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Ex Libris: Confessions of a common reader by Anne Fadiman

Originally published in June 2005, on my original 52 Books blog.

This slim collection of essays by journalist Anne Fadiman was originally published in a literary magazine, but adapted and in some cases rewritten for the book. It was recommended to me by several people who know I love reading, and I would just like to say thanks to them for the recommendation. I have been trying for ages to find the book - according to the library database it was always in, but I couldn’t find it where it was supposed to be shelved. I finally came across it where it had been filed on the wrong shelf, probably by some browsing library patron.

The book is basically about several different aspects of reading and owning books and an analysis of the author’s reading habits. She discusses, among other things, the problems of uniting libraries, her addiction to collecting books about doomed polar expeditions, her habit of proofreading everything she reads, those pesky gender pronouns that turn everyone into a man, pokes fun at plagiarists and plagiarism, and other subjects related to books, etc., all in a personal vein.

Rating: Fun reading for bibliophiles and an insight into the bibliophiliac mind for non-bibliophiles. 4 stars.
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Yvette said…
This is one of my all time favorite books. (If you loved this, you will also probably love HOW READING CHANGED MY LIFE by Anna Quindlen.)

I enjoyed reading about Anne Fadiman's famous father. He sounds the ideal literary dad. :)
November 28, 2011 11:06 pm
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