“This is the dream. To stand before the weight and heft of the real things, not reproductions or high definition scans but the objects themselves, touched by the artist's hands, made by human effort, skill and ambition...

We protect them and save them and study them. After a time we realize, some of us slower than others, that they are protecting us, saving us, studying us...”

Now this is my type of palate cleanser.

Metropolitan Stories is a must read for anyone who loves fine art, but more importantly, The Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC. This book is a little (250 page) treasure - a behind the scenes look at the inner workings of the museum -- its collection, its staff, its galleries, its conservation studios... and all the hidden places we as tourists could only dream of seeing.

This book can be read in one sitting (I have to admit that I downloaded the audio AND bought the hardcover - if that shows you how much I loved it- and if you are an @audible member it is included)!

The author worked at the MET for 25 years in a variety of roles and this book is her love letter to a very special museum. She gives voice to the art, the history and the people that make the MET an unparalleled destination. From curators to docents, conservators to guards; from the Temple of Dendur, to the Vermeers and Picassos that call the MET their home, I absolutely adored this book.

Museums and bookstores are in the same category for me - I could wander through them aimlessly forever. I love finding books that pay homage to how important these receptacles of beauty and information are to our lives.