I’ve described my Gap List, and you’ve probably said to yourself, “That’s all?” Never judge a list by its brevity. I’ve been reading books by dead people for a long, long time, which makes me moderately well read. The Gap List is to fill gaps so that on my deathbed I will be able to consider with satisfaction that I am truly well read.

There is, of course, the addendum to the Gap List: the Tottering Stack.

I rarely come home from a book safari with more than one or two titles from the Gap List. What I usually find are books by authors I like or have some reason to believe I might like. Often, I find books that aren’t on the Gap List but might as well be. Books by people who are still alive (which probably shouldn’t be held against them). Books that have a knowing following and have a certain nerd cred. Books that had their fifteen minutes of fame and now moulder among Continue reading →