One woman's passion for books and search for romance lie at the heart of this touching and funny novel about literature and longing in Los Angeles.
'Women do different things when they're depressed. Some smoke, others drink, some call their therapists, some eat... And I do what I have always done - go off on a book bender that can last for days.'
Whenever she's in crisis - her marriage ends, her career stalls, her fantasy man shows signs of human frailty - Dora (named after Eurdora Welty) escapes into not one, not two, but a crefully selected stack of books, shutting the door on the outside world until she emerges from her book binge strong enough to face her problems. Books have always been her saving grace, sheltering her during a difficult childhood and arming her with lessons and epigrams that are right for nearly ever situaiton. But life is more complicated that a-book-a-day, and people - like her ex-alcoholic mother and judgemental sister - aren't as compliant as believed characters in a novel...
Whether she's being seduced by a quotation-quipping Quixote, or explaining death to a child by reading 'Charlotte's Web', Dora is Every-reader, and her charming story, shot though with humour and humanity, will delight anyong who's ever sought solace in the pages of a book.
