Following her acclaimed Ruined by Reading, Lynne Sharon Schwartz moves from the world of books to the broader world outside, tracing the solitary self as it's shaped and defined by connections large and small. These essays move through a landscape of varied encounters that blossom into self-discovery for the reader as well as the writer. Once again, we find ourselves illuminated by Schwartz's relentless, sometimes hopeful, and always fiercely intelligent gaze. [Schwartz] shares her humanity with her readers. These essays are candid, refreshingly modest. --Diane White, The Boston Globe

"In Face to Face . . . Schwartz resembles one of her fictional characters: a sensitive family-oriented semibohemian whose tastes are literary but refreshingly unstuffy and whose sense of humor tends toward the sly and offbeat." --Diane Cole, The New York Times Book Review

"Marvelous. . . . Near-flawless reflections on experiences generously savored, couched in an ever-inventive prose." -Michael Upchurch, Seattle Times