Public libraries and the books the contain offer the writer a near infinite amount of worlds to explore. Still, there’s something special about owning your own copy. As it happens, the used bookstore I frequent – The Book Cellar on York Avenue here in NY – is in the basement of the Webster Library, a branch of the New York Public Library. Two books with one bird.

My latest finds happen to be purchases, and vary widely in subject matter. I have no idea at this point if any will feature in my next novel, but I don’t mind either. I’m reading and learning and that – I humbly submit – is never a bad thing. Of the three, the book on heraldry is likely to get the most use as I am working up a character who may be a pursuivant of arms (an officer of heraldry). He/she may also be an amanuensis – a literary assistant – witness to the unfolding of history in the making.