Welcome to Litsy!

Sent to me by a friend.

An intriguing book.

3.75/5

Read for prompts for: #ReadHarderChallenge2022 and #ReadYourBookshelfChallenge2022

I found this true account of a man who was obsessed with collecting rare books really interesting. It‘s a compelling story that I think bibliophiles will enjoy. 3.5⭐️
(December 19, 2021)

This was a fascinating story about a man obsessed with stealing rare books.

My first read for 2021. Tells the story of a man who is a bibliomaniac. Parts were interesting, the author follows his criminal career and interviews him. He steals rare and valuable books and is in jail multiple times. Interesting fact that many book thieves are never caught
#Booked2021 #Authorsnamestartswithaborc
#pop21 #asubjectyouarepassionateabout
@Cinfhen @4thhouseontheleft @BarbaraTheBibliophage

I am posting one book per day from my extensive to-be-read collection. No description and providing no reason for wanting to read it, I just do. Some will be old, some will be new. Don‘t judge me - I have a lot of books. Join the fun if you want.
This is day 260 #bookstoread #tbrpile #bookstagram

@Mollyanna I have to quarantine for two weeks so I haven‘t made it to the post office yet and won‘t until week after next. I do have your book it‘s right where I can see it and I will get it to you. My apologies.

a selection based solely on it's title...

Sometimes the blurbs on a book feel a bit exaggerated. “Compelling with elegant suspense - Erik Larson”. Erik, you did me wrong. Tbh, my beef may be more with the book thief who, like many these days, are deluded into thinking they deserve something for nothing. The underworld of book thievery was interesting but just bolstered my belief that greed and envy are the worst and good people pay the price. (My cheery thought for the day. 😳🤨)

Challenge 13 of 50: A book on a subject you know nothing about

I know a lot about books. But I know virtually nothing about rare books, book collecting, or first editions. I know nothing about the world of stolen books. This true crime read was a look at the unknown underbelly of the book world and the people who will go to any means to get their hands on rare copies.

#popsugar #readingchallenge #2020 #nonfiction #truecrime

Bartlett chronicles the story of a California man who has prolifically stolen rare books. His actions seemed filled with compulsion, self-delusion, and entitlement. I found this quick read interesting.

#Booked2020 Eccentric MC

I think many of us can relate to old TJ. 😂

I found this to be extremely interesting and incredibly frustrating. I have a different perspective on the author‘s presentation of the thief than most of the others in the #whodunnitthesequel group.

Headed your way @CatLass007

Interesting story, though I was put off a bit by the author's POV. I don't want to spoiler anything since this was my #whodunnitthesequel book from two turns ago. (But with NYC starting to come out of PAUSE Monday, I hope to make it to the post office shortly to catch up mailing out books @Librarybelle @Schlinkles @robinb)

Oh my gosh, if you want to hate someone in the most pleasurable way possible, this is the book for you. When I told people about this book, I kept saying "He's such a weeny!", but I couldn't stop telling people about him.

#whodunitthesequel #pop20 #bookfeaturingoneofthedeadlysins #booked2020 #bookshowingahatorheadcovering @Cinfhen @BarbaraTheBibliophage @4thhouseontheleft #litsyatoz

This has been a fascinating read. While I do claim to love books, rare books and first editions hold no appeal for me. The lengths people would go to steal them is pretty amazing.

#librarybook #truecrime #nonviolent #nonfiction

And it‘s off and running! 🏃‍♀️ @ScientistSam your next #whodunitthesequel book should hopefully reach you by next Thursday (2/6). Enjoy!

@Librarybelle

While interesting, this was ultimately just a so-so for me. The story of an unrepentant rare book thief who feels entitled to steal because rare booksellers overprice and should not be allowed to keep him from acquiring what he wants to feel self-important. Nice look into the rare book field, but Gilkey (the thief) tended to get on my nerves and rouse my anger. 🙄😡
3/5⭐️

#whodunitthesequel
@Librarybelle

Next up is my next #whodunitthesequel book. 🧐👀🕵🏻‍♀️

@ferskner Ann, it‘s here! Thanks so much!

#whodunitthesequel

@Librarybelle Do we have a date yet for the next swap? Just checking so I can make sure I get this one read on time. 😊

I really enjoyed reading this book about an audacious book thief. It is hard to believe he seemingly thought there was nothing wrong with his actions. I loved reading about the collections for sale at antiquarian book fairs and bookstores. A pick for me.

I forgot to post before I mailed the package - this is on its way to you, @ferskner

I got #bookmail today! Thanks, @JenlovesJT47 !!
#whodunitthesequel

The title of this book is a little misleading. It is a true crime account of a man named John Gilkey, who steals thousands of dollars worth of rare books. IMO, he did it because he‘s a thief, plain and simple, and felt entitled. Still, I‘m giving this a pick because I learned so much about rare books and finished the whole thing in a few hours. Bibliophiles will find something here to like. 4⭐️

Is it bad or wrong for me to find deep solace in books???

Some times can be very difficult, day or night.
Some times need to be alone times, for better or worse.

In those times, which are many and frequent, I turn to books, to read and to write.

*sighs* 🥺😢😔

Used bookstore finds. 😍📚

I used to constantly borrow Magic Kingdom For Sale/SOLD! from my grandma growing up, and couldn‘t resist picking up my own copy. ❤️

1. Tagged! I‘ve been in a book slump lately, but the tagged book has really rekindled my desire to read
2. Captain America
3. Always iced coffee
#weekendreads @rachelsbrittain

#thriftstorefind Loving this so far! One of my best thrift store purchases to date.

This title 💕

Thanks to @ValerieAndBooks @Lizpixie @Jas16 @8little_paws @SoniaC for recommending at least one of these books. Their reviews intrigued me and Better World Books was kind enough to send them my way. I now need to stop buying books. 🤦🏻‍♀️ #blameitonlitsy

I found this fascinating and kept sharing tidbits to my son! Crime within the rare/used book world is more common than I thought. This book focuses on one person who passed bad checks or stolen credit card numbers (1990s/early 2000s when it was easier to do) to hoard rare books for himself. His narcissistic nature was really infuriating. The author spent about 2 years interviewing him (sometimes when he was in prison) and others to write this.

We have #Litsy now to share our book love 😊📚📚

(This was published in 2009)

So odd that I just started this book about book theft and our local bookstore was just broken in! Several rare books taken and cash register untouched. Big enough news that it was on the local TV news, also. I hope they catch the creep(s) soon! my son and I were discussing theories about this for a long time. Https://www.philly.com/news/books-stolen-west-chester-pa-baldwins-to-kill-a-mockingbird-20190212.html

#JanuaryStats This was the best reading month for me in a long time, my eyes still suck.👀

16 Books in total - 15 finished
5 Non-fiction
7 Graphic Novels
4 Fiction
1 Unfinished - Song Of Achilles

This wasn‘t my favorite true crime story. There was a definite sense of entitlement and lack of compassion for the pain he caused. I love books, but this is a bit much.

@Jess_Read_This I sent this one out to you today, they said it should be there by Thursday. Enjoy!

With the tagged book finished, I‘ve gotten a great start in #NonFiction2019 bingo. Hopefully the momentum keeps up!

I learned a lot about the rare book world, reading this book.But John Gilkey, a book thief, made me so angry I had to put the book down & walk away a few times. I unfortunately have personal experience with manipulators & know how they justify every bad thing they do. Written very well, the author tried to be impartial, it‘s a good read. My #SomethingYouSawOnLitsy for #NonFiction2019 & #ReceivedInALitsySwap for LittenLoveBingo #LLB19 #MountTBR2019

My next book is also doing triple duty in reading challenges. For #NonFiction2019 its #SomethingYouSawOnLitsy its #Bk3 on #MtKilimanjaro #MountTBR2019 its #ReceivedInALitsySwap in #LittenLoveBingo #LLB19 John Charles Gilkey is a rare book thief, not for money, because he loves books so much he‘s willing to go to prison for them. Ken Sanders is the investigator who‘s out to catch him. This is about the cat & mouse game that follows.

Here are my top 10 books of 2018! They're not in any particular order. It makes me happy that I tried some different books this past year tgat I wasn't sure about and loved them!😄

School started back today (😢) so my commute started back (🙇🏻‍♀️) BUT that means my audiobook binging also started back (silver lining). This was my first audiobook of the year, and it‘s my non-violent true crime for the @bookriot #ReadHarder challenge. It was a very interesting story but I couldn‘t find as much sympathy for the thief as the author did - maybe I‘d have liked him more if he was stealing the books for the contents? 🤷🏻‍♀️

I‘m thinking that 2019 will be the year of Non-Fiction judging from this gorgeous pile from my #MountTBR And this is just the ones I could reach easily! There‘s some awesome reads waiting here for me, with quite a few about books, publishing, authors & other literary facts. Just have to figure out where to start though. Hmmmm🤔 #justthefactsmaam #trivialpursuitliterarystyle #mindlikeasteeltrap #keepyourbrainhealthy

I rediscovered this book on my shelves when I reorganized everything and thought it would be a good choice for the "true crime" part of the Reading Women Challenge. It is an interesting peek into the world of book collectors and thieves, and the author had a lot of face time with a notorious thief who never stays incarcerated for long. Also I should say that the world of book dealers and collectors is portrayed as heavily male. @thereadingwomen

@Librarybelle , it‘s raining books!! I sent Crooked House off to @Jess_Read_This yesterday, it‘s supposed to be there Monday. I received The Man Who Loved Books Too Much from @Schlinkles and Strangled in Paris from @ScientistSam today!!

I'm halfway through a bunch of books right now and feel like I'll never finish anything. Anyone else like this?

Traded in 8 books today and came home with these 4, and I still have store credit left over! Love trade-in bookstores. #bookhaul

I am about halfway through and really enjoying this book!!!

While a fascinating read, I left this book hoping for more discussion on the positive side of collecting. Bartlett touches on it, but I wanted more. Gilkey loves “collecting” books, except his definition of collecting is different than our definition. I did learn things about book collecting, which were very interesting. A fast read, but just okay for me. #whodunitthesequel

Off to @Tiffy_Reads next!

#SebastianKitty #catsoflitsy