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jojo_27's review
5.0
One of my favorite books of all time. I'm not terribly picky about genre in my reading; what I care about is craft, and this book is a work of art. Each word is carefully and lovingly chosen, for if Anne Fadiman is anything, it is a true lover of words. She uses them to prick, to enfold, to surprise, to enlighten.
I discovered this gem on a discount bookshelf in college, and after the first read, I went back and bought all the remaining copies (five or six) to give as gifts to carefully selected friends. I myself have re-read it at least once a year since, at first thrilling at new ideas, then drawing comfort from the familiarity of an old friend when in strange places. With each reading, I learn something new about Ms Fadiman and about myself.
I've had discussions with multiple friends over the merits of courtly vs carnal love; compared quiz results from "The Joy of Sesquipedalians"; agonized over what should rightly be the focus of my own "odd shelf"; debated with men I'm not even dating the best way to marry libraries, and the merits of doing such at all; tried to divine which of my own friends will someday grace my friends and family collection; and relived the beauty of Wordsworth's "Nuns Fret Not at Their Convent's Narrow Room", all the while resolving to give poetry another try.
If you love books, if you love words, hasten with all your might to this one.
I discovered this gem on a discount bookshelf in college, and after the first read, I went back and bought all the remaining copies (five or six) to give as gifts to carefully selected friends. I myself have re-read it at least once a year since, at first thrilling at new ideas, then drawing comfort from the familiarity of an old friend when in strange places. With each reading, I learn something new about Ms Fadiman and about myself.
I've had discussions with multiple friends over the merits of courtly vs carnal love; compared quiz results from "The Joy of Sesquipedalians"; agonized over what should rightly be the focus of my own "odd shelf"; debated with men I'm not even dating the best way to marry libraries, and the merits of doing such at all; tried to divine which of my own friends will someday grace my friends and family collection; and relived the beauty of Wordsworth's "Nuns Fret Not at Their Convent's Narrow Room", all the while resolving to give poetry another try.
If you love books, if you love words, hasten with all your might to this one.
premium_huhn's review against another edition
4.0
Anne Fadiman schreibt in verschiedenen vergnüglichen Artikeln über die Merkwürdigkeiten, die einer Bücherliebhaberin so im Alltag begegnen.
Ein wirklich witziges Buch, in dem ich mich so einige Male ertappt fühlte. Das Kapitel über die Zusammenlegung ihrer Bibliothek mit der ihres Mannes ... das Kapitel über das automatische Fehlersuchen in Speisekarten. Ich hab mich stellenweise scheckig gelacht. Nicht zu empfehlen, das Buch in der Öffentlichkeit zu konsumieren (es gibt übrigens ein auch Kapitel über den wortwörtlichen Konsum von Büchern^^). Das ein oder andere Kapitel bzw. die ein oder andere Aussage waren auch nicht so meines, aber allgemein merkt man immer, das die Autorin von Herzen, mit Witz und Verstand schreibt. Manchmal feiert sie sich ein wenig zu hart selbst - aber auch das gehört vielleicht zum Schicksal einer Bibliomanin.
Insgesamt Lesempfehlung und herzlichen Dank an Daniel, der mir das Buch geschenkt hat. Ich hätte es ohne ihn nie in die Hand genommen und wirklich was verpasst!
Ein wirklich witziges Buch, in dem ich mich so einige Male ertappt fühlte. Das Kapitel über die Zusammenlegung ihrer Bibliothek mit der ihres Mannes ... das Kapitel über das automatische Fehlersuchen in Speisekarten. Ich hab mich stellenweise scheckig gelacht. Nicht zu empfehlen, das Buch in der Öffentlichkeit zu konsumieren (es gibt übrigens ein auch Kapitel über den wortwörtlichen Konsum von Büchern^^). Das ein oder andere Kapitel bzw. die ein oder andere Aussage waren auch nicht so meines, aber allgemein merkt man immer, das die Autorin von Herzen, mit Witz und Verstand schreibt. Manchmal feiert sie sich ein wenig zu hart selbst - aber auch das gehört vielleicht zum Schicksal einer Bibliomanin.
Insgesamt Lesempfehlung und herzlichen Dank an Daniel, der mir das Buch geschenkt hat. Ich hätte es ohne ihn nie in die Hand genommen und wirklich was verpasst!
lamom77's review
4.0
Like most essay collections, there were some essays that I really enjoyed and others not so much. It is always fun to hear how others love of reading began and continued through their life.
meme_too2's review
5.0
This book is delicious to the soul. Well written, fully thought-provoking, pure enjoyment. And where does she come up with some of the words she uses? Holy cow! What a vocabulary! I truly feel akin to a fellow book lover.
erboe501's review
5.0
I heard about this book from the Novel Pairings podcast on books about books.
I read most of the essays in this collection. And while I wouldn't want to have dinner with Fadiman or her family, and some of her ideas (especially about gender pronouns) feel a little outdated since she published this in 1998--in some important ways she feels like a kindred spirit who raised many fun thought experiments about books that I want to talk about with my book friends. There are so many nuggets, I'm tempted to go buy my own copy of the book after I return this library copy.
"Marrying Libraries"--I'd never thought about how you'd need to address the separate book collections of two partners when you move in or get married. To combine their libraries was the final commitment to their marriage that Fadiman and her husband eventually crossed. I don't know how I'd feel about combining my books with someone else's.
"My Odd Shelf"--if every reader has a shelf of quirky, weird books about some unexpected fixation (George Orwell and 19thc ladies' magazines, for example), what is my odd shelf?
"Never Do That to a Book"--on the treatment and relationship of readers to their physical books. You're a courtly lover, careful to preserve the book in pristine condition, or a carnal lover, happy to leave vestiges of your reading experience. What does the kind of bookmark you use say about you? Or how you feel about the book? One writer Fadiman asked said he used metro tickets in fancy art books but nice bookmarks for novels. I can't imagine ripping pages out of my books, but I do write more marginalia in books I love nowadays.
"Words on a Flyleaf"--about the proper and different ways to leave an inscription on gifted books.
"You Are There"--about the thrill of reading a book where it is set, to simulate the experience of the writer or character.
"The Literary Glutton"--about food in books. I like the idea of "what kind of food is this author/book"? Shakespeare is roast beef.
"My Ancestral Castles"--I'd never thought about passing on my book collection to my children some day, but I love the notion of a literary inheritance.
I read most of the essays in this collection. And while I wouldn't want to have dinner with Fadiman or her family, and some of her ideas (especially about gender pronouns) feel a little outdated since she published this in 1998--in some important ways she feels like a kindred spirit who raised many fun thought experiments about books that I want to talk about with my book friends. There are so many nuggets, I'm tempted to go buy my own copy of the book after I return this library copy.
"Marrying Libraries"--I'd never thought about how you'd need to address the separate book collections of two partners when you move in or get married. To combine their libraries was the final commitment to their marriage that Fadiman and her husband eventually crossed. I don't know how I'd feel about combining my books with someone else's.
"My Odd Shelf"--if every reader has a shelf of quirky, weird books about some unexpected fixation (George Orwell and 19thc ladies' magazines, for example), what is my odd shelf?
"Never Do That to a Book"--on the treatment and relationship of readers to their physical books. You're a courtly lover, careful to preserve the book in pristine condition, or a carnal lover, happy to leave vestiges of your reading experience. What does the kind of bookmark you use say about you? Or how you feel about the book? One writer Fadiman asked said he used metro tickets in fancy art books but nice bookmarks for novels. I can't imagine ripping pages out of my books, but I do write more marginalia in books I love nowadays.
"Words on a Flyleaf"--about the proper and different ways to leave an inscription on gifted books.
"You Are There"--about the thrill of reading a book where it is set, to simulate the experience of the writer or character.
"The Literary Glutton"--about food in books. I like the idea of "what kind of food is this author/book"? Shakespeare is roast beef.
"My Ancestral Castles"--I'd never thought about passing on my book collection to my children some day, but I love the notion of a literary inheritance.
braddy7's review
4.0
This book was a super enjoyable slow read. I read the essays as I was in the mood and completely enjoyed it.
reba_reads_books's review
1.0
This book made me angry. I considered giving it two stars. It couldn't have been that bad, could it?Is this just because I feel wounded and stupid? Is this just because I feel less than a common reader for graduating from my hometown state university and choosing scifi over classics? Then I read the one star reviews and, you know what, I'm not the problem. Anne is clearly a talented writer and I'd pick up her fiction in a heartbeat, but I have no interest in her as an essayist ever again after this awful experience.
toniclark's review
3.0
A book every book-lover — and persnickety grammarian — should read. I liked it. I really liked parts of it, none more than the stories of her family, their love of books and compulsive proofreading and correcting. I found myself wistful, wishing I'd grown up in such a family, though certainly I was brought up to revere books. Indeed, I am still, decades later one of those courtly book lovers, hesitant to desecrate — even though I believe one should dog-ear and mark them up.