The Book Rat's Daughter

<p><i>The Book Rat’s Daughter</i> is Carolyn Michaels Kerr’s affectionate portrait of her father the deeply respected (and deeply book-obsessed) New Testament scholar J. Ramsey Michaels told through the tangle of his lifelong devotion to books. A self-proclaimed “book rat” Ramsey began collecting as a boy—an enthusiasm that never waned. His idea of a good time involved a dusty used bookstore a good meal at a bargain price and a few hours of theological or literary conversation—preferably over wine. <br /></p><p>Drawing from his unfinished memoir some published writings and hours of recorded interviews (because when your dad’s a scholar even casual chats turn into archives) Kerr traces not only the man behind the stacks but also the quiet evolution in their relationship after her mother’s death. <br /></p><p>Structured around stories of treasured finds antiquarian bookstore adventures and the rhythms of a reading life the memoir is part tribute part travelogue through their shared world of words. It is also a study in primary sources first editions marginalia and the enjoyable challenge of keeping up with a man whose everyday conversation was liberally sprinkled with such words as eschatology dispensationalism and hermeneutics. <br /></p>