Confessions of a Common Reader
by Anne Fadiman
Ex Libris means out of books and that's just what this compilation of essays is about.
"After five years of marriage and a child, George and I finally resolved that we were ready for the more profound intimacy of library consolidation."
This is the premise of "Marrying Libraries", the humorous story of how havoc was wreaked when two book-lovers joined their personal libraries into one. It is a fitting commentary on the marriage state in general. How would your marriage stand up to such a challenge?
As a book lover I appreciated Fadiman's ideas about vocabulary, grammar, old books vs. new, writing in your books, and the many other topics covered within this little pleasure reader. The writing is wonderful, even if I did need a dictionary to get through it. (Big words are another topic under scrutiny) This would make a lovely gift for any book lover.
And for the record, I don't write in my books(yet), I love used books, I'm not that great with grammar or big words, and I will probably never combine my books with those of The Theologian's (my sweetheart) because I could never survive under his strict observance of order. Maybe one day I'll post pictures of my bookshelves and his; then you will all know what I'm talking about.
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