Imagine a wonderful coffee shop,with wall to wall display cabinets filled with every delicious cake and pastry you have ever wanted to try, and more. You can't possibly sample everything in one visit, so you are drawn back, time and time again. Books is the literary version of that experience. It's nearly 800 pages of delicious temptation, tiny tastes of the best 1000 literary moments of the past 100 years. It is an eclectic selection, chosen by a wide range of suitably credentialled contributors. It looks at key books, key authors, key events, key characters, and key passages for each decade. Interestingly, it isn't the "same old same old" books that are often chronicled in "best of" projects. Books originally written in the English language predominate, but literature from non English language authors is certainly represented. As an Aussie,I am a little disappointed that so far, I have not found any Australian works - but I have a way to go before page 789. In each decade I have found at least one author with whom I am not familiar, and I am picking up lots of interesting literary things I didn't previously know. A bonus is the fabulous photographs that complement the text. Yes,I'm loving my journey through Books! Be prepared that each entry really is a tit-bit and there is some frustration in that. But the flip side is that if you are like me, your Books to Read list will expand considerably. Also understand before you start the journey, that this definitely isn't a book to be devoured over a week or two - like the coffee shop, it's more enjoyable to drop in every now and then, than to visit every day. Enjoy! ( )