First things first: Happy 2007!

On January 22, 2007, we will begin our first discussion of the new year: Nicholson Baker's A Box of Matches. When I realized I'd be hosting again, I wanted to find a short, low-stress read. Our last three books—The Dew Breaker, Wuthering Heights, and Doctor Zhivago— were heavy duty. In sharp contrast, A Box of Matches is written using uncomplicated prose and does not burden the reader with keeping track of minuscule details. In fact, it doesn't even have a plot.

Good morning, it's January and it's 4:17 a.m., and I'm going to sit here in the dark. I'm in the living room in my blue bathrobe, with an armchair pulled up to the fireplace. There isn't much in the way of open flame at the moment because the underlayer of balled-up newspaper and paper-towel tubes has burned down and the wood hasn't fully caught yet. So what I'm looking at is an orangey ember-cavern that resembles a monster's sloppy mouth, filled with half-chewed, glowing bits of fire-meat. When it's very dark like this you lose your sense of scale. Sometimes I think I'm steering a spaceplane into a gigantic fissure in a dark and remote planet. The planet's crust is beginning to break up, allowing an underground sea of lava to ooze out. Continents are tipping and foundering like melting icebergs, and I must fly in on my highly maneuverable rocket and save the colonists who are trapped there.

If you just asked yourself, "WTF?" you'll be repeating that question throughout the book. Unless you're like me. Then the question becomes, "Wasn't I just thinking about that the other day?" In any case, A Box of Matches is an interesting exercise in breaking most conventional rules about novel writing.

For future discussions, Ana is looking for a title for February while Eddie is considering hosting March. If you'd like to moderate April or another month, please feel free to leave a comment here or send an e-mail to mistress[at]bookblog[dot]net.