Ex Libris

This is a group of essays, “creative nonfiction,” all of which are delightful and some of which make serious points.

A contemporary essayist from a scholarly family, a wife and mother and university professor, Anne Fadiman has written a few books that are a must for VERY stimulating reading. Ex Libris is a favorite of mine - all about books and language (hobbies of all her family) - a favorite chapter is "Inset a Carrot" - fall-out-of-your-chair hilarious, as is a lot of her musing about people's use and misuse of language. I've not read a more engaging non-fiction author!

This slim volume (162 pages, including the acknowledgements) has been on my bookshelf for quite a while, just waiting to be read. It was purchased after a writing/reading blogger I follow mentioned it more than once as a book which significantly influenced her reading and had a life-long impact. Like any essay collection, some I enjoyed more than others but found all of them to be interesting and enlightening. She writes about everything from her childhood, surrounded by books, to combining her library with her husbands only after being together for ten years and being married for five. I particularly found the essay 'My Odd Shelf' to be compelling as it directly relates to my own reading life and I have never heard another author address it. Ms. Fadiman grew up in a family much different than mine and it could be easy to classify her background (and therefore her essays) to be as upper-crust and snobbish. However, one of the reasons I enjoy reading is to understand others' backgrounds and perspectives. This collection accomplishes that, in addition to an excellent overview of significant literature that is helpful. Bottom line: Quite a good volume that is 4+ stars for me. I also purchased it recently as a graduation gift for a young woman who just earned her bachelor's degree in creative writing. It will be a nice addition to her library.

Occasionally, I come across a book so delightful to read that I can hardly wait to see what happens next, while at the same time, enjoying the present so much that I hate to see it end. This is just such a book.

Found some of the stories entertaining and insightful and some not so. However, I did enjoy her use of language to stretch the reader's vocabulary.

This is an enchanting book of essays compiled from articles originally published in Civilization, the magazine of the Library of Congress. The subjects alone are enough to bring a smile to any "common reader", a phrase used by Virginia Woolf (and borrowed from Samuel Johnson) to connote an educated layperson who reads for pleasure rather than scholarship or criticism. Ms. Fadiman turns a lovely phrase, and the reader will often feel they've found a kindred spirit. Topics include the intimacy of combining libraries, the enjoyment of long words, that odd shelf in your library, the carnal versus the courtly love of books, inscriptions, reading literature about a place while you are there, used books, proofreading, plagiarism, catalogues and reading aloud. While reading about these delightful subjects you will also learn about the author and her family, Arctic exploration, Thomas Macaulay and a host of other indispensable bits. The book succeeds on all fronts. It was a pleasure to read a book that made me break out the dictionary, and a dangerous little section at the back recommends yet more books that you probably don't need but that will undoubtedly make your life sweeter, as this one does. It can be read quickly, but you'd be wiser to savor it. Highest recommendation.

What a marvelous book! When Anne Fadiman started to describe the merger of her library with her husband's (never mind that they had been married for years and had children together, this was the event that convinced her they were *really* married), I knew I had stumbled on a kindred soul. Anne Fadiman can write, and she chooses to write about what it means to live a life surrounded by (and wallowing in, let's admit it!) books. Her love affair with the written word permeates this book. The details of her life are completely different than mine, but this book made me feel like I understood her from the inside out. I read large parts of this book out loud, to anyone I could find who seemed like they might find it amusing. Most of them ran out and got themselves a copy of the book. I can't read it out loud to you, so all I can say is if you love reading, if you are consumed with a love of the written word, Anne Fadiman's book will speak to the deepest part of your soul.

This little book has been sitting on my shelf for a while. I've dipped into it on a couple of occasions, always to put it down. I'm a great admirer of Anne Fadiman's "The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down," so I couldn't quite figure out why "Ex Libris" did not hold my attention, even though some of the essays are delightful. Since the third time is reputed to be a charm, I recently picked it up again, determined to read it through. I did, and I also discovered the reasons for my struggle to enjoy the book. The first is the repeated appearance of The Fadiman Family (father, mother, son, daughter Anne, and Anne's husband, an honorary Fadiman). In these essays, the Fadimans, certified bibliophiles, are like interesting dinner guests who stay on for a game of Trivial Pursuit and end up winning it all before the other guests have put a single slice in their own little trivia pies. No fun. Perhaps the Fadimans overstay their welcome in "Ex Libris" because many of these essays were published separately in Civilization and later collected in this volume. Repetition is an all too common problem in essay collections. There may be a solution. Leave the book on the nightstand. Pick it up every few months and open the book to a random spot---middle, end. Read from front to back. Try back to front. The author even has a number of useful observations on reading in bed. M. Feldman

Lovely book, funny essays, recommended for book worms!

Una libro de ensayos sobre el acto de leer y la importancia de los libros en nuestra vida en el que me he sentido completamente identificada. Divertido, irónico, ácido...

Anne Fadiman (1953 -), the author of “Ex-Libris,” belongs to a renowned literary family. Her father Clifton Fadiman was an American writer, editor and television personality, known for his erudition and breadth of knowledge. Her mother Annalee Jacoby Fadiman was a war correspondent during WW2 and later worked as a scriptwriter. Not surprisingly, the author and her brother grew up in a highly intellectual environment, which she describes as Fadiman U (short for University)! For good measure, Anne is married to writer George Colt – and their pet dog is named Typo! This book is a compilation of eighteen essays originally published in her column “Common Reader” in “Civilization,” the magazine of the Library of Congress. These essays are about literary topics such as merging libraries, proofreading and plagiarism, but they are surprisingly enjoyable. In addition to a deep passion for the topics she writes about, Fadiman has a delightful sense of humour, as the following excerpts will show. In the first chapter the author recalls that five years into their marriage “our libraries had remained separate, mine mostly at the north end of our loft, his at the south.” They decided to merge their libraries, with mutually agreed rules, but “…by far the hardest task came toward the end of the week, when we sorted through our duplicates and decided whose to keep. I realized that we had both been hoarding redundant copies of our favorite books ‘just in case’ we ever split up.” “When I was growing up,” the author says in the next chapter, “not only did my family walk around sprouting sesquipedalians, but we viewed all forms of intellectual competition as a sacrament, a kind of holy water, as it were, to be slathered on at every opportunity with the largest possible aspergill.” In the subsequent chapter, she talks about her fondness for books about polar exploration. “Americans admire success. Englishmen admire heroic failure… When the corpses of some of Franklin’s officers and crew were later discovered, miles from their ships, the men were found to have behind their guns but to have lugged such essentials such as monogrammed silver cutlery, a backgammon board, a cigar case, a clothes brush, a tin of button polish, and a copy of ‘The Vicar of Wakefield.’” In ‘Nothing New Under the Sun’ there are as many as 38 footnotes in a chapter which is just 8 pages long. “The more I’ve read about plagiarism,” remarks the author, “the more I’ve come to think that literature is one big recycling bin.” This is a book which will be truly relished by the un-common reader who might share the author’s obsession with the sequence in which her books are arranged on her shelves, her compulsive proofreading habit or her devotion what she calls ‘You-Are-There Reading’, meaning the practice of reading books in the places they describe!

A delightful series of autobiographical musings. I dip into it often and always with pleasure. I can't imagine anyone serious about books and literature not loving it.

Ex Libris by Anne Fadiman Anne Fadiman comes from a famous literary family, and these short pieces reflect her background well. Her light-hearted reflections on books, and the part they play in the lives of those who love reading, offer insights into her family and other people that can be of interest to all bibliophiles. This book of essays is like a box of delicious chocolates with different centres, not to be devoured in one greedy session, but tasted slowly, one by one, with appreciation. Margaret Blair