This really makes me want to read Boswell's biography of Johnson - contemporary accounts from past eras are, in my experience, fascinating and often mind blowing, and by how Borges describes it, Boswell's account must be a rare gem.
The biography puts me in mind of Johnson's own "No, sir--do you read books through?" I've read a fair bit, but never have sat down to read it front to back.
Penguin has a very handy volume combining Johnson's A Journey to the Western Isles of Scotland and Boswell's A Tour to the Hebrides.
