It's about this big whale

In a Barnes & Noble store recently I was approached by an employee who asked if she could help me. This is a rare occurrence at Barnes & Noble, as the few employees there are usually busy doing something else. Not wanting to waste an opportunity, I said I was looking for an author whose name began with the letter V.

Although I couldn't remember his name, after a false start (Butterflies Salamander) I recalled that the novel I had read was Hummingbird Salamander. By the time she had returned from checking her computer, I had moved from the general fiction section to the science fiction area, where I discovered several other novels by Jeff VanderMeer. (A few days later at another Barnes & Noble, I found VanderMeer shelved with general fiction rather than science fiction. So I'm not the only one who can't decide where he belongs.)

Those who work in bookstores and libraries probably have fun at their after-hours gatherings telling stories about patrons with queries like mine: something by an author whose name begins with the letter V. If so, they should particularly enjoy a tiny book by Maria Luz called A Library of Misremembered Books (2021).

This is actually an art book, a collection of fanciful covers displaying titles of books people have asked for. For instance:

Cat Possibly Named Henry

Ice Was in the Title

It Was All a Dream

How to Kill a Mockingbird

Polar Bear Wearing Pants Possibly Named Victor or Vincent

Dentist Being Extorted

Because of the lack of vivid colors and the artist's practice of putting light lettering on light backgrounds, I often found her images difficult to appreciate. But what I could read I enjoyed.

If you want a copy of this book, just walk into any bookstore and ask for something like A Collection of Wrong Titles. I'm sure they'll be amused.