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lisa_mc's review
4.0
Interesting, well-curated bits of information about books. Dip into it over a few weeks rather than blasting through all at once.
larkspire's review
3.0
This was really interesting and informative; as others have said, it's a real treasure trove of book facts. It's definitely a good list for a book lover, and I'm already thinking of putting at least one copy aside for Christmas. However, now that I've read this through once from cover to cover I don't think I will again - it's just a list of trivia. Super interesting trivia, but all the same, not anything I need to re-read again as a whole. If I owned a copy I could see myself flicking through it now and again to kill a minute, or find an interesting fact to remind myself of, but nothing more than that.
elatedbooks's review
informative
slow-paced
4.0
Really liked the little facts in here! Wish the random lists weren’t included though, not very interesting & clearly to bulk it up a bit :/
trish204's review
4.0
This could be me: 
But I don't just love to read.
I’m obsessed with collecting bookmarks (yes, I like my bookmarks to match the books I'm reading, which is why I actually have hundreds); I love to decorate my shelves with interesting bookstands and other stuff (not too cheesy though); I love to write letters by hand on special paper with an ink pen and create my own cards (for Christmas for example); I have pictures on the wall next to some shelves depicting art from certain bookish worlds; I even wear book-related socks from time to time and drink out of book-related tea cups. I can spend entire days in a bookstore without ever getting bored.
I dream of what it must be like to have libraries like so many of my American and British friends and I turn green with envy. In short: I'm a book nerd.
This book, then, is a treasure-trove for a bibliophile like me. It tells you of the composition of ink used for books, what was used for keeping written records through the ages (from papyrus to vellum and today’s paper) and how the respective thing is made, what the digits in any given ISBN mean, how Penguin was founded and how it revolutionized the book industry.
Additionally, there are great lists in here such as ten famous authors and their pen names, or what book prizes there are in the world, who won the Nobel Prize in literature when, the most-banned books from around the world, famous first and last lines.
These are just a few examples. The book might not be very big but is certainly is filled to the brim with interesting information from the world of books and there were actually a number of surprises in here as well as some history lessons.
Naturally, the lists could all be longer because we book nerds are never fully satisfied, but the author managed to always give a diverse overview and great mix and I liked how this was such a perfect example of the details a bibiophile can revel and get lost in.
But I don't just love to read.
I’m obsessed with collecting bookmarks (yes, I like my bookmarks to match the books I'm reading, which is why I actually have hundreds); I love to decorate my shelves with interesting bookstands and other stuff (not too cheesy though); I love to write letters by hand on special paper with an ink pen and create my own cards (for Christmas for example); I have pictures on the wall next to some shelves depicting art from certain bookish worlds; I even wear book-related socks from time to time and drink out of book-related tea cups. I can spend entire days in a bookstore without ever getting bored.
I dream of what it must be like to have libraries like so many of my American and British friends and I turn green with envy. In short: I'm a book nerd.
This book, then, is a treasure-trove for a bibliophile like me. It tells you of the composition of ink used for books, what was used for keeping written records through the ages (from papyrus to vellum and today’s paper) and how the respective thing is made, what the digits in any given ISBN mean, how Penguin was founded and how it revolutionized the book industry.
Additionally, there are great lists in here such as ten famous authors and their pen names, or what book prizes there are in the world, who won the Nobel Prize in literature when, the most-banned books from around the world, famous first and last lines.
These are just a few examples. The book might not be very big but is certainly is filled to the brim with interesting information from the world of books and there were actually a number of surprises in here as well as some history lessons.
Naturally, the lists could all be longer because we book nerds are never fully satisfied, but the author managed to always give a diverse overview and great mix and I liked how this was such a perfect example of the details a bibiophile can revel and get lost in.
halfmanhalfbook's review
4.0
In case you haven't worked it out yet, I love books. I even like reading books about books too, and when I was given an opportunity to read The Book Lovers’ Miscellany I jumped at the chance. This small volume is packed to the covers with details and facts and stories about books, authors and significant events from the world of literature.
If you want a list of publishers who declined the books that went onto break all the sales records, which parts of animals have graced the pages and the what the largest and smallest books ever made were about and the texts that have been translated the most, then this is a really good place to start. You can find out who are the youngest authors, who are the most prolific and who left unfinished manuscripts, as well as finding out what the colours of the original Penguin paperbacks were for. Not sure what colophon and incunabule mean? The answers are in here as well as finding out what books other than science fiction contains wormholes.
This is a delightfully written and produced book that is a treasure trove of information. Perfect for anyone who has the slightest interest in books, authors and reading, it is short so will take almost no time to read spend a few moments to learn a new fact every time you open it.
If you want a list of publishers who declined the books that went onto break all the sales records, which parts of animals have graced the pages and the what the largest and smallest books ever made were about and the texts that have been translated the most, then this is a really good place to start. You can find out who are the youngest authors, who are the most prolific and who left unfinished manuscripts, as well as finding out what the colours of the original Penguin paperbacks were for. Not sure what colophon and incunabule mean? The answers are in here as well as finding out what books other than science fiction contains wormholes.
This is a delightfully written and produced book that is a treasure trove of information. Perfect for anyone who has the slightest interest in books, authors and reading, it is short so will take almost no time to read spend a few moments to learn a new fact every time you open it.
halfmanhalfbook's review against another edition
4.0
In case you haven't worked it out yet, I love books. I even like reading books about books too, and when I was given an opportunity to read The Book Lovers’ Miscellany I jumped at the chance. This small volume is packed to the covers with details and facts and stories about books, authors and significant events from the world of literature.
If you want a list of publishers who declined the books that went onto break all the sales records, which parts of animals have graced the pages and the what the largest and smallest books ever made were about and the texts that have been translated the most, then this is a really good place to start. You can find out who are the youngest authors, who are the most prolific and who left unfinished manuscripts, as well as finding out what the colours of the original Penguin paperbacks were for. Not sure what colophon and incunabule mean? The answers are in here as well as finding out what books other than science fiction contains wormholes.
This is a delightfully written and produced book that is a treasure trove of information. Perfect for anyone who has the slightest interest in books, authors and reading, it is short so will take almost no time to read spend a few moments to learn a new fact every time you open it.
If you want a list of publishers who declined the books that went onto break all the sales records, which parts of animals have graced the pages and the what the largest and smallest books ever made were about and the texts that have been translated the most, then this is a really good place to start. You can find out who are the youngest authors, who are the most prolific and who left unfinished manuscripts, as well as finding out what the colours of the original Penguin paperbacks were for. Not sure what colophon and incunabule mean? The answers are in here as well as finding out what books other than science fiction contains wormholes.
This is a delightfully written and produced book that is a treasure trove of information. Perfect for anyone who has the slightest interest in books, authors and reading, it is short so will take almost no time to read spend a few moments to learn a new fact every time you open it.
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