This witty collection of essays recounts a lifelong love affair with books and language. For Anne Fadiman, as for many passionate readers, the books she loves have become chapters in her own life story. Writing with remarkable grace, she revives the tradition of the well-crafted personal essay, moving easily from anecdotes about Coleridge and Orwell to tales of her own pathologically literary family. As someone who played at blocks with her father's twenty-two-volume set of Trollope ("My Ancestral Castles") and who only really considered herself married when she and her husband had merged collections ("Marrying Libraries"), she is exquisitely well equipped to expand upon the art of inscriptions, the perverse pleasures of compulsive proofreading, the allure of long words, and the satisfactions of reading aloud. There is even a foray into pure literary gluttony-Charles Lamb liked buttered muffin crumbs between the leaves, and Fadiman knows of more than one reader who literally consumes page corners.

Perfectly balanced between humor and erudition, Ex Libris establishes Fadiman as one of our finest contemporary essayists.
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Paperback

Mailing to AnnaLibrarian today. Happy reading!

Thank you for the book!

Sunday, 13 March 2005

I finally read the book this weekend. It has been on my wishlist for a year and on my bookshelf for about six months. It's a slim paperback of 162 pages, but like most non-fiction, it took me three sittings to make my way through it. Most of the essays come from her column "The Common Reader" in the Library of Congress' publication Civilization, and they are personal stories about her experiences with books and reading.

Fadiman's family is a literate one, and far more than my family. I grew up with unorganized bookshelves scattered throughout the house, but I rarely read from them. My parents always had a book or several by their bedside and I read frequently myself. However, we were a library and used-book oriented family that spent more time in the modern fiction section than in non-fiction or the classics. I am not able to fully appreciate Fadiman's references and reverence for the literature that inspires her, but her delight in it has inspired me to embrace my bookshelves.

For many years I have worked hard to maintain my book collection to the space available on the shelves I own. BookCrossing has helped tremendously in this endeavor. However, I am realizing that my bookshelves no longer represent all of my literary interests. Often I will choose to buy a book for $0.50 or $1 regardless of its condition simply because I don't plan to keep it for very long. Now that my life is to the point where I won't be moving every year or so, the prospect of expanding my personal library is more appealing. There's just one problem. I have too many unread books on my existing shelves! Surprisingly, this is not a concern that Fadiman addresses in her essays. However, I have yet to meet a reader who doesn't have a shelf or two of unread books in their library.

I was quite amused by the languages she chose from the language tapes in "The Catological Imperative" essay. I studied Twi during the two months I spent in Ghana while in college. I still remember a few phrases, mainly because they were the only ones I ever learned in the first place.

Fair warning to my friends and family: I plan to give copies of this book to the readers I love in the next few years.

I'm turning this into a bookray. Please journal when you receive the book, and pass it along within one month.

squirrel818 [Nebraska, USA] (US)
sistert [Maryland, USA] (int)
KarinAlyssa [Quebec, CAN] (int)
Dreamreader [Belize] (int)

Sent to squirrel818 via the USPS First Class. Enjoy!

Received in todays mail. I will read it asap.

I have to admit, I was a little put off by the stuffy tone of this book. Some of the essays were interesting and I particulary enjoyed Marrying libraries. Thanks for sharing!

RELEASE NOTES:

Received as part of AnnaLibrarian's bookray. Looks like a quick read so I'll get right on it!

An interesting book that I enjoyed better once I grabbed a dictionary! Some essays are funny while others were enlightening, and some I just didn't get. No matter, it was a book worth reading. I'm glad I joined this ray. Now to contact KarinAlyssa and get it on to her.

RELEASE NOTES:

On its way to KarinAlyssa!

Received the book today, I already started to read it and I totally love it. Thanks to AnnaLibrarian for making that bookray.

I had forgotten to review this book, I'm really sorry as it was the best book I have read this spring. Those essays were fantastic especially for a booklover like me. Anna Fadiman has a fine writing style as each sentence is carefully written. Yet, it is still witty and more than interesting. I had never read her, but the title seemed so interesting I wanted to join this ring. I will look forward to some of her essays. Thanks AnnaLibrarian to include me in this ring. This book will be going to Belize early next week.

I received this book last week as part of a book ring. I've dipped into it and read a few snippets here and there and am looking forward to delving into it deeply! (I was gratified to learn that other people sleep on a bed lumpy with books!)

There is nothing common about Anne Fadiman's reading habits, although I was tickled to find out how much her reading habits have in common with mine! Automatically proofreading menus for errors, collecting sesquipedalians, feeling unsatisfied with the existing ways to handle the "his'er" problem . . .

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The collection of essays was entertaining, thought-provoking, and just plain satisfying.

I received this as part of a book ray, so I'm going to put it on my available list until I get a request to send it on. Is that acceptable to the ray-er?

I meant to put this book as "available" and I don't know how to undo the status I set without doing a new entry . . .

Just put in the mail to ASTROAQUARIOUS7!