Book shopping was a success. Not only did I find everything I'd intended to purchase, I returned all those books to their respective shelves and came away instead with a chance discovery and some inspired fresh choices.

Chief among my purchases is The Cryptographer, by Tobias Hill, which I can barely put down. I found it out on AS Byatt's recommendation, even though I can't trust everything she says.

Thus far, the book offers some insight into money, particularly into people who work with money without having any per se (a population subgroup to which belong many people I know). And Tobias Hill measures out his prose in careful homage to TS Eliot. The central character, Anna Moore, is no doubt of Prufrock's acquaintance.

More on my literary adventures as they unfold.