Time’s Magpie: A Walk in Prague by Myla GoldbergCrown Journeys, 2004

This is the kind of book that’s perfect to read in one day, start to finish: on the subway to work, waiting for the elevator, over lunch, at home, before cleaning or having dinner or opening the mail. Small and lovely, well-chosen stories of a city, wonderfully accompanied by Ken Nash’s illustrations (perfectly drawn buildings, layered over old maps or handwritten text or collaged with bits from a Czech dictionary). Goldberg writes about the kinds of places I would like to visit: cemeteries, libraries, the astronomical tower, and her prose is always engaged, engaging, making me think or grin or laugh.