain husband, and by her loneliness, Azuba finds herself closeted with her young daughter on her unforgiving husband's sailing ship. Over the next three years of heart stopping adventures, Azuba endures vicious storms, starvation, pregnancy and childbirth, and the shock of cold-blooded pirates. The enormity of world travel in the 1860's changes Azuba utterly as she and her husband slowly, tentatively learn how to trust each other again.