# General > Book & Author Requests >  Looking for Title and Author of a Decades-old Book

## AuntShecky

Years ago when my bitter half and yours fooly had limited resources (i.e., no TV, etc.), we spent most of our leisure time in a small branch of a local public library. Our tastes were more or less hit or miss, but there was one particular non-fiction book that is vexing me. That is, I'm driving myself crazy -- er, crazi-ER-- in that I can't remember the title or author!

It is most likely out of print by now, but it was a non-fiction book about books, namely New York Times best-selling novels which, along with their authors, had fallen into obscurity. I'm fairly certain it was hard-cover, and a trade book by a commercial publisher as opposed to a Ph.D dissertation. The author chose one best seller per decade and wrote about it and its author.

I can recall two of the neglected works covered. The first was from 1924 _The Green Hat_ by Michael Arlen (the earlier Michael Arlen, not the one born in 1930.) The other one I vaguely recall was a science fiction novel from the 1930s or 1940s about the catastrophe of the Moon falling into the earth. Can't remember the author (it wasn't Heinlein or Asimov or Clarke) and of course not the title. As I said, the books scrutinized had been forgotten.

But I wish I could remember the title and author of this study!


By the bye, there are some websites about neglected classics, including the one managed by Brad Bigelow 

www.neglectedbooks.com

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## tailor STATELY

Nothing yet... but did find a page that might help you in your quest: https://www.nypl.org/blog/2017/11/22...orgotten-title 

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor STATELY

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## AuntShecky

Thank you, tailor. I will pursue it.
By the bye, did you know that there is a pun -- perhaps intended--in the fabled statuary in front of the New York Public Library on Fifth Ave? "Patience" and "Fortitude," the twin felines flanking the steps to the main entrance, embody a message: "Read between the lions."

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## tailor STATELY

"Read between the Lions"... love it. I hope to go to New York City some time and will have to make the NYPL a must see. I read there are many benefits for having a NYPL card including free access to many museums... https://www.6sqft.com/tag/new-york-public-library/

Other links I perused: 

• Web article History of the NYPL: https://www.6sqft.com/reading-betwee...ublic-library/

• NYPL website: https://www.nypl.org/

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor STATELY

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