Chapters and Verse

A down-to-earth delight, this first novel warmly recounts lives centered in a small-town bookshop. Chapters and Verse is an independent bookstore in the quiet town of Tangelo, Fla., formerly owned by Estet Baker, a shrewd, energetic, crusty older woman, as eccentric as her name implies, who is both a lover of literature and a connoisseur of human experience. E has chosen Matthew Mason as her store's new proprietor and, after showing him the ropes, has begun to travel throughout Florida to gather material for a photo-essay. Her letters record observations on local bookstores, offer business suggestions and strengthen her friendship with Matthew. As he settles into his new role, sensitive, likable Matthew--who begins to understand that in running Chapters and Verse, ``I had a life to protect''--develops friendships with customers, staff and other townspeople. Barr's imaginative, humorous story celebrates the sweetness of literary life, the freshness and promise of the newly printed page. (May)