That sounds like a most excellent plan. (Along with the plan from before about taking over the world and blackmailing a few important authors for more books.)

I bet it is the same.

Framed? I must have it! Is it any relation to the BBC thing with Eve Myles? Because I was nerdily excited when I read about the BBC thing, and I would be even more excited if there were a book of it.

That is too scary. I hate it that art can be so ephemeral — books can be copied so easily without losing any of their original qualities, whereas art is gone when it’s gone.

I appreciate your Elizabeth Peters support. Can we write her a letter and get her to do it?

I am woefully unfamiliar with art history. I nearly took an art history class in college, but I ended up doing Byzantine and early Christian art and architecture instead. Also interesting, but I feel like my knowledge of art is more gap than knowledge. On the plus side, Dolnick doesn’t assume his readers know anything about art. He explains everything. Priceless sounds cool!

Right? Right? Cardboard! It makes me wonder if other insane masterpieces are painted on cardboard too!

I got seriously so, so excited when I read this comment. I had no idea White Collar was about art crime. I’m trying to decide what show to watch next, and I was leaning toward Friday Night Lights, but I feel like that’s just going to make me cry. White Collar sounds perfect.

Have you seen the old one? I heard the old one is better and do not know what the truth is — I do suspect the old one doesn’t have any awkward staircase sex.

It was stolen TWICE. How crazy is that? The author had an afterword to the book saying that it got stolen again when he was just about to turn in the manuscript about the first theft. Loony.

I am glad you think so! I am sometimes worried as I’m writing reviews that I won’t be able to make them sound as interesting as the books really are.

Well, I now have a huge list of this sort of thing, so I am hoping I will have some more excellent art-theft books to recommend soon. 😀

Oh my gosh, me too. If I were going to go into master criminality, I would have no interest in pretty diamonds and all interest in art. Except that this book made it sound like a lot of the people in the art underworld are drug-and-weapons gang lords. I wouldn’t want to hang out with them.