Ex Libris: 100+ Books to Read and Reread | 
Even Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who studied under Nabokov at Cornell University as an undergraduate, said he changed the way she read and the way she wrote: "He taught me the importance of choosing the right word and presenting it in the right word order."
Thought this sounded familiar! LT catalogue to the rescue...
"Grosz quotes Isak Dinesen, who observed that "all sorrows can be borne if you put them into a story or tell a story about them," and he goes on to argue that stories can help us to make sense of our lives"
Pretty grim Xmas (family member's terminal diagnosis a couple of weeks ago). Taking chance where I can for reading and admiring this book's illustrations.
Mostly enjoying reading Kakutani's recommendations, but for this one:
No thank you!
Had to read these for a (fairly deathly) course on early American history. Glad not to have to do so again!
A rather nice signed copy of Ex Libris was my little treat to myself today.
pickI dipped in and out of this over many months and thoroughly enjoyed it. It offers a condensed commentary on dozens of books. And when you‘re done reading it, it‘s a pretty little thing on your shelf. β€οΈ
I've got my bedroom back (my sister nabbed it for the last 2 weeks) and so I'm rearranging my book collection. Can't wait to read some of these beauties π
My reading has slowed down a bit over the last week. I've been preparing to start work again (hopefully mid-July) and replaying BioShock Infinite. Also, my plan to read mediocre-looking books to have a clear out has been foiled by reading Words of Radiance on my Kindle π
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Oh well... π
Loving the recommendations in this book. There‘s so many I haven‘t read; there goes the TBR list growing again! The illustrations of the cover art for the titles are wonderful!
It‘s Monday π
I‘m reminiscing with this little scene from my weekend. A quiet moment I‘d love to get back to, instead I‘m heading into timesheets, board meeting, and the rest of the daily grind. Here‘s to making small moments of peace (featuring reading!) within our day today! π βοΈ
pickNecessarily subjective, here are 100 booksβold & recentβthat Michiko Kakutani loves to reread & to give as gifts, with concise explanations why. Novels, memoirs, poetry, history & children‘s literature: something for everyone. Her introduction is so good, that alone is a joy for every bookworm. I thought I might skip over some of the book descriptions because I didn‘t have interest (ie politics, presidents) but ended up enjoying every word.
In his 1996 book, A History of Reading, Alberto Manuel described a 10th-century Persian potentate who reportedly travelled with his 117,000-book library collection loaded on the backs of βfour hundred camels trained to walk in alphabetical order.β
I love everything Kakutani has to say about Emily Wilson‘s translation of The Odyssey. She is reminding me of what a good and enlightening experience it was to read it, which is her exactly her aim in writing Ex Libris: these are books that are worth rereading.
Kakutani is going to topple my TBR by making the (virtual) stacks so tall! I had already planned to read more of Camus because he‘s in a novel (by Kaouther Adimi) which I‘m reading concurrently; I‘ve only read The Stranger so far, & Adimi has influenced me to seek out Nuptuals. Thanks to Kakutani, I also want to read The Plague. She sums up the message as being βthere are more things to admire in men than to despise.β
I got some copies of this book to give as gifts over the holidays, and of course had to buy a copy for myself.
Kakutani writes for the NYT and is a Pulitzer Prize winning literary critic. This collection includes 100 essays about books that have made an impact on her. It also has stunning illustrations, endpapers, and a bookplate!! π
so-soThis book about books does have some good points and suggestions. However, so many books should've made it to 100+ books to βread and rereadβ but were left out. Moreover, it doesn't have a definite organization. Although some (but not most) books with similar themes are presented together (in a single chapter), in general, the reviews jump from fiction to nonfiction to written historical work with no cohesive connections.
I‘m loving this book so much. Beautiful illustrations and the writer clearly loves books without going over the total.
@RaeLovesToRead I also have the first book on my shelf! π I‘m adding it to my January TBR list. π
So excited to start this book! I don‘t normally like books about books (I‘d rather be reading an actual book thanks! π) but this is so beautiful with beautiful illustrations so I‘m going to take my time and try and read a chapter a week. π
My Christmas book haul! πππ
This also arrived. Thank you very much to my #BirthdayFairy friend, @KarenUK! πππ
#BookMail #LitsyMail
pickNo matter how familiar I am with a person or their work (not very, in this case), I still want to hear all about the books they'd recommend. This was a fun mix of books I‘ve read and loved, ones I‘ll happily never read, and plenty of adds to or bump-ups within my TBR. I enjoyed Kakutani‘s writing quite a bit, which makes me eager to get to her book The Death of Truth, which I‘ve returned to the library unread too many times.
Changing it up a bit, I‘ve got a soft spot for books about books. Is this inception? I‘ve never seen the movie.
I received these beauties today!
#bookmail #booksaboutbooks
