Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.34 AVERAGE
3.34 AVERAGE
I love all things "book", so there was more then a fair chance that I was going to love a book about books and the people who collect them! This is the story of John Gilkey, a book klepto and Ken Sanders a rare book collector and bibliodick, that makes it his life story to capture Gilkey.
The premise of this was so interesting - reminded me a lot of The Falcon Thief and Feather Thief books I dead last year. There were some interesting bits about the power of books, loving what books you own, what it means to collect books, etc. But on the whole it really needed better editing. The writing seem to go in circles, with lots of repetition. The timeline of events didn’t lineup, and it was more a bunch of stories that didn’t fit together super well.
Weird book. Title should have been "The Man Who Loved Stealing Books." Not sure why the author spent so much time obsessing over him, interviewing him, and writing the book.
adventurous
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
Good true crime story wrapped in information about the rare book trade. Very interesting.
The Man who Loved Books Too Much by Allison Hoover Bartlett is a work of narrative non-fiction. This means it's most likely not going to be a snooze like your earth science textbook! I think that anybody reading this review most likely loves books. If you don't love books, why oh why are you here?
Read the rest of my review here
Read the rest of my review here
I am so glad to have this book over with. This could of been a great book but it was poorly executed. The story had all the elements of powerful literary non-fiction - a charming thief, a smart and determined bookstore owner and cool rare books. Unfortunately, the author's writing style is where is all broke down.
I loved all the interesting facts and history of bibliophiles. It was also a good way to find new book stores I want to visit. The main story was interesting but felt ultimately dissatisfying because the thief is so unlikeable but doesn't really receive any comeuppance. (This is not the author's fault as she is reporting a true story). The writing was a little plodding at times.
The book has a cool premise - following a book thief, trying to understand his motivations and whatnot, and also following the man whose quest it is to stop the thief.
And yet...
I think it could've been cool as a sort of "based on true story" kind of fiction. I think it could've even worked better if the author wrote it focusing on the people in the story more than herself.
See, she spoke a lot about what she did to get the story. The interviews she did, the research she undertook, her ethical dilemmas when the book thief started telling her of some of his crimes... It felt like the book was often more about her and her search than it was about the thief and the "detective".
More than that, the writing was circular and repetitive. She would talk about the 'world of literary obsession', give examples of different people's interactions in the world, go on about how she didn't entirely understand it, and a chapter or so later we'd go through the same routine with maybe a few different examples.
Similarly with Gilkey, in trying to 'understand his motives'. He didn't seem all that complex - he has a huge entitlement issue, thinks the world owes him, thinks that the world would think highly of him if he had a massive rare book collection, doesn't have the means to do so and, because of his sense of entitlement, rationalizes his thefts as his dues.
I mean, Bartlett would pretty much say this in so many words, and then still act like he was this hard to understand figure, and continue to explore his psyche in ever more elaborate circles which all amounted to the same thing.
And she seemed to give our detective the short shrift, in general.
Overall, very disappointing reading on what could've been an interesting story/topic. I'm only giving it 2 stars instead of 1 because there were some interesting tidbits here and there and I didn't hate it - which is what I usually reserve 1 stars for.
And yet...
I think it could've been cool as a sort of "based on true story" kind of fiction. I think it could've even worked better if the author wrote it focusing on the people in the story more than herself.
See, she spoke a lot about what she did to get the story. The interviews she did, the research she undertook, her ethical dilemmas when the book thief started telling her of some of his crimes... It felt like the book was often more about her and her search than it was about the thief and the "detective".
More than that, the writing was circular and repetitive. She would talk about the 'world of literary obsession', give examples of different people's interactions in the world, go on about how she didn't entirely understand it, and a chapter or so later we'd go through the same routine with maybe a few different examples.
Similarly with Gilkey, in trying to 'understand his motives'. He didn't seem all that complex - he has a huge entitlement issue, thinks the world owes him, thinks that the world would think highly of him if he had a massive rare book collection, doesn't have the means to do so and, because of his sense of entitlement, rationalizes his thefts as his dues.
I mean, Bartlett would pretty much say this in so many words, and then still act like he was this hard to understand figure, and continue to explore his psyche in ever more elaborate circles which all amounted to the same thing.
And she seemed to give our detective the short shrift, in general.
Overall, very disappointing reading on what could've been an interesting story/topic. I'm only giving it 2 stars instead of 1 because there were some interesting tidbits here and there and I didn't hate it - which is what I usually reserve 1 stars for.