If you're tired of hearing about what a clusterfuck the situation in Iraq is, this will certainly come as a breath of fresh air.

The book market has always been a favorite for international TV crews. In Saddam's days, it was the place of choice for thoughtful interviews and good English. While there, we'd often rummage through the fascinating array of new and secondhand books.

Sometimes, amid the stock-in-trade Iraqi government propaganda, we'd come across a favorite old out-of-print paperback or a must-have memento, like an elegantly illustrated book of Arab love poetry that I found one day.

After the fall of Saddam, the book market became a perfect place to test the ever-changing mood of the city. We would marvel at the quirky mix of all the new titles flooding in along with the Technicolor posters of revered Shiite leaders, forbidden under the old regime.