The Library: A Catalogue of Wonders

Posted on 21 April 2017 by Stuart Kells

Libraries are filled with magic From the Bodleian, the Folger and the Smithsonian to the fabled libraries of middle earth, Umberto Eco s mediaeval library labyrinth and libraries dreamed up by John Donne, Jorge Luis Borges and Carlos Ruiz Zaf n, Stuart Kells explores the bookish places, real and fictitious, that continue to capture our imaginations.The Library A Catalogue of Wonders is a fascinating and engaging exploration of libraries as places of beauty and wonder It s a celebration of books as objects and an account of the deeply personal nature of these hallowed spaces by one of Australia s leading bibliophiles. Best Read [ The Library: A Catalogue of Wonders ] author [ Stuart Kells ] For Kindle ePUB or eBook – kino-fada.fr I m sure I have never come across a non fiction book covering such an extensive amount of research on the history of libraries Amazing Oh, I do love my books but I can t say I m addicted or obsessed in buying or collecting books as some of these collectors were centuries ago The mind boggles at the extent some collectors went to to acquire books but they also gave me a good laugh.This book will appeal to anyone who is an obsessive collector and hoarder of books and anyone wanting knowledge ab I m sure I have never come across a non fiction book covering such an extensive amount of research on the...Good book and good information here but its mostly anecdotal and about famous people that happened to like libraries through history Great for a light read and for some historical facts related to libraries , not for a in depth study of the state of libraries as such.The Library abounds in fascinating tales of lost codices and found manuscripts, and the sometimes unscrupulous schemes by which people have conspired to obtain or amass valuable volumesNew York TimesI had been half expecting some sort of slide show, featuring gorgeous libraries of the world, but it s not that kind of b...Imagine going into a library you ve never been to before to find something to read.Some of the books are shelved in order of publication except when they re not.Others shelves share a common subject except when don t.There s no card catalog or database to help you find what you want in this mess and the librarians won t tell you where the books have come from.That s what this book is It has no index, no cited sources, no narrative focus, and no mention of libraries outside of Europe and Ameri Imagine going into a library you ve never been to before to find something to read.Some of the books are shelved in order of publication except when they re not.Others shelves share a common subject except when don t.There s no card catalog or database to help you find what you want in this mess and the librarians won t tell you where the books have come from.That s what this book is It has no index, no cit...I have a thing for books Not just the reading of them but the physical existence of them the possession of them the sight of them the smell, the weight, the texture I really like my books So when I came across this little gem there was no question as to its purchase I added it to my Books About Books shelf to be read another day That day recently arrived and I d like to tell you what I discovered.I can t really say what I expected from this thin little volume of 264 pages of text I su I have a thing for books Not just the reading of them but the physical existence of them the possession of them the sight of them the smell, the weight, the texture I really like my books So when I came across this little gem there was no question as to its purchase I added it to my Books About Books shelf to be read another day That day recently arrived and I d like to tell you what I discovered.I can t really say what I expected from th...I went to a talk by this author at my local library and enjoyed this so bought signed copies of this book for a friend, my boss and myself For that reason I was hoping this book would be good I did enjoy most of it but with some reservations Some of it was a little highbrow for my taste and read like lists of authors, scholars and libraries When the author introduced anecdotal stories of libraries, authors and book collectors etc. I liked it a whole lotOverall though a subject I am p I went to a talk by this author at my local library and enjoyed this so bought signed copies of this book for a friend, my boss and myself For that reason I was hoping this book would be good I did enjoy most of it but with some reservations Some of it was a little highbrow for my taste and read like lists of authors, scholars and libraries When the author introduced anecdotal stories of libraries, authors and book collectors etc. I liked it a whole lotOver...A totally unstructured amble through the history of books and libraries, full of name dropping and unexplained references I should have stopped when I realized there were no citations or footnotes The author barely touches on non Western libraries but devotesthan a chapter to Tolkien s treatment of books and libraries in Middle Earth Paragraphs are awkwardly linked and feature segues only a hair less clumsy and lurching than speaking of There must be a better book about the histor A totally unstructured amble through the history of books and libraries, full of name dropping and unexplained references I should have stopped when I realized there were no citations or footnotes The author barely touches on non Western libraries bu...I enjoyed every word in this book It s a treasureI really wanted to like this bookthan I did It was a gift from a friend, from halfway around the world It s signed by the author It s about libraries What s not to like Unfortunately, the book was rather dry and erudite for my tastes Interesting or amusing anecdotes scattered throughout the book kept me reading, but it felt really disjointed overall, like the author was listing examples without expounding on them The book would ve benefited from either editing down or expanding to a I really wanted to like this bookthan I did It was a gift from a friend, from halfway around the world It s signed by the author It s about libraries What s not to like Unfortunately, the book was rather dry and erudite for my tastes Interesting or amusing anecdotes scattered throughout the book kept me reading, but it f...3 1 2 stars Thanks to Goodreads and Text Publishing for my copy What I liked best about this book were the quirky anecdotes about libraries and the bibliophiles who created them and what I struggled with was the vast amount of detail and dates and the rapidity in which they were delivered I understand it s a vast topic but I just can ...

English
21 April 2017

Stuart Kells