This summer I have eschewed more esoteric reading in exchange for books about the stuff I love: pop music history, art, craft, feminism, poetry, and anything that weaves these topics together. It's wonderful to have a break from the Foucaults and Bordieus and the Lévi-Strausses of my academic life. Surprisingly, I've found this experiment to be quite intellectually and creatively inspiring. I thought, perhaps, I might share some of the books I've recently discovered for and about people like us: bibliophiles! Here's my little, late Summer reading list. Please let me know if you have any additions, and I will include them! Check back, as this list will continue to grow.
People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
I stumbled upon this book quite randomly at my local soon-to-be-closed borders, and snatched up the last copy. People of the Book is a historical fiction novel that tells the story of book conservationist, Hannah Heath, as she restores the Sarajevo Haggadah, a priceless Jewish illuminated text. In alternating sections, it also describes the complex history of that manuscript. The Sarajevo Haggadah is as much a character in this work as Heath is herself. Brooks is a masterful writer, and she manages to capture what it is I (and I suspect a lot of you) love about books: the unusual surprises of antiquity, uncovering buried history, participating in the continuation of that history through craft, the stories objects have to tell about their origins and the people who created them.
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Ray Bradbury has been one of my favorite writers since my early teen years, and I love Fahrenheit 451 especially. This dystopian, science fiction masterwork takes place in a world where books are forbidden. Intellectuals must hide their collections from firefighters who no longer fight fire, but burn books. Fahrenheit 451 is haunting and poignant, especially in this technological age. It is also deeply hopeful about the enduring importance of books and the written work.
Books, Friends, and Bibliophilia: Reminiscences of an Antiquarian Bookseller by Anton Gerits
This book is, unfortunately, out of print. However, used copies are available on Amazon. As its title implies, it is a charming and lively series of anecdotes by Dutch bookseller Anton Gerits. More widely, however, it provides a fascinating glimpse into the world of prominent book collectors and the history of books and bibliophilia.
Bibliophile Mysteries series by Kate Carlisle
On a considerably lighter note, romance and mystery novelist Kate Carlisle has created a series of books that follow bookbinder and conservationist Brooklyn Wainwright as she stumbles from crime scene to crime scene solving mysteries and waxing poetic about Jeff Peachey knives (from The Lies That Bind, "I particularly coveted a leather-handled set of Jeff Peachey knives. The brilliant bookbinder and craftsman had created a set of cryogenic steel-bladed knives that were hand-honed to surgical percision and beautifully beveled to work with the thinnest calfskin…’Peachey is a genius,’ I murmured, nodding."). There are currently four novels in the series, and with titles like If Books Could Kill, they promise to be entertaining (at the very least) for any bookish gentleman or lady.
This Is Not a Book by Keri Smith
This book and its cousin books, Wreck This Journal and Mess: The Manual of Accidents and Mistakes, are favorites of my lovely friend Lacey. These books ask the reader/writer to engage with their content in unconventional ways. Lacey says these books are "a set of pages with instructions on how to deconstruct, reconstruct traditional journaling. [They are] full of rules that are made to be broken or to be followed to create a challenge for yourself."
Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov
My roommate, Carsen, wisely suggested this labyrinthine novel. Nabokov was never one for simplicity... Carsen describes the narrative as "a book about a book about a poem which pretends to be (or is?) the book it is about." That's just about right.
A Gentle Madness: Bibliophiles, Bibliomanes, and the Eternal Passion for Books by Nicholas A. Basbanes
My tumblr friend iamwrappedupinbooks recommends this book, adding, "I was a research assistant for a rare book collector and he gave me a copy to initiate me into the world of bibliophiles. It helped."
P.S. Due to camera ailments, my forthcoming Mansueto Library post is on temporary hold.
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