Getting Lost in S.

For the last few days I've been working my way through the book S. by J.J. Abrams and Doug Dorst.  Which is kind of strange, because the book is a story within a story (or better put - a story in the margins of a story), as the story exists on two levels: first a fictional 1949 novel called Ship of Theseus by a fictional author called V.M. Straka, and then a second story, written in notes left in the margins of the book by two university students.

As a soon-to-be librarian (2 weeks and counting!), I love a lot about this book, the fact that it practically begs to be re-read, the various letters, post cards and even a map written on a restaurant napkin slipped between various pages and the fact that even through the book is not yet a year old, it looks used, discoloured and works in a way that I don't believe could be replicated in an e-book format.

Also the book is a "stolen" copy from a high school library, so that's a little appalling, but with the compelling tale it includes I'll have to borrow a word from my friend Ron and simply call the story compalling.

A little reminiscent of Nick Bantock's Griffin & Sabine trilogy, or Mark Danielewski's House of Leaves, S. is fascinating reading.