This was a friendly, comfortable set of essays to pick through in three-minute spurts while I was waiting for the pasta to cook or when I didn't have the focus for anything larger. Walton's love and affection for these books shines through, so even when I've never heard of the book in question, I'm still engaged by Walton's discussion of it. There are some great recommendations here for authors and books I'd be curious to read, but at the same time I'm a little suspicious, because there are also some very favourable recommendations for authors and books I have read and didn't care for. Nothing for it but to take a look and see what I think, I guess!