received my copy of The Sailor from Gibraltar from Open Letter Books today. For a blissful half hour, I stopped grading papers, working on articles and reviews and working on assignments for my psych and sociology classes to just enjoy this treasure. Almost as much of a thrill as discovering this book, is discovering Open Letter Books, the literary translation press from the University of Rochester. They have an array of such intriguing books, that I think I’ll ask my husband to skip the chocolates and champagne for Valentine’s Day and just tie a red velvet bow around a stack of Open Letter titles.

Which isn’t a bad idea . . . I know it’s not much, but to support the idea of giving books for Valentine’s Day, we’re willing to gift wrap and tie on a red bow to any orders placed over the next week.

And if you’re looking for a good book to give, I’d recommend Of our first six—which include a novel about a murderer, a collection of stories about violence in Rio, and a story of a guy hiding under a bed longing for a woman who’s not his wife—this is probably the most appropriate for Valentine’s Day.

All of our books are available and if you’re ordering for Valentine’s Day, just shoot me a note at chad.post at rochester dot edu to let me know you want it wrapped. We can even include a note . . .