Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader

published	November 25th 2000 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux
first published	1999
binding	Paperback
isbn	0374527229 (isbn13: 9780374527228)
pages	176
description	The subtitle of Anne Fadiman's slim collection of essays is Confessions of a Common Reader, but if there is one thing Fadiman is not, it's com...more [close] The subtitle of Anne Fadiman's slim collection of essays is Confessions of a Common Reader, but if there is one thing Fadiman is not, it's common. In her previous work of nonfiction, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, she brought both skill and empathy to her balanced exploration of clashing cultures and medical tragedy. The subject matter here is lighter, but imbued with the same fine prose and big heart. Ex Libris is an extended love letter to language and to the wonders it performs. Fadiman is a woman who loves words; in "The Joy of Sesquipedalians" (very long words), she describes an entire family besotted with them: "When I was growing up, not only did my family walk around spouting sesquipedalians, but we viewed all forms of intellectual competition as a sacrament, a kind of holy water as it were, to be slathered on at every opportunity." From very long words it's just a short jump to literature, and Fadiman speaks joyfully of books, book collecting, and book ownership ("In my view, nineteen pounds of old books are at least nineteen times as delicious as one pound of fresh caviar"). In "Marrying Libraries" Fadiman describes the emotionally fraught task of merging her collection with her husband's: "After five years of marriage and a child, George and I finally resolved that we were ready for the more profound intimacy of library consolidation. It was unclear, however, how we were to find a meeting point between his English-garden approach and my French-garden one." Perhaps some marriages could not have stood the strain of such an ordeal, but for this one, the merging of books becomes a metaphor for the solidity of their relationship. Over the course of 18 charming essays Fadiman ranges from the "odd shelf" ("a small, mysterious corpus of volumes whose subject matter is completely unrelated to the rest of the library, yet which, upon closer inspection reveals a good deal about its owner") to plagiarism ("the more I've read about plagiarism, the more I've come to think that literature is one big recycling bin") to the pleasures of reading aloud ("When you read silently, only the writer performs. When you read aloud, the performance is collaborative"). Fadiman delivers these essays with the expectation that her readers will love and appreciate good books and the power of language as much as she does. Indeed, reading Ex Libris is likely to bring up warm memories of old favorites and a powerful urge to revisit one's own "odd shelf" pronto. --Alix Wilber [close]
date added	02-01-07 edit book

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Abigail rated it:

(review of isbn 0374148600)

01/24/08

bookshelves: books-reading

Read in November, 2007

recommended to Abigail by: Patrick
recommends it for: Bibliophiles or Those Seeking to Understand Them...

Ah hopeful conceit, that borrowing this book would suffice! I ought to have known better, and indeed, after reading Anne Fadiman's entertaining collection of essays, it is clear that I will need to obtain a copy of my own. Such was my sense of recognition when reading some of these pieces, that I get the sense that I will be revisiting this title periodically.

A collection of eighteen short essays devoted to the author's "lifelong love affair with books and language," some of the de...more Ah hopeful conceit, that borrowing this book would suffice! I ought to have known better, and indeed, after reading Anne Fadiman's entertaining collection of essays, it is clear that I will need to obtain a copy of my own. Such was my sense of recognition when reading some of these pieces, that I get the sense that I will be revisiting this title periodically.

A collection of eighteen short essays devoted to the author's "lifelong love affair with books and language," some of the delights of Ex-Libris include: Fadiman's account of the "marriage" of her library to that of her husband's; the distinction she draws between "courtly" and "carnal" bibliophiles (she classifies herself as one of the latter); the joys of inscriptions (in which I learned that the title page is customarily reserved for the author's signature); and the author's thoughtful discussion of gender issues in language.

Some of the author's bibliophilic idiosyncrasies, such as her incurable penchant for proofreading in any and all situations, and her preference for the "eternal" medium of ink, are quite familiar to me. Others, such as the joy of catalogs, were entirely new. I too can remember paging through the J. Peterman catalog, but my predominant reaction was one of irritation at their classist pretension. Does anyone remember the shirt that was meant to recall those "good old days" when your father put down a peasant revolt? Revolting is the right word!

Her taste for questionable catalogs notwithstanding, I found myself mostly in sympathy with Fadiman, whose essays reveal a wonderful sense of humor, tempered by a deeply-felt humanity. My only true criticism is reserved for the final essay Secondhand Reading, in which I believe the author completely misses the mark on used bookstores. To require that they provide the same sense of personality and intellectual community and cohesion, as would a personal library, is somewhat unreasonable (Heavens! An unreasonable bibliophile?).

It would be like reproaching Grand Central, an institution ineffably linked with all that is transitory in the human experience, with providing the onlooker too brief a glimpse of its travelers' lives. The view of the Grand Concourse may be somewhat overwhelming: looking out at all the many people coming and going, seemingly unrelated, each with a story unfolding behind and before them; but then, it is not meant to be a place of repose. The home, and the personal library, are. In much the same fashion, a used bookstore is merely a way-station through which countless books pass. It is melancholy only because all journeys are melancholy...

Finally, as another reviewer noted, this book provides the basis for a lively and satisfying conversation about the topic so dear to many of the readers here on goodreads. To wit: the beauty of books and the pleasure of reading. For that, I thank Anne Fadiman. I will close by noting (mostly because I couldn't find a way to work it into the main body of my review), that I did indeed know one of the sesqipedalians that so puzzled the author. It was, of course, "grimoire." YES! Finally! Intellectual vindication of my adult enjoyment of juvenile fantasy novels!...less

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Ukrainer rated it:

06/18/08

Read in June, 2008

I walked past Anne Fadiman’s Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader at the library and immediately turned around. Without reading the dust jacket, I added the book to my pile. Any book about books must be a good book.

After reading Ex Libris, I'm not so sure. The collection of essays is ten years old, and they already feel dated—particularly an essay about pens and typewriters. More than anything, though, I take umbrage with the subtitle. Fadiman is anything but the “co...more

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Sydney rated it:

05/26/08

Read in May, 2008

Parts of this book are utterly delightful. The chapters on combining libraries (first that of her husband and her own after ten years of marriage, later on with her father's) get to how visceral and symbolic a love a books can be. There is also the chapter on how the first thing she used to do with books (her parents') was build castles. All refreshing. But then there were moments where I thought she was Joyce Chafen (the ghastly, oblivous mother in White Teeth) particularly with Fadiman U. ...more

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2 comments

Kathryn rated it:

01/28/08

bookshelves: non-fiction

Read in January, 2008

recommended to Kathryn by: Melanie (thank you!)
recommends it for: book lovers!

I finished this book on my flight home from Florida and it provided me with great pleasure amidst my great dislike of flying. (Perchance I would have given it five stars had I read it from the cozy comfort of the couch in my den!) It felt so chummy to hear Anne's discussion of her love of books (both literary and tactile!) and I found myself nodding with agreement for many of her observations and confessions.

My favorite essays:
Marrying Libraries (of the joys and tribulations of merging...more

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5 comments

Deb rated it:

03/11/08

bookshelves: non-fiction

Read in January, 2001

recommends it for: book geeks

This is my favorite book of essays on reading--I've never found another that can top the eloquence, brevity, and wit contained in this volume.

Things learned: the differences between a courtly and carnal lover of books, what the word sesquipedalians means (very long words), how & when to combine libraries with a fellow book reader you've joined houses with--do you give away the ragtag copy of x book because your partner has a nicer copy? Is a re-read the same without the book you grew up ...more

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Lindsey rated it:

03/16/08

Read in March, 2008

In these brief essays, Anne Fadiman gives voice to so many delights that come with loving books. From the happy sense of frenzy that comes with entering a hole-in-the-wall used bookstore to the simple pleasure of reading aloud or being read to, she echoes sentiments I've felt all my life but does it much more eloquently than I ever could. With stories of proofreading restaurant menus with her family and organizing her shelves meticulously by category, it would be easy for these essays to come ...more

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Natalie rated it:

09/26/07

Read in January, 2002

recommends it for: anyone who loves to read

My aunt Heather recommended this book to me. She is exactly the type of reader Anne Fadiman is and also very frugal. So instead of buying books as gifts for me she mails me short lists of books she thinks I will enjoy and should check out at my local library.
This one was an easy beach read for me one year at Myrtle and then I read it again on a winter break. I later gave it to my cousin-in-law for a gift so I no longer have a copy of it by as I remember them each of the short stories were...more

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Tracey rated it:

12/18/07

Read in December, 2003

I had purchased Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader some time ago on the recommendation of several fellow 50bookchallenge readers and thought this book would be an apt way to end the year.

A collection of essays written for Civilization: The Magazine of the Library of Congress (apparently OOP), Anne Fadiman explores her love of books, reading and writing. The titles alone -- "The Joy of Sesquipedalians"*, "Never Do That to a Book" and "Sharing the Mayhem...more

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Lilias rated it:

11/23/07

bookshelves: 1_day, nonfiction

Read in November, 2007

recommends it for: children of readers

First, a little bit about me: There are three things in particular that instill fear into many members of modern-day society and I embrace with pleasure. They are as follows:

1. Books (will make you BORING!)
2. Food (will make you FAT!)
3. Particularity (will make you UNBEARABLE!)

I cannot find it in myself to relate, and to some extent I've learned to deal with that. (Anyone who knows me well enough, has read the book, and happens upon this “review” will probably think, “Of cour...more

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5 comments

Alberto rated it:

03/10/07

bookshelves: rarezas_rarities

Read in January, 2002

recommends it for: Everyone interested in reading / Todos los interesados en la lectura

Anne Fadiman describe, a lo largo de varios ensayos muy breves, el deleite enorme que ella obtiene de la lectura y de los libros no sólo como depósitos de texto (de letras) sino también como objetos. La encuadernación, la tipografía, el mero contacto del libro con las manos aparece, celebrado, en estas páginas. Más todavía, el contacto con los libros que busca Fadiman no implica la repulsión o el fastidio de tantas personas, pero tampoco la reverencia hueca: los libros son para tomarse,...more

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Becca rated it:

01/26/08

Read in January, 2004

recommends it for: all book lovers

I've always said if I were in a situation where I could only have one book with me, and I would be in that situation for a long time, that I would take an anthology of short stories compiled by Clifton Fadiman (Anne's father). He was just a pure genius at putting together the best anthologies.

I carried Anne's book around a long time in my car (I always keep a book in the car so that I'm never caught without a book--especially when Houston has one of its infamous traffic pileups where one jus...more

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Heather rated it:

01/10/08

bookshelves: non-fiction, read-in-2008

Read in January, 2008

recommends it for: anyone who loves reading

I haven't even finished this book yet, but I need to give it a (glowing) review. I adore this book and I already know I'm going to pick it up time and again through the years to re-read sections of it.

Normally a book of non-fiction essays would send me running to the hills, fiction is my thing and I stick to it 99% of the time. Confessions of a Common Reader is an enjoyable exception to my rule. Ann Fadiman is anything BUT a common reader, she's the reader that we all aspire to be! But she ...more

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Brittany rated it:

(review of isbn 0374148600)

07/15/07

bookshelves: generalnonfiction

Read in July, 2007

recommends it for: everyone I know

This was a wonderful book, full of short, sweet essays about the lives of bibliophiles. I loved reading about someone who worries about the same things I do (What if I get married and, when the time comes to merge libraries, my husband and I don't see eye to eye on how to shelve the nonfiction? And how to group the astronaut biographies?)

There were a couple of essays I didn't finish because I didn't empathize as much with them, but the lovely thing about essays is they're set up for precise...more

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Dean rated it:

(review of isbn 0374148600)

08/21/07

I don't put much stock in reading books about other people reading books, or poems about writing poetry--It just doesn't rub me the right way. Ex Libris is no exception. The only interesting point to note is that I am reading this book exclusively in the bathroom while shitting. Sometimes I'll only read a paragraph or maybe just stare at the words on the back cover (we all crave words when we shit---even the back of a shampoo bottle for crissakes) but sometimes I'll take things leisurely and ...more

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Kristina rated it:

01/15/08

Read in January, 2008

recommended to Kristina by: Mom gave it to me for Christmas
recommends it for: obsessive book lovers with a sense of humor

This book is great fun. A love letter not only to books, but to book lovers. Fadiman lets her book-geek flag fly proudly, confessing her strong opinions on grammar and writing instruments as well as books. If you've ever proofread a restaurant menu, argued with someone about the best way to arrange your books, or read a car manual simply because you needed something to read, this book is for you. If you have strong opinions about whether your love of books is shown through your intense preservat...more

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Julie rated it:

01/24/08

bookshelves: essays

Read in August, 2007

I knew Anne Fadiman first through her book The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down about the treatment of a Hmong girl with epilepsy. She is perhaps more well known for her personal essays, which are charming. Those in this collection are all about books and reading or things related to books and reading--e.g. a whole essay on merginalia and should books be written in? Another on how she and her husband merged their libraries after years of marriage. She grew up in one of these geeky litera...more

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Michael rated it:

02/01/07

Read in July, 2006

recommends it for: Book lovers

The subtitle, "Confessions of a Common Reader," is modest at best. I only wish I were the sort of reader Anne Fadiman is. She consumes every book that comes her way, from large volumes of classic literature down to the owner's manual for her car. Her vocabulary is extensive; as a sort of strange game, I dug out my highlighter with the small post-it flags, and flagged every instance where I had to retrieve a dictionary. I ran out of flags, but visited the dictionary no less than 32 time...more

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Janis rated it:

03/30/08

Read in March, 2008

Ex Libris is a delightful collection of book-related essays which includes exciting subjects like proofreading, autographing books, and merging spousal libraries. I enjoyed the reading and enjoyed the topics. Nothing gets me going more than a juicy story of plagiarism! I never, ever write in books (but admire the chutzpah of people who do) and avidly read this essay as well as the one on writing with pen vs. computer. Like the author, I spent hours of my childhood building forts out of a coll...more

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Ginnie rated it:

10/24/07

bookshelves: books-about-books, essays

Charles Lamb lives! — or at least is resurrected in the form of Anne Fadiman's enchanting essays on letters and life (and their mutual illuminations). In literary reflections that play and delight, charm and enlighten, the love of books takes on unexpected configurations. Where else will you learn of inscriptions in imaginary languages, or a reading lust so imperative that 'in a pinch I'll settle for a set of Water Pik instructions'? Where else will Livy and Macaulay be found cheek and jowl wi...more

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Lena rated it:

02/12/08

bookshelves: non-fiction

This short collection of essays on the reading life is a true delight of a book. Anne Fadiman writes with self-depreciating joy about the pleasures and pains of the book obsessed, and reading her confessions helped reawaken (and soothe my guilt) about my own book-related afflictions. Her ruminations on marrying libraries (a task I have not yet been bold enough to undertake with my own husband), the art of inscriptions, and her clever discussion on plagiarism and the originality (or lack thereo...more

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avg rating (this edition): 4.28 (781 ratings)
number of reviews: 163

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Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader

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