Book Review: Ex Libris

Ex Libris
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.

Auto-what did you call me?

There is a certain blog that I visit frequently. Mental-Multivitamin. This lady is smart. I mean, the smart people in your life probably visit her blog for new ideas to ponder. She refers to herself as an autodidact. I always assumed it had to do with writing or self-expression. Well the other day I decided to look it up in the dictionary.

Autodidact: n. a self-taught person.

Hey! That's me! Ever since we decided to homeschool the kiddos I have been on an educational journey right along with them. I never realised how interesting history was, or science. I didn't understand literature in high school but now I can't get enough of it. I love learning.

But what is learning of facts if I can't process them, understand them, and articulate them? A few months back I took part in an email discussion with a couple other women about Edith Wharton's classic House of Mirth. I was forced to communicate my ideas so as to be understood. I found that I gained a better understanding of my own mind by this exercise. It was exciting.

So that's why I'm here, in Blogdom. I want to share about what I'm learning, from books and also from life. It may not benefit anyone but me. No one else may really care. But I benefit. I care. And ultimately that's what it's all about.