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3.34 AVERAGE
3.34 AVERAGE
adventurous
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
3.5 stars, rounded up. I probably would have enjoyed it more had I not just recently watched the documentary "The Booksellers", since some of it felt a little redundant (which is not the book's fault at all).
I wrote a bit about about this book at https://writequit.org/book/posts/gilkey-and-poiesis/
I wrote a bit about about this book at https://writequit.org/book/posts/gilkey-and-poiesis/
informative
slow-paced
This is a fantastic book for anyone who loves books/reading/the written word. It's a very quick read. A great summer pick. For me, this book just solidified why I love to read and want to be a librarian. Also, it brought to light how prevalent book theft is. A terrific read! I recommend it to everyone!
informative
medium-paced
John Charles Gilkey is an American thief, who stole hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of rare books, manuscripts, and maps. He stole from people, libraries, book fairs, and pretty much anyone else if there was an item that caught his eye. The way this man went about his elaborate stealing methods was wild. In this book, it says that he felt like he deserved the stolen items, which also blew my mind.
This book is currently available on Audible Plus, which is the version I used. The narration was decent. There have been a couple of books that I have ran across that I did not finish solely based on the narration, and I am pleased to say that this was not one of those. Before reading this book, it really never crossed my mind that there were book thieves. This book was exceptionally interesting, in that it went through a lot of details given to the author directly from Gilkey himself. This was a pretty decent book and not terribly long to listen to.
This book is currently available on Audible Plus, which is the version I used. The narration was decent. There have been a couple of books that I have ran across that I did not finish solely based on the narration, and I am pleased to say that this was not one of those. Before reading this book, it really never crossed my mind that there were book thieves. This book was exceptionally interesting, in that it went through a lot of details given to the author directly from Gilkey himself. This was a pretty decent book and not terribly long to listen to.
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
informative
medium-paced
This was the July book club selection of the month. I read it not knowing very little about the topic of book theft and rare book obsessions. This was enlightening and shows how obsession can lead to poor life choices. The gentleman the book focuses on was an interesting character study. I appreciated the author learning about the rare book world and sharing as her knowledge increased.
This book was really interesting. More than anything, it really made me want to own (but not necessarily buy) a rare book. I would love to have a library filled with the kind of books she describes in this book. The story ends a little abruptly, but overall it was interesting to keep me into it and a quick read.
I listened to this book on audio, narrated by Judith Brackley. I think, in this case, the audio made a large difference in the enjoyiment of the book.
Because it was a voice other than my own in my head, I felt the author was actually with me while telling this story of John Charles Gilkey and of Ken Sanders and of the multitude of book collectors old and new; their obsessions and crimes.
The line drawn between a criminal and a defender of books, is often blurred; including the author's own keeping of an unreturned library book.
Because it was a voice other than my own in my head, I felt the author was actually with me while telling this story of John Charles Gilkey and of Ken Sanders and of the multitude of book collectors old and new; their obsessions and crimes.
The line drawn between a criminal and a defender of books, is often blurred; including the author's own keeping of an unreturned library book.
This book was incredible! I found out about from the "Criminal" podcast, which did an episode profiling Gilkey and Sanders (the thief and the detective/bookseller, respectively). Books, especially rare books, are a fascinating subject, and when you overlay the even more fascinating subject of crime onto that, combined with Bartlett's superb writing, you have the perfect recipe.
My only complaint is Bartlett's continuing need to find some rational reason for Gilkey's life of crime, but I believe that I can attribute that to her lack of knowledge about and experience with criminals. Gilkey's ability to rationalize his behavior, his carping about life being "unfair" (because he can't afford books that he wants), his constant scheming and plotting to get more rare books - these are hallmarks of criminal behavior, behavior that rarely has a reason non-criminals would find rational. He wants to be recognized and admired, true, but that alone is an insufficient explanation. Many of us want to be thought highly of, and know that committing crimes is a sure way to prevent that. Gilkey, however, seems to believe that he can make it happen, which is classic criminal thinking. The same goes for the way he responds to setbacks and minor slights - when the booksellers catch him stealing from them, he decides to go to "war" with them; when somebody keeps him waiting too long on the phone, he ensure that he steals thousands of dollars in merchandise from them.
If you keep in mind that Gilkey is a classic criminal, and that his logic will not conform to the world that the rest of us find rational, this book is an almost light-hearted look inside the criminal mind.
My only complaint is Bartlett's continuing need to find some rational reason for Gilkey's life of crime, but I believe that I can attribute that to her lack of knowledge about and experience with criminals. Gilkey's ability to rationalize his behavior, his carping about life being "unfair" (because he can't afford books that he wants), his constant scheming and plotting to get more rare books - these are hallmarks of criminal behavior, behavior that rarely has a reason non-criminals would find rational. He wants to be recognized and admired, true, but that alone is an insufficient explanation. Many of us want to be thought highly of, and know that committing crimes is a sure way to prevent that. Gilkey, however, seems to believe that he can make it happen, which is classic criminal thinking. The same goes for the way he responds to setbacks and minor slights - when the booksellers catch him stealing from them, he decides to go to "war" with them; when somebody keeps him waiting too long on the phone, he ensure that he steals thousands of dollars in merchandise from them.
If you keep in mind that Gilkey is a classic criminal, and that his logic will not conform to the world that the rest of us find rational, this book is an almost light-hearted look inside the criminal mind.