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Libraries
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Libraries are a book producer's dream. Since nobody photographs libraries as beautifully as Hofer, it seemed only natural to dedicate one of her publications to the splendid and intimate cathedrals of knowledge across Europe and the US: the Escorial in Spain, the Whitney Museum in New york, Villa Medici in Rome, the Hamburg University library, the Bibliotheque nationale de
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Hardcover, 271 pages
Published
August 20th 2014
by Schirmer/Mosel
(first published January 1st 2005)
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Showing 1-30
Read for Popsugar's 2018 Reading Challenge #39: A Book That Involves a Bookstore or Library
The essay by Umberto Eco at the beginning didn't appeal to me at all (I read 2 paragraphs then decided to skip it) but hot dang this book was amazing. It's a photography book filled with the most beautiful photographs of libraries from around the world (but mostly in Europe) and I couldn't get enough. I took my time with this one and really appreciated each and every page, and I feel like that is the best ...more
The essay by Umberto Eco at the beginning didn't appeal to me at all (I read 2 paragraphs then decided to skip it) but hot dang this book was amazing. It's a photography book filled with the most beautiful photographs of libraries from around the world (but mostly in Europe) and I couldn't get enough. I took my time with this one and really appreciated each and every page, and I feel like that is the best ...more
Aug 21, 2007
Seizure Romero
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
bibliophiliacs
This is pure porn & it will probably make you cry. Unless, of course, you've been to or live near any of the libraries featured. I needed a cigarette and a shower after reading this & I don't smoke.
This is truly some of the best book porn I've ever come across -- pictures of books in some of the greatest modern collections. Absolutely nothing decorates a wall better than books.
As a professor of mine said last week: the internet is nice, but what would we do without libraries?
Hoefer's photographs bring out all the beauty that libraries and books have. The ancient, the modern, and everything else is shown through an eye that knows what she's looking at and why we should look at it too. Anyone into libraries, books, or photography is gonna dig this.
Hoefer's photographs bring out all the beauty that libraries and books have. The ancient, the modern, and everything else is shown through an eye that knows what she's looking at and why we should look at it too. Anyone into libraries, books, or photography is gonna dig this.
absolutely beautiful book with full page photos of some of the amazing libraries in the world...public and university...there aren't any private libraries unfortunately. there is also a beautiful preface of an essay by umberto eco. if you love books, you have to see these photos. I would recommend getting it out of your local library as it would be very expensive to buy.
Library porn. Beautiful photos of venerable libraries (eg Radcliffe, Oxford). Not many people and no exteriors, just shelves and books and furniture, statues, painted ceilings etc. Lovely. However I wondered - would I rather work in one of these or my current library which at times is more like a cross between a canteen and youth club, noisy and vibrant (although there are silent study areas). I've come to the conclusion I would miss our crowded and not particularly beautiful building.
I wanted t ...more
I wanted t ...more
It took forever to track this book down after I read about it years ago in Wallpaper or some other glossy rag. I finally had to special order it, but it was worth the wait - any library lover will swoon at the images and immediately start planning to build their own mini-version (ours is still a work in progress, but someday, someday, it will have beautiful hand-crafted shelves and we will be able to throw away our ikea particleboard.)
Mar 07, 2010
Yrinsyde
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Bibliophiles and architecture freaks
Shelves:
public-library
A funny introduction by Umberto Eco gives this large tome a starting point from which to think about these photographs of the interiors of large libraries. Are you one who prefers the traditional feel and atmosphere of libraries? Or one who loves the contemporary architecture of the new? These photographs were taken over approximately 30 years in Europe and the Americas. Notable exclusions is the large contemporary public library in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, and the many architecture award winni
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Features an unusual introduction by Umberto Eco and full-page photographs by Hofer. There are some beautiful, antiquated libraries shown in this book and some stark and empty ones too. Only two pictures showed patrons using the library. There was one photogrpah of empty, green shelves in a Parisian library- not exactly inspiring.
Jan 09, 2011
Tom Stallard
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
bibiophiles
Shelves:
coffee-table
A glorious, jubilant array of images taken of libraries from around the world. The magnificence of rows and rows of books and wonderful architecture are every bit as good as the front cover promises.
WOW, WOW, I hope I can get a job in one of these libraries.
Beautiful. Breathtaking. Book porn.
Oct 26, 2009
Renee'
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
library lovers or employees
Recommended to Renee' by:
Tom (Thank you)
Absolutely gorgeous!!
Dec 15, 2011
lita
marked it as wish-list
beneran wish-list. harganya mahaaal bangeeet
For the true bibliophile - just don't drool on the pages!
Oct 26, 2009
Tom Mueller
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
non-fiction,
librarianship
Engaging photography of some of History's greatest libraries.
This is very appropriate for me since I read most of my photography books at libraries. I sit and drool over this book. Actually I have read and looked longingly about 4 or 5 times.
I've yet to get my hands on a copy, but I've been excited about this book ever since I heard about it.
For library-freaks like me.
you know you're a total geek when you get a book featuring beautiful shots of libraries around the world for christmas. and you like it.
Gorgeous, gorgeous photography. A bibliophile's dream come true.
Aug 29, 2017
Nat
added it
Library perfection can be found on p.104, the Bibliothek Reiner Speck, Köln. But: consider the two-tone chevron floors in the Biblioteca Nacional Rio de Janeiro!! (pp.249--253)
I'm reading this in the Bowes Art & Architecture Library at Stanford, which has a bunch of imitation Saarinen womb chairs and is spectacularly sunny:
https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/st...
Other library nostalgia sparked by reading this:
1. Listening to recordings of J.L. Austin in a soundproof room in the British Libr ...more
I'm reading this in the Bowes Art & Architecture Library at Stanford, which has a bunch of imitation Saarinen womb chairs and is spectacularly sunny:
https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/st...
Other library nostalgia sparked by reading this:
1. Listening to recordings of J.L. Austin in a soundproof room in the British Libr ...more
This coffee table book begins with an essay by Umberto Eco, who clearly loves hanging around a good library. He describes an ideal library as a place "devoted to leisure time, where you can...take a stroll in the garden...[or] go to look at the statuary..." Statuary, you say? A garden? In a classicall library, yes. Hofer's photos can be placed in two categories: modern libraries, which to me seem sterile to the point of being oppressive and shout "Get your information here!"; and classical libra
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Beautiful photographs of libraries all around the globe. I love how Hofer captures many or these images without people in them.
The photographs are magical and nostalgic although I wish the photographer mentioned some Asian libraries but there was none, sadly.
Beautiful. The photographs are stunning and the essay by Umberto Eco is a must-read for anyone who works in a library. I want to marry this book.
Un altro libro da "vedere" piuttosto che leggere. Una famosa fotografa di interni che da oltre 30 anni cerca con le sue immagini di far capire al pubblico come osservare gli spazi, le forme, i luoghi e le persone che leggono e lavorano con i libri. Non per il piacere di vedere ed essere visti, ma per penetrare l'intimità interna di un pensiero, un'idea, una impressione. Tanti pensieri, innumerevoli idee ed impressioni legate al mondo dei libri. Da queste immagini si ricava la sensazione che le b
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Gorgeous, gorgeous examples of libraries -- there's a definite emphasis on old books and soaring architecture here, with elaborate spiral staircases and spaces that look like museums rather than libraries. The Österreichische Nationalbibliothek Wein, the Národní knihovna Praha, the Real Gabinote Português de Leitura Rio de Janeiro -- just such stunning places, such obvious ambiance. There's also juxtaposition against the very modern, though, and places that look terribly institutional.
Eco's essa ...more
Eco's essa ...more
Apart from an introductory essay by Umberto Eco, this lovely book consists entirely of gorgeous photographs of libraries in Europe, North and South America. Some of them are obvious choices : the British Library, the Bibliotheque Nationale de France, but some appear to be local libraries or city archives in places I'd never heard of. Many of them are the ornate book-lined, discreetly lit paradises that every book lover dreams of, but some shots show the disorderly offices where books are process
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If you've ever seen a photo online of an elaborate and beautiful institutional library, it was probably taken by Candida Höfer. This book features dozens of examples of her work taken in Europe and the Americas. There is also an essay by Umberto Eco (whose personal library runs to something over 50,000 volumes, the last I heard) about the characteristics of good and bad academic libraries which, though it was written in 1981, still rings true today.
The one problem with this book is it creates a ...more
The one problem with this book is it creates a ...more
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Candida Höfer (German, b.1944) is a photographer known for her large-format images of architectural interiors, which address the psychological environment of social and cultural institutions by acknowledging how public spaces are designed to accommodate and inform the public. After completing studies at the Cologne Werkschule, she enrolled in the Düsseldorf School of Art, where she was taught by B
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“Rzeczywiście, często się zdarza, że idzie się do biblioteki, bo chce się książkę o znanym tytule, ale główną funkcją biblioteki, a przynajmniej funkcją biblioteki w moim domu i w domach wszystkich znajomych, jakich możemy odwiedzać, jest odkrywanie książek, których istnienia się nie podejrzewało, a które, jak się okazuje, są dla nas niezwykle ważne.”
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