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3.34 AVERAGE
3.34 AVERAGE
THE LITERARY EQUIVALENT OF A CUP OF HOT TEA THAT SOMEONE ELSE MADE FOR YOU
An interesting subject matter, but told in a boring manner.
The Man who Loved Books too much: the true story of a thief, a detective, and a world of literary obsession by Allison Hoover Bartlett is unfortunately not the fascinating tale I was hoping for. I thought perhaps I was biased in my opinion because I had just finished Flawless, but then I read other reviews and found others who felt the same way.
I was hoping that this book would at least bring a glimpse of the not-so-nice side of the rare-book trade and collecting, but no, you didn't get that at all. Our main character, John Charles Gilkey is not as fascinating as Ms. Bartlett seems to find him. He's a thief. He's not noble thief; he steals simply because he wants the book. He's not a particularly smart thief either; he simply uses a stolen credit card or writes a bad check. He's just your run-of-the-mill thief.
Maybe I would have been okay with that portion of the tale if I really believed the man actually loved the books. He doesn't. He feels entitled to have them, so he steals them. It's not about the artwork on/in a first edition; it's about the prestige that comes from owning that first edition. It's not about the stories inside the covers either. He doesn't seem to care about that either. He simply feels like wealthy people should have a large library and therefore he's entitled to what he wants to have.
This book was unfortunately, totally disappointing and I do not recommend it.
I was hoping that this book would at least bring a glimpse of the not-so-nice side of the rare-book trade and collecting, but no, you didn't get that at all. Our main character, John Charles Gilkey is not as fascinating as Ms. Bartlett seems to find him. He's a thief. He's not noble thief; he steals simply because he wants the book. He's not a particularly smart thief either; he simply uses a stolen credit card or writes a bad check. He's just your run-of-the-mill thief.
Maybe I would have been okay with that portion of the tale if I really believed the man actually loved the books. He doesn't. He feels entitled to have them, so he steals them. It's not about the artwork on/in a first edition; it's about the prestige that comes from owning that first edition. It's not about the stories inside the covers either. He doesn't seem to care about that either. He simply feels like wealthy people should have a large library and therefore he's entitled to what he wants to have.
This book was unfortunately, totally disappointing and I do not recommend it.
This nonfiction book is an interesting look at rare book theft. Although it is said to read like a crime novel, it does not have the same flow or feel as a mystery. However, the book is a quick & interesting read to be sure.
A few months ago, I exited a fabulous used book store in Chatanooga with 15 books. I’d gotten some great deals. While waiting for my ride, I sifted through the free book bin and discovered an old copy of “A Short History of England” which I guarantee no one has ever heard of because never exactly was on the bestseller list, even in its heyday, and is hardly short. But it was old, 1920’s or ‘40s, and had a good binding and was getting rained on. I know. Awful. I immediately snatched it up and stuck it in with my other books.
A true book-lover immediately understands my horror. Bad enough to have books get rained off, even awful ones that won’t sell at a used bookstore, but that such an old one would be so destroyed! (I’m pleased to say it came from the experience no worse for wear)
Mrs. Allison Hoover Bartlett would not understand. She is not a true book lover.
“Unrepentant book thief” John Charles Gilkey would not understand. He is most definitely not a book lover.
That the two of them even masquerade as such in this “I want to be a memoir but got hyped as a real-life crime mystery and really am lousy attempt at investigative journalism” is a travesty. I am so irritated right now I should probably wait till I cool down. The book Finally. Freaking. Ended.
Took forever.
Part of the problem is that I am a speed reader listening to my first book on CD since I was like, in first grade. And parts where I could zip-right through get dragged out. The smug tone of the writing, the reader, and just about everything about this book made me want to punch someone in the nose. My, I’m turning violent.
But seriously
You know what makes Ms. Bartlett and I different? I may tell you about saving an old book, but I don’t expect you to care. She, on the other hand, uses her book / biography / memoir wannabe as a platform to express her views about e-books and book banning and her own childhood favorites. And, to add insult to injury, she bores the world to tears talking about how she doesn’t understand. Here’s the thing. I don’t care about her. I don’t care about her son. Or her daughter. Her thoughts. I don’t care what emotions she felt, who she is attracted to, and who has a paunch.
I sound utterly heartless. This just wasn’t the context for her observations. Or maybe it was and this book is totally misrepresented. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the context much for anything. Though random trivia is thrown in and occasionally interesting bursts of book-loving quotes, I can’t help wonder when she glosses over things I know about what else is being glossed over. Oh how great of Jefferson to sell his private library to Congress! Never mind that he was hugely in debt...
See, we didn’t exactly hit it off well immediately. In fact, I scribbled down because I was so indignant:
“Nuh-uh, you did not just try to explain who Moriarty is to me.”
She gives way to many unneeded details. Like when she is visiting the prison and has to remove her bra. Did not....need...to...know...that. I did not need to know that she had to RUN out to her van to “wrestle” it off. That does not add to the story. In fact, it rather disturbs me.
I found her description of the people she interacted with equally irritating at times. Sanders and Gilkey are trumpeted as the two main characters of this book. The “persistent sleuth” and “serial book thief” respectively. Sanders is not given enough time. He isn’t. Not for what he is trumpeted as. However, there is only so much you can say. They really aren’t great, life long rivals or anything. Only so many times you can quote this foul mouthed book selling hippie. In the end, I don’t think she painted him in a great light either. Gilkey comes off as “misunderstood”, while Sanders is “close minded”.
Um, ‘scuse me?
And Gilkey. Let me tell you, he is exactly what is wrong with America. There is no sense of right and wrong. He views everything as a personal injustice against himself. It’s other people’s fault that he can’t afford books. “All” he wants is a good library and to become a gentleman. To live high on the hog without spending a penny of his own personal cash. Why, the penitentiary is perfect for him! He can live on the taxpayer's dollar. But no, being in jail, those were “sacrifices” for his dream, “forced pauses”. I wish I were making this up.
I really do. He does not love books. He does not love learning. He loves the prestige that comes with books, the aura that comes with knowledge. His craving is for personal recognition, not a selfless esteem for the written word.
But oh no! He’s such a victim. He just loved books too much. His sense of right and wrong just a little skewed, but isn’t he basically like every other book collector?
Um, no, the comparison is offensive.
And Ms. Bartlett, the sucker, falls for his pity party! And you know why?
I don’t even.....
Yeah.
Anyway.
Seriously, “there is a sucker born every minute.”
What just irritates me to no end, though, what simply ruins this book is that Ms. Bartlett is no book lover. She’s a good little Freudian disciple. But no book lover.
Quote: “a large part of any book is sensual”
She connects everything as sexual. It’s “erotic” pleasure in the book. Holding the book automatically is assumed to be sensual. She almost trips over herself in her eagerness to mention “gay classics” or point out that she has a “feminist classic” on her shelf. Everything is so intense! As if the world depends on her....dates with this creepy criminal dude.
Ijustdon’teven.
Worse than the “characters” that populate this story is the author’s discussion of herself. Because in this book she is the “heroine.” She is mortified in the bookstore, she wants to (and sort of kind of not really who are we trying to kid) “confronts” him over his crime. She is the one wondering if she should tell the FBI...the one who lies and checks up on the statute of limitations...the one who wants to single handedly discover where his book stash is and “save the day” so to speak. But she never does figure out where the stash is and so she just ends up looking like an idiot. “Even a fool is considered wise when he is silent”, alas that no one ever taught her that proverb!
I am being harsh on this book and I realize that. I am being particularly harsh on the author. However, this book was packaged as a great story about a book thief and the amateur detective who tracked him down. If it was even just the story of rare book collectors and their obsession and the criminals who steal, as the book tries to be, it would be passable. But this book aims to high, tries too hard to be wise, and finally just bores the reader out of their mind. A pretty big disappointment.
A true book-lover immediately understands my horror. Bad enough to have books get rained off, even awful ones that won’t sell at a used bookstore, but that such an old one would be so destroyed! (I’m pleased to say it came from the experience no worse for wear)
Mrs. Allison Hoover Bartlett would not understand. She is not a true book lover.
“Unrepentant book thief” John Charles Gilkey would not understand. He is most definitely not a book lover.
That the two of them even masquerade as such in this “I want to be a memoir but got hyped as a real-life crime mystery and really am lousy attempt at investigative journalism” is a travesty. I am so irritated right now I should probably wait till I cool down. The book Finally. Freaking. Ended.
Took forever.
Part of the problem is that I am a speed reader listening to my first book on CD since I was like, in first grade. And parts where I could zip-right through get dragged out. The smug tone of the writing, the reader, and just about everything about this book made me want to punch someone in the nose. My, I’m turning violent.
But seriously
You know what makes Ms. Bartlett and I different? I may tell you about saving an old book, but I don’t expect you to care. She, on the other hand, uses her book / biography / memoir wannabe as a platform to express her views about e-books and book banning and her own childhood favorites. And, to add insult to injury, she bores the world to tears talking about how she doesn’t understand. Here’s the thing. I don’t care about her. I don’t care about her son. Or her daughter. Her thoughts. I don’t care what emotions she felt, who she is attracted to, and who has a paunch.
I sound utterly heartless. This just wasn’t the context for her observations. Or maybe it was and this book is totally misrepresented. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the context much for anything. Though random trivia is thrown in and occasionally interesting bursts of book-loving quotes, I can’t help wonder when she glosses over things I know about what else is being glossed over. Oh how great of Jefferson to sell his private library to Congress! Never mind that he was hugely in debt...
See, we didn’t exactly hit it off well immediately. In fact, I scribbled down because I was so indignant:
“Nuh-uh, you did not just try to explain who Moriarty is to me.”
She gives way to many unneeded details. Like when she is visiting the prison and has to remove her bra. Did not....need...to...know...that. I did not need to know that she had to RUN out to her van to “wrestle” it off. That does not add to the story. In fact, it rather disturbs me.
I found her description of the people she interacted with equally irritating at times. Sanders and Gilkey are trumpeted as the two main characters of this book. The “persistent sleuth” and “serial book thief” respectively. Sanders is not given enough time. He isn’t. Not for what he is trumpeted as. However, there is only so much you can say. They really aren’t great, life long rivals or anything. Only so many times you can quote this foul mouthed book selling hippie. In the end, I don’t think she painted him in a great light either. Gilkey comes off as “misunderstood”, while Sanders is “close minded”.
Um, ‘scuse me?
And Gilkey. Let me tell you, he is exactly what is wrong with America. There is no sense of right and wrong. He views everything as a personal injustice against himself. It’s other people’s fault that he can’t afford books. “All” he wants is a good library and to become a gentleman. To live high on the hog without spending a penny of his own personal cash. Why, the penitentiary is perfect for him! He can live on the taxpayer's dollar. But no, being in jail, those were “sacrifices” for his dream, “forced pauses”. I wish I were making this up.
I really do. He does not love books. He does not love learning. He loves the prestige that comes with books, the aura that comes with knowledge. His craving is for personal recognition, not a selfless esteem for the written word.
But oh no! He’s such a victim. He just loved books too much. His sense of right and wrong just a little skewed, but isn’t he basically like every other book collector?
Um, no, the comparison is offensive.
And Ms. Bartlett, the sucker, falls for his pity party! And you know why?
I don’t even.....
Yeah.
Anyway.
Seriously, “there is a sucker born every minute.”
What just irritates me to no end, though, what simply ruins this book is that Ms. Bartlett is no book lover. She’s a good little Freudian disciple. But no book lover.
Quote: “a large part of any book is sensual”
She connects everything as sexual. It’s “erotic” pleasure in the book. Holding the book automatically is assumed to be sensual. She almost trips over herself in her eagerness to mention “gay classics” or point out that she has a “feminist classic” on her shelf. Everything is so intense! As if the world depends on her....dates with this creepy criminal dude.
Ijustdon’teven.
Worse than the “characters” that populate this story is the author’s discussion of herself. Because in this book she is the “heroine.” She is mortified in the bookstore, she wants to (and sort of kind of not really who are we trying to kid) “confronts” him over his crime. She is the one wondering if she should tell the FBI...the one who lies and checks up on the statute of limitations...the one who wants to single handedly discover where his book stash is and “save the day” so to speak. But she never does figure out where the stash is and so she just ends up looking like an idiot. “Even a fool is considered wise when he is silent”, alas that no one ever taught her that proverb!
I am being harsh on this book and I realize that. I am being particularly harsh on the author. However, this book was packaged as a great story about a book thief and the amateur detective who tracked him down. If it was even just the story of rare book collectors and their obsession and the criminals who steal, as the book tries to be, it would be passable. But this book aims to high, tries too hard to be wise, and finally just bores the reader out of their mind. A pretty big disappointment.
I wasn't sure whether to give this 3 or 4 stars. It was an enjoyable book, but it didn't quite hold my attention as much as other books in the genre. The book thief is known from the beginning, so there is not as much suspense, as you find in, say, The Island of Lost Maps. As I read toward the conclusion, I was expecting some exciting last arrest, and the end entirely petered out.
adventurous
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
When I received an email from the publisher offering me a review copy of The Man Who Loved Books Too Much, I couldn't wait to get me hands on it. I just knew it was going to be a great book - and I was not disappointed! This is a modern-day detective story, a compelling true-crime drama, with a unique setting: the world of rare books and collectors. Enter at your own risk and discover the fascinating world of book collecting. Explore the motives of John Charles Gilkey, and try to determine what drives people to become fanatic and obsessive over their literary treasures.
The Man Who Loved Books Too Much is a wonderful read - all-the-more-so because it is a true story. The story is cohesively woven together, using Allison Hoover Bartlett's alternating interviews of John Gilkey and Ken Sanders. The details of Gilkey's crimes are marvelous and shocking, totally immersing the reader in the mind of an unrepentant book thief and Sanders, his very own "Sherlock Holmes." It is inevitable when reading The Man Who Loved Books Too Much, that the reader will become infuriated with Gilkey and his idea that he is entitled to the rare books he takes, simply because he wants but cannot afford to buy them. He feels that it is not fair for a bookseller to sell a rare book for $40,000, because that puts the book out of his reach. He wants these books not to read them, but as status symbols. What he neglects to understand is that if everyone could afford to buy these rare books, they would cease to be symbols of wealth and prosperity.
The Man Who Loved Books Too Much was a "can't-put-it-down" book for me. I read it cover to cover in a single afternoon and my only complaint is that the story is unfinished! At the end of the book Bartlett states that John Gilkey continues to steal books even today. I wish that the book could have concluded with Gilkey "learning his lesson" or at the very least, being locked up for an extended time, but I understand why this did not happen. The "need" he has to acquire books, and also to "stick it" to the booksellers that he believes are the real thieves, is really a compulsion. I'm not sure it is something that can ever be "cured."
An extremely well-researched, fun and easy read, The Man Who Loved Books Too Much will appeal to fans of detective fiction and book-a-holics everywhere. The story is captivating, the characters, quirky and interesting - a completely engrossing and quick read. I enjoyed this book immensely and would recommend it to anyone with an interest in the literary world.
The Man Who Loved Books Too Much is a wonderful read - all-the-more-so because it is a true story. The story is cohesively woven together, using Allison Hoover Bartlett's alternating interviews of John Gilkey and Ken Sanders. The details of Gilkey's crimes are marvelous and shocking, totally immersing the reader in the mind of an unrepentant book thief and Sanders, his very own "Sherlock Holmes." It is inevitable when reading The Man Who Loved Books Too Much, that the reader will become infuriated with Gilkey and his idea that he is entitled to the rare books he takes, simply because he wants but cannot afford to buy them. He feels that it is not fair for a bookseller to sell a rare book for $40,000, because that puts the book out of his reach. He wants these books not to read them, but as status symbols. What he neglects to understand is that if everyone could afford to buy these rare books, they would cease to be symbols of wealth and prosperity.
The Man Who Loved Books Too Much was a "can't-put-it-down" book for me. I read it cover to cover in a single afternoon and my only complaint is that the story is unfinished! At the end of the book Bartlett states that John Gilkey continues to steal books even today. I wish that the book could have concluded with Gilkey "learning his lesson" or at the very least, being locked up for an extended time, but I understand why this did not happen. The "need" he has to acquire books, and also to "stick it" to the booksellers that he believes are the real thieves, is really a compulsion. I'm not sure it is something that can ever be "cured."
An extremely well-researched, fun and easy read, The Man Who Loved Books Too Much will appeal to fans of detective fiction and book-a-holics everywhere. The story is captivating, the characters, quirky and interesting - a completely engrossing and quick read. I enjoyed this book immensely and would recommend it to anyone with an interest in the literary world.
Needs better ending. Dig deeper and find out where G is hiding his books.
So, I completely loved this book. It reads like some quirky fiction novel about a nutty (and mostly incompetent) book thief.
Also, the writer's style completely reminded me of [a:Susan Orleans|6590602|Susan Orleans|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-a7c55399ea455530473b9f9e4da94c40.png]'s [b:The Orchid Thief: A True Story of Beauty and Obsession|228345|The Orchid Thief A True Story of Beauty and Obsession|Susan Orlean|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328347217s/228345.jpg|911511].
Totally a compliment, because that book made me dive into nonfiction.
Also, the writer's style completely reminded me of [a:Susan Orleans|6590602|Susan Orleans|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-a7c55399ea455530473b9f9e4da94c40.png]'s [b:The Orchid Thief: A True Story of Beauty and Obsession|228345|The Orchid Thief A True Story of Beauty and Obsession|Susan Orlean|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328347217s/228345.jpg|911511].
Totally a compliment, because that book made me dive into nonfiction.