Ebook: Leave Me Alone, I'm Reading: Finding and Losing Myself in Books

Ain't no mountain high enough: women's extreme-adventure stories (and one of my own) -- Tales of toil: what John Ruskin and Sam Spade taught me about working for a living -- "They're writing songs of love, but not for me": Gaudy night and other alternatives to the traditional "mating, dating, and procreating" plot -- Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition: what Catholic martyr stories taught me about getting to heaven--and getting even -- Epilogue. My New York: September 8, 2001.;A lifelong book lover and NPR book critic speaks out on the authors and the books that have played a key role in her life, exploring how the magic of reading has helped her understand herself and reflecting on how a love of literature can help transform our lives.