'He was born with the gift of laughter and the sense that the world was mad. And that was all his patrimony.'

It was just about ten years ago that I decided, mournfully, that I'd come to the end of all the great books in the world, and hereafter would have to resign myself to reading them over and over again for the rest of my life. Fortunately I was much mistaken, and have been discovering wonderful new books at a pretty steady pace ever since. And now the fun is doubled, because Michael and I can read them aloud to each other, and it's half as fun to read aloud a book new to him as it was to discover it for myself the first time.

It's as impossible as it ever was to determine what it is that makes a book great, or that defines it as classic, but one of the most compelling factors for captivating my interest and soliciting my approval is the essentialness of a good, strong narrative style: a book needs to be written well, with a certain distinctive, classic style, for me to really appreciate it. A witty dialogue is of course a great asset, as one can stow the lines away for future reference:

'There, you see; all is happily concluded.'
'The conclusion I perceive. Not so the happiness.'