Great way to find new books, off the beaten path. Not for bestseller hunters, but serious readers. ( )

That's a literal title. I had heard of a few of Perrin's authors or titles (Robert Graves, Joseph Mitchell, Guard of Honor, [b:A Fine and Private Place|76718|A Fine and Private Place|Peter S. Beagle|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170899643s/76718.jpg|3948]) and now, solely on the his enticing, enchanting essays, I want to read them all. And even if Perrin is wrong (which I doubt) and the books' obscurity deserved, I shall have delighted in Perrin's essays themselves, which are as masterful as the books they tout.

This book is like having an educated, intelligent friend personally recommend books to you that you would not find or pick up on your own. I am only halfway through because I keep having to stop in order to go read the book he described! He has a conversational, often conspiratorial, tone and makes you want to live at the library. ( )

I found half of the books that the author describes interesting enough to note for my own reading list. 20 out of 40 is not that bad. I also found the epilogue to be helpful about which titles were out of print in 1988. May be hard to find some still, but I have faith in the library system!
I discovered that I did not want to read the complete essays, although they are well written. I did not want to know too much about the plot of the book being recommended. If the first few paragraphs peaked my interest, I added it to my list. ( )

Interesting handling of classics or would be classics to read. Found some real treasures in this individual's book. ( )