A review by ovvlish
A Gentle Madness: Bibliophiles, Bibliomanes, and the Eternal Passion for Books by Nicholas A. Basbanes

4.0

This book was quite the behemoth not only for page count but also for the sheer number of stories told. This book is comprised of a long succession of stories about famous and influential book collectors and bibliophiles throughout (Western - European and American) history. There was not much rhyme or reason to how the stories were told, they were all just laid out for one to read in quick (or maybe laborious) succession. It was definitely a slog at times, but the stories told are for the most part fascinating, and I found this book particularly pertinent to my life right now, as I have just begun a rare books class. This book despite being something of a struggle to keep reading at times nevertheless teaches you lots of tendencies and interesting tidbits about the book collecting game in such a way that you don't even realize you learned it until it comes up in conversation later and you go "wait a moment, I know this".