All the Beauty in the World: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me

"What E.L. Konigsburg’s From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler is for kids (OK, I read it as an adult, too!), All the Beauty in the World is for grown-ups: a peek behind the curtain at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. That’s where, after his brother died from cancer, Patrick Bringley quit his job and donned a polyester blue uniform to become a guard. He writes that he just wanted to stand still for a while, but ended up staying for 10 years – studying the Masters, pondering the mummies, and contemplating life, art, and beauty. I found this memoir, and Bringley’s portrait of the museum, so compelling that I actually planned a trip to The Met!"