A review by emmaj_xo
To Have And To Hold: An Intimate History Of Collectors and Collecting by Philipp Blom

slow-paced

2.0

Utterly dull, like reading a Wikipedia page. Took me over 3 weeks to read this relatively short book. Chapters of anecdotes about various collections and collectors but lacking a clear thesis. You’ll leave this having learnt little more than a few “fun facts.” At one point the author goes on a short tangent for a single paraphrase about Autism and hyperfixation in relation to collecting but after realising he doesn’t really know anything about it, drops the topic entirely. I understand the intent was this to be written in a more conversational style, but it’s moments like that that probably could have stayed in the first draft.