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Summary: A lovely book, perfect for anyone who loves books
Review: _Ex Libris_ brings together Anne Fadiman's "Common Reader" columns from _Civilization_, which were one of the great joys of that magazine. Reading Fadiman's monthly reflections on collecting books, arranging one's library, bookstore browsing, and other subjects was a great pleasure; bringing them together turns out to give them new life. Fadiman writes about books the way Elizabeth Marshall Thomas writes about dogs: the affection, compassion, and intelligence each brings to their subject throws new light on something very familiar. In this age of electronic publishing, new media, and declarations that "the book is dead," it is good to have so elegant a reminder of how complex books and reading really are, how resilient and deep book culture is, and how much we gain by having books-- bound between covers, arranged on our shelves, even laid open-faced on coffee tables and desks, adorned with Post-Its and marginal notes-- in our lives.
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Summary: wonderful!
Review: Wonderful! How many books can make you laugh, think, and learn - all at the same time? This is one of those rare publications that you regret finishing because it is so enjoyable you don't want it to end...
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Summary: Not a typo in sight.
Review: My favorite essays: "Insert a Carrot" - about the Fadiman family's obsession with typographical and grammatical errors in everyday life - and "True Womanhood" - I actually located Father O'Reilly's book, although I'm not sure I know someone who would appreciate it! This collection of essays is truly a delight for anyone who knowingly owns two paperback copies of Catcher in the Rye or The Great Gatsby.
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Summary: A Wonderful Book
Review: Get this book. Put it aside until you're alone with your coffee early on a Sunday morning. It will make your day. Oh, and one other thing. Don't tell my wife, but I'm very jealous of Anne's husband, George! He's a very lucky guy.
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Summary: I wish I knew this family.
Review: This book is a treasure. While reading the essay re compulsive proofreading I began to feel normal. There are at least four other inhabitants of this earth who love to scan a restaurant menu, first for errors, and then for food.Every essay is pure delight.
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Summary: Refreshing to know that somewhere books are still cherished
Review: I am one of Ms. Fadiman's 'courtly lovers' of books, and even though I found myself wincing at the description of her treatment of her books, all the same I was enchanted by the love she has for books and for literature. This book is always appealing, frequently a joy, and often enlightening. The opening essay "Marrying Libraries" showed me that I am not the only one to understand the intimate nature of one's book choices, tastes, and behaviors. That understanding is a great trust in this day and age of colorless, follow-the-leader, strictly top-10 on the bestseller list-only reading practices. Thank you, Ms. Fadiman, for helping us remember what books are to us, and what they should be to every literate human being.
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Summary: A book for people who love books
Review: I was reading Ex Libris as my 9-year-old daughter Sarah was reading a Marguerite Henry book. I laughed out loud, and Sarah wanted to know why, so I read her a passage from Ms. Fadiman's essay on taking care of books. There are two camps of booklovers: the "words are everything" group, into which the entire Fadiman family, as voracious a bunch of readers as you could imagine, belongs. They write in margins, dog-ear pages, break spines. To them, a book is merely a container for the thoughts in it. And then there are the folks who would never write in a book, or turn down a page. I asked Sarah, who's been reading, avidly, for six years, which group she belonged to. Of course the words are important, she replied, but if you don't take good care of the book, you won't be able to read them. You can have that sort of conversation over and over while reading the essays that make up Ex Libris, and since you care about books (why else would you be visiting Amazon dot com, or Ms. Fadiman's page?), you probably will -- even if you're alone, and the conversation is internal.
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Summary: I found A commrad.
Review: I saw he speak on her book it was great! I thought I was the only one who that excentric about books. Loved every minute of it.Its like finding a long lost friend.
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Summary: A Delight for Every Book Lover
Review: I relished each word of this delightful little book on the joys of reading, book collecting and words. Are you a courtly lover of books or a carnal lover? Read Fadiman's delicious book,laugh aloud and find out. Please, Anne give us a second volume of essays soon.
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Summary: Ms. Fadiman's joy in the written word permeates every essay.
Review: I bought this book because I loved the few essays of Anne Fadiman's that I had read in Civilization (the magazine), and was hungering for more. Ms. Fadiman writes beautifully, and her love for the written word shines through in each essay. This work gives a wonderful view of the role that books have played in her family life. It's going to be a struggle for me not to buy this book for *everyone* on my Christmas list!
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