Short Review: The Man Who Loved Books Too Much: The True Story of a Thief, a Detective, and a World of Literary Obsession By Allison Hoover Bartlett
Genre: Nonfiction
Sub-Category: Books About Books, Crime
Publisher/Publication Date: Published September 17th 2009 by Riverhead Books
Audio Publisher: Tantor Media
Did I finish the Book?: Yes, this was my swimming book. I usually have three books going at a time. One, I read/listen to while swimming laps for an hour each day; another, I listen to in the car; and a third or fourth, I am reading as an ebook and/or physical book.
Two Sentence Summary: I love books. I love new books, old books, inscribed books, antiquarian books, ebooks and audiobooks. I can't imagine my life without books, however, I don't love books enough to steal them, which is what The Man Who Loved Books Too Much: The True Story of a Thief, a Detective, and a World of Literary Obsession is about a man, John Charles Gilkey, who loved rare books so very much he became a thief in order to obtain them.
I'm reminded of...Erick Lason's Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America and Jon Ronson's The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry
Why did I get this book?: It has been on my TBR Shelf for about two years. I first heard about the book in the magazine Book Marks and on Books on the Nightstand's podcast.
First Line: I listened to this one, but here is the first line..."At one end of my desk sits a nearly 400 year-old book cloaked in a tan linen sack and a good deal of mystery."
Buy, Borrow, Listen, or Avoid?: I'd recommend either buy/borrow or listen. I don't know if I'd have finished the book quite so quickly if I had not been listening.
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I remember getting this book from the library at least two different times, thinking I would love it, but I never ended up reading it. I can't remember why. Maybe I started it and it didn't grip me as much as I hoped it would, and it got pushed off my TBR list.
ReplyDeleteI hear you. I listened to this one, and I honestly don't think I'd have finished it if I'd been reading it. I checked out the audio version of the book from my library.
ReplyDeleteCynthia
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