Pulse en una miniatura para ir a Google Books.
Cargando... Bibliophiliapor N. John Hall
Ninguno Cargando...
Inscríbete en LibraryThing para averiguar si este libro te gustará. Actualmente no hay Conversaciones sobre este libro. Yeah this is a weird one. Sort of—but only sort of—an updated 84, Charing Cross Road, but without most of the humor and more of a tell, don't show epistolary introduction to book collecting. Those with a deep interest in book collecting (or those mentioned in the text, which includes more than a few real booksellers and collectors) will likely be at least held enthralled by the book, if only to find out what the heck is going on. ( ) [This was also published at my website, the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography.] N. John Hall's Bibliophilia is a book you can scarcely believe even exists, by which I mean that someone actually took the time, trouble and money to publish, under the assumption that other human beings would actually want to buy a copy. An "epistolary" novel (that is, one that entirely consists of letters back and forth between people), it's the story of a fussy sixty-something New Yorker luddite who recently came into a large amount of money, and has decided for the first time to start collecting books; the entire rest of the book, then, is essentially a series of emails back and forth between him and the equally fussy luddites who are giving him advice about what kinds of books to buy, the "novel" containing not even a bit of a three-act plot but rather existing as a cleverly presented textbook about the finer points of book collecting, the early history of The New Yorker magazine and the Modernist writers who were published in it, a detailed guide to how the publishing of novels changed in the 1800s from the three-volume standard to the monthly serials invented by Charles Dickens, and all kinds of other erudite little mini-Wikipedia entries that make you think, "Is there anyone out there who would actually want to sit down and read a book like this?" The irony, of course, is that I actually kind of loved it, because I'm a rare-book collector myself; but even my tolerance was stretched thin by this manuscript that barely qualifies as a narrative novel, a tolerance that I suspect will be completely shattered among anyone who's not an obsessive collector of rare books, i.e. the 95 percent of the population besides me and my little nerdy friends. It's for that reason that I can't in good conscience give this book a high score -- I mean, seriously, don't even bother picking this up if you're not into 5,000-word essays about Harold Ross or the McBride Guide to First Editions -- but do be aware that it's a curiously charming little book for those who are into those subjects, a rare fiction title from a celebrated academe that feels almost like the result of a bet that he couldn't get a book like this published. You've been warned! Out of 10: 7.0, but 9.5 for collectors of rare books All the writer had to do was liken the title to 84 Charing Cross Road. This is an apt comparison. The format has been modernized so that the correspondence between fledgling collector and knowledgeable advice-giver is carried on via e-mail. Certainly much of my book collecting is carried on so. I was particularly taken by the advice, "wait", which I should learn to do myself! It's easy to learn about things. It is easy to want things. With the Internet, it is easy to obtain things, also, from all over the world! I received a package just yesterday from a bookseller in Galway, Ireland. What fun. Bibliophilia is published by David R. Godine, which is a major bonus. Collectors suffering from 'the mania' would do well to read this one. sin reseñas | añadir una reseña
A thriller for book collectors. "Bibliophiles will enjoy Hall's cleverly fictionalized exploration of literary history and the thrill of seeking bookish treasures." --Booklist Flush with $400,000 from the sale of his great-great-grandfather's correspondence with Victorian authors, Larry Dickerson, our unassuming retired bank clerk, amateur editor, and literary neophyte, needs a creative outlet for his newly acquired wealth and fast escalating obsession with all things bookish. His journey begins with collecting rare editions of Victorian novelists but spirals rapidly to New Yorker authors, his determination to acquire growing with each new purchase. James Thurber, E.B. White, Vladimir Nabokov, J.D. Salinger, and Dorothy Parker all find their way onto Larry's shortlist, standing along previously acquired greats Trollope, Dickens, Thackeray, and Hardy. Being sensible, he approaches the biggest names in the rare book field with childish glee, and with refreshing brashness, finds himself handling copies of authors' most coveted titles, touring the New Yorker offices, and then involved in one of the biggest scandals book collecting has ever seen. Will the thrill of the chase overwhelm Larry's ability to see reason? Will his appetite outpace his resources? Join him on this journey as he discovers just how far he's willing to take his obsession. No se han encontrado descripciones de biblioteca. |
Debates activosNinguno
Google Books — Cargando... GénerosSistema Decimal Melvil (DDC)813.6Literature English (North America) American fiction 21st CenturyClasificación de la Biblioteca del CongresoValoraciónPromedio:
¿Eres tú?Conviértete en un Autor de LibraryThing. |