A review by slim_oysterhiatus
The Library: A Fragile History by Andrew Pettegree, Arthur der Weduwen

Dense and thorough, this took a while to finish, but ultimately it was readable. As usual with histories like this, it was very Eurocentric. The bulk of the book focused on medieval-renaissance periods, illustrated with trivial, repetitive, and unmemorizable facts about which monastery or rich, influential person owned what books, that clutter up the bigger arguments. The greater context and exploration of development, uses, and value of different libraries and book forms was lost in the excruciating detail. I think I'd benefit from another read-though in a year or two.