Abigail's review

Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader
by Anne Fadiman

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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/884895.Ex_Libris_Confessions_of_a_Common_Reader?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=blog_review" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader" border="0" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1179180527m/884895.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/884895.Ex_Libris_Confessions_of_a_Common_Reader?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7982.Anne_Fadiman">Anne Fadiman</a> 
 <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/9852541?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review"><h3>My review</h3></a>
 rating: 4 of 5 stars 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!
 <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/424514?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">View all my reviews.</a>

Abigail's review
rating:

bookshelves: books-reading
recommended for: Bibliophiles or Those Seeking to Understand Them...
status: Read in November, 2007

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, ...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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message 1: by Danine

01/18/2008 02:21PM

I just happened to be in a used book store yesterday and found this book. I went to review it and I see you read it too. yay! I enjoy reading your reviews and this is a great review!

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message 2: by Abigail

01/18/2008 02:31PM

Thank you! I enjoyed this so much that I ran right out and purchased Fadiman's second collection of essays: At Large and At Small. Predictably, I haven't gotten to it yet! :)

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message 3: by Lisa (last edited 01/22/2008 12:39PM)

01/22/2008 12:38PM

Abigail, Ex Libris has been on my Goodreads favorites shelf since I joined Goodreads. Great review. I also have gotten At Large adn At Small and have it on my currently reading list, but haven't actually started reading it yet. My book club read The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Fadiman, which was really good but completely different from her essays.

P.S. I have 2 copies of Ex Libris: my hardcover original and a paperback copy to lend out. ;-)

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message 4: by Abigail

01/23/2008 02:38PM

Lisa: Thanks! I really did enjoy Ex Libris, and do intend to read At Large and at Small soon, but as I'm sure you know, it's a case of too many books and too little time... I haven't really considered "The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down," not so much because I don't believe it will be any good, but because I'm not sure I'd ever get to it. Its good to have the recommendation though... I'll keep it mind. Thanks again!

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message 5: by Abigail

01/23/2008 06:23PM

Sherri: I just loaned a lovely copy of Georgette Heyer's "The Masqueraders" to a co-worker today, and am feeling a little nervous... It's a harcover, with an almost pristine dust-jacket, printed in 1967. I believe that this person values it almost as much as I do, and will take good care of it - but I still got a slightly queasy feeling when handing it over. Ah well, whenever I am overcome with the book-hoarding impulse, I sternly remind myself that my books shouldn't be treated like prisoners... Sometimes this works...and sometimes not. :)

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message 6: by Abigail

01/23/2008 07:53PM

The book gods smiled upon me a few weeks back, and sent me four (4!) hardcover Heyer novels, all in fairly good condition, three of which I had not previously read! I too, sense that this a Heyer moment... It's cold (where I am, anyway), and I feel like curling up with something witty and light... Perhaps I will read "The Toll Gate" this weekend...?

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message 7: by CLM

01/24/2008 08:55AM

Abigail, if you have the energy, you should join the Georgette Heyer discussion list. I don't have time to participate all that often (although have led a couple book discussions in the past) but always find it entertaining. Right now we are in the midst of a group read of The Black Moth.

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message 8: by Abigail (last edited 01/24/2008 10:25AM)

01/24/2008 09:53AM

Constance: The Black Moth isn't one of my all-time Heyer favorites, though I do like it. Is this Georgette Heyer group here on goodreads? It sounds like fun!

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