Review from Tim Bazzett

Another richly poetic book from a self-avowed book nerd

Perhaps my favorite piece of the whole collection is the one called “Finding (My) America,” in which Oomen travels to four different small-town libraries in northern Michigan as part of a book tour. She identifies herself as “a nerd for valuing books, for reading them, for loving to hold them, smell them and turn their pages, for revering the places they take me, as well as the places they are housed.”

Me too, Anne-Marie – book nerd extraordinaire.

It occurred to me as I was holding this particular book, smelling the ink and the glue, turning the pages and examining the cover, that the author’s initials form an interesting acronymn – AMO. In Latin, “amo” means “I love.” And, if you look closely in this collection of essays, you will find, tucked here and there, a continuing and intimate love letter to Oomen’s husband of many years. In the end, for me AN AMERICAN MAP is a book that is dense with associations and filled with impeccably beautiful prose. In case you haven’t guessed it yet, “I love” this book.   Read complete review at Amazon.com

– Tim Bazzett, author of the REED CITY BOY trilogy and BOOKLOVER, coming in September 2010