Why are books so powerful? What does it mean to know a writer through his or her books? Ali Smith’s unique voice brings us a collection of intelligent stories, united by literature and a love of language, and which constitutes a very eloquent defense of public libraries, those places of joy, freedom, community and discovery. As in the rest of her works, Ali Smith shows us in this volume her love of books and her passion for her favorite authors, arguing that one can know a writer better than a friend and that reading is borrowing without guilt.