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4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
Ms. Fadiman paints a vivid picture not only her own love affair with books, but she also demonstrates the value, necessity, and the capacity for pleasure found in books for any dedicated reader. This little book of essays, with titles such as "The Joy of Sesquipedalians" and "The Catalogical Imperative," are written with clarity, wit, and a true sense of what it means to be a bibliophile. I don't know how many times I nodded my head in agreement at a particular peculiarity that only avid readers can identify with, or chuckled in amusement about some habit or quirk that I recognized in my own life. At the same time, her essays helped me to identify some of my own oddities in regards to books (not just anything can serve as a bookmark; it has to have meaning) and habits (my "currently reading" list tends to be a pile of books that migrates around my room and in and out of book bags-yes, I have more than one-and my backpack until I am through with them, after which they must be placed in a specific position and manner on my shelf). Now if I could just form a coherent system for that magical day when I am able to unbox all of my books at once so that they may no longer remain separated from each other, rather than simply coming out for fresh air at random and then only a semester at a time!
This is my first encounter with Anne (I feel like I should call her be her first name after the close personal details that she imparts in her essays), and I look forward to reading some more of her work. These essays helped me to remember not only my childhood days of reading, but also how my love of literature was reawakened in college and now seminary. There were two essays that I found myself skimming (sorry, Anne, but I don't think you would mind), and overall, greatly enjoyed this book.
By the timestamps on Goodreads, it may seem that it took me a very long time to read this book. Worry not, however, that delay is due simply to my other reading obligations (graduate school theology courses mostly), and I suspect that this would take a reader with even an average reading speed a few days to work through.
This is my first encounter with Anne (I feel like I should call her be her first name after the close personal details that she imparts in her essays), and I look forward to reading some more of her work. These essays helped me to remember not only my childhood days of reading, but also how my love of literature was reawakened in college and now seminary. There were two essays that I found myself skimming (sorry, Anne, but I don't think you would mind), and overall, greatly enjoyed this book.
By the timestamps on Goodreads, it may seem that it took me a very long time to read this book. Worry not, however, that delay is due simply to my other reading obligations (graduate school theology courses mostly), and I suspect that this would take a reader with even an average reading speed a few days to work through.
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Anne Fadiman is a column writer, a journal editor, and an award-winning author. She’s also a life-long reader, and that means more than all her other scholarly accomplishments in this collection of her eighteen essays that pay tribute to the love of books and reading. Fadiman writes about how you’re not really married to someone until you combine book collections. She muses on how reading the same book at different points in your life can change what the book means to you. She goes into raptures over secondhand bookstores and lovingly critiques the best (and worst) inscriptions people write when they’re giving books to others. She chronicles the difficulties of being both a lover of sesquipedalians (long words) and an obsessive-compulsive proofreader. Fadiman is intelligent and passionate about books and her essays are written with a graceful elegance of style that will charm every kind of reader under the sun. In Fadiman’s hands, reading becomes an art that is to be honed and nurtured over a lifetime. Fadiman’s life is healthier, richer, funnier, and more rewarding because of her love of books, and that about sums it up for all us bookworms out there.
This book is alright, but I'm disappointed by it.
I expected more of it, and even if there are some funny anecdotes (how the author and her husband merged their books, how she and her family wrote on book's pages etc..), I found it quite unexceptional.
I like a lot the anecdote about her birthday, when her husband took her to a great second-hand bookstore and how they left with huge bags of books. That's a great birthday.
The constant name dropping is also very irritating.
I expected more of it, and even if there are some funny anecdotes (how the author and her husband merged their books, how she and her family wrote on book's pages etc..), I found it quite unexceptional.
I like a lot the anecdote about her birthday, when her husband took her to a great second-hand bookstore and how they left with huge bags of books. That's a great birthday.
The constant name dropping is also very irritating.
A collection of essays, as is typical, some are excellent, some are skippable. Some felt like padding, highlighting tertiary parts of the author's reading life for the sake of topical diversity. Her true joy shines through in chapters relating to book collection or organization, as well as how books have impacted her family life and marriage. In those sections, it's fun to share her joy. Overall, however, there were enough skimmed sections that I would only recommend it in chunks. Still, there's enough here, and it's slim enough, that few will really regret the experience. If you're someone who thinks they *might* enjoy a book with a title like this one has, then you'll probably come away thinking it was fun and fine, if not more. And oftentimes, that's more than enough.
Anne Fadiman's use of language makes me deliriously happy. The essay that begins with her family at a restaurant proof reading the menu had me doubled over, wheezing with laughter, while my husband looked on in bemusement.
After I read the first chapter I thought Ms Fadiman was a pedantic woman... and after reading the whole book in one day (is very short) I still think she is; but I also think that I probably sound very pedantic when I talk about books and my relationship to them, so I think we're on the same boat.
These little essays relate to many aspects of the book lovers life: I can see myself when she talks about lack of space, feelings for books, hours spent sorting out her library, etc...
These little essays relate to many aspects of the book lovers life: I can see myself when she talks about lack of space, feelings for books, hours spent sorting out her library, etc...
Books about books are a particular niche that I find irresistible. This one is a collection of essays about books; reading, collecting and organizing thereof. There were a couple essays that didn't really contribute to the overall enjoyment of the book, otherwise it would have been a solid five stars. Anyone who has a love of literature would do well to read this one.
This was a failed combination of fluff and smugness; it needed not to have one or the other quality to lift it beyond a faintly irritating decent fast read. As it is, it's not clever and it lacks import.
“I have never been able to resist a book about books.” says Anne Fadiman and same is true for me. This was a delightful bunch of essays where she writes about books and bookshelves, words and sonnets, the joy of finding old and used books, reading books where the story is set, marrying (mixing) books with her husband, arranging and categorizing books, writing instruments (not just pens), plagiarism among writers, reading and writing, and her bibliophile family. The subtitle of the book is "Confessions of a Common Reader" which should have been "Confessions of a Radical Reader". She has covered so many topics in such a small book which truly remarkable. My favorite essays were 'My Odd Shelf' and 'Never Do That to a Book'. Her passion for anything to do with books and humor reflects in her writing. Any bibliophile will immediately connect with these essays. We don't need a classical literature degree to appreciate books. We are the common reader.