Open Books is a plain, uncluttered white room that feels expectant, like a blank canvas. It's a space that feels marvelously receptive to words. On the walls, up high, the trim is decorated with quotes from Gertrude Stein ("Successions of words are so agreeable"), Heather McHugh ("A poem is untoward"), and Walt Whitman.
I didn't have room to include it in my column, but here's the Whitman quote: “Unscrew the locks from the doors! Unscrew the doors themselves from the jambs!” It should be noted that this quote is directly above the (fully screwed-in and presumably lockable) door to the back room.
Also this week in the books section, I write some ten-word book reviews of four new comics—Che: A Graphic Biography, On the Odd Hours, Area 10, and Forty-five. You can find one review to the left, but I hope you'll read the other thirty words of comic book reviews over here.
