Match Book!

Illustration by Joon Mo Kang

 

The New York Times Book Review has come up with a great new concept, one that they call a “literary  advice column.”  Much like the helpful Ann Landers or Dear Abby advice columns, “Match Book,” written by Nicole Lamy, is here to solve your reading problems. This new column was introduced in March in this way:

Trying to figure out which book to read next? Searching for a book you loved years ago but can’t fully remember?  Want to know where to start in a prolific author’s oeuvre?

Who among us wouldn’t love to have a literary guru to steer us to exactly the book we are looking for? This week marks the debut of Match Book, which can be found here. If you have a question you’d like to submit, you can do so here.

We readers are also invited to contribute by

emailing matchbook@nytimes.com with details about your reading habits — old favorites, new books that exceeded your expectations, and those that fell short. The weekly column will connect readers with book suggestions based on their questions, their tastes, their literary needs and desires.

I’m already thinking of questions:

• I heard there was a “modern day” version of Madame Bovary. If there is, what’s the title?
• One of my favorite books is A Fine Balance by Rhintin  Mistry. I’ve read all his other books as well. Is there a comparable Indian writer?
• Does the fact that I adore Cormac McCarthy say something suspicious about my character?
• What current writer could be compared to Dorothy Parker or Nora Ephron?

How about you? What would you like to ask Match Book?