Library Walk, which leads Manhattanites from Madison Avenue to the New York Public Library, features sidewalk-embedded quotations including this famous one from Francis Bacon: "Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested: that is, some books are to be read only in parts, others to be read, but not curiously, and some few to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention."

That's how it is with books readers and publishers send me. Examples: Two just-published HarperCollins novels, William Dietrich's Blood of the Reich and Matthew Dunn's Spycatcher, have improbable action/adventure plots and crazy twists toward the end. Sprinkled with bad words and characters dying violently, they served one purpose: Got me to walk five fast miles on the treadmill, because they did make me want to find out what happened next. Note: I do not recommend these except as an aid to exercise.