Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader by Anne Fadiman
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Book Reviews of Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader
Book Review: If you lend it, you will never get it back.
Summary: 5 Stars
I have bought three copies of this book - because every time I lend it to someone, the borrower finds it painful to separate from this priceless, perfect collection of essays on literature and what it means to be a compulsive grammarian. In the roughly 50,000 times I've read this, not only have I never gotten tired of "prooflistening" and the integration of libraries, but I have yet to find a single weak spot.
Anne Fadiman wisely resists relying on the public memories of her father, Clifton Fadiman, to buoy any essays involving growing up in a household of readers. Rather, she conveys her own memories of her bookish family and Clifton Fadiman, making the reader feel as though we've just been let in on something very special. Make no mistake, the books - and Anne Fadiman's relationship with them - are the centrepieces of these recollections, and it's simply marvellous.
Book Review: Marrying Libraries
Summary: 5 Stars
Is the title of one of twenty or so confessions disclosed in this convivial book.
I LOVE this collection of essays. It was gifted to me, and I have since presented it to many of my friends. From childhood onwards she wittily describes the effects that bibliophilia has had on her life. Like many other reviewers I felt a deep connection with her trials & tribulations.
I think that a sentence in the flyleaf of my copy says it best, "Anne Fadiman is...(someone) who once found herself poring over a 1974 Toyota Corolla manual because it was the only written material in her apartment that she had not read at least twice."
I have read Ex Libris at least twice and the Corolla manual once.
Enjoy.
Book Review: One of my favorites
Summary: 5 Stars
This book was recommended to be several years ago by a bookstore owner in San Francisco. I wandered in and was browsing on a quiet day when the shop was fairly empty. Of course we began to talk about books, what we were reading and our favorites. This was his top recommendation for me.
Since then, I have re-read it just to experience the joy I had the first time. I, too, came from a bookish family. My father was a newspaper editor - I was copyreading for him while still in elementary school. My whole family loved puns and word games. This book brought to mind many memories for me. I think it would do the same for anyone who grew up loving books and words.
Book Review: Delicious, Snack-size Essays
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one of my absolute favorite collections of essays, to which I return often. She ruminates on how her relationships with books - cerebrally, emotionally, and physically - influence and affect her relationships with people. She articulates thoughts which are both uniquely specific to her as well as universal to all readers, which are not always communicated this well in other books about reading books. My two favorite essays are about her experience marrying her library with her husband's (which was one of the few times he considered divorce), and when she writes about food in books (and awakes in the night chanting, "Toasted, mostly."). Highly recommended.Book Review: A must for readers
Summary: 5 Stars
I love this book! A friend recommended it to me, and since she and I share titles we have especially enjoyed and I have learned to respect her opinions, I bought it. Since then I have bought it for several of my friends who love to read great books and are passionate about the books they love. A friend to whom I gave the book loved it but said I probably loved it more because she tends to read current titles while I read more classic books with some current books, but regardless of your reading preferences, certainly some of Anne Fadiman's essays will resonate with you. I loved all of them! If you somehow missed my point, I love this book.