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A Passion for Books
A Passion for Books: A Book Lover's Treasury of Stories, Essays, Humor, Lore, and Lists on Collecting , Reading, Borrowing, Lending, Caring for, and Appreciating Books | Harold Rabinowitz, Rob Kaplan
"When I have a little money, I buy books. And if any is left, I buy food and clothing."--Desiderius Erasmus Those who share Erasmus's love of those curious bundles of paper bound together between hard or soft covers know exactly how he felt. These are the people who can spend hours browsing through a bookstore, completely oblivious not only to the passage of time but to everything else around them, the people for whom buying books is a necessity, not a luxury. A Passion for Books is a celebration of that love, a collection of sixty classic and contemporary essays, stories, lists, poems, quotations, and cartoons on the joys of reading, appreciating, and collecting books. This enriching collection leads off with science-fiction great Ray Bradbury's Foreword, in which he remembers his penniless days pecking out Fahrenheit 451 on a rented typewriter, conjuring up a society so frightened of art that it burns its books. This struggle--financial and creative--led to his lifelong love of all books, which he hopes will cosset him in his grave, "Shakespeare as a pillow, Pope at one elbow, Yeats at the other, and Shaw to warm my toes. Good company for far-travelling." Booklovers will also find here a selection of writings by a myriad of fellow sufferers from bibliomania. Among these are such contemporary authors as Philip Roth, John Updike, Umberto Eco, Robertson Davies, Nicholas Basbanes, and Anna Quindlen; earlier twentieth-century authors Chris-topher Morley, A. Edward Newton, Holbrook Jackson, A.S.W. Rosenbach, William Dana Orcutt, Robert Benchley, and William Targ; and classic authors such as Michel de Montaigne, Gustave Flaubert, Petrarch, and Anatole France. Here also are entertaining and humorous lists such as the "Ten Best-Selling Books Rejected by Publishers Twenty Times or More," the great books included in Clifton Fadiman and John Major's New Lifetime Reading Plan, Jonathan Yardley's "Ten Books That Shaped the American Character," "Ten Memorable Books That Never Existed," "Norman Mailer's Ten Favorite American Novels," and Anna Quindlen's "Ten Big Thick Wonderful Books That Could Take You a Whole Summer to Read (but Aren't Beach Books)." Rounding out the anthology are selections on bookstores, book clubs, and book care, plus book cartoons, and a specially prepared "Bibliobibliography" of books about books. Whether you consider yourself a bibliomaniac or just someone who likes to read, A Passion for Books will provide you with a lifetime's worth of entertaining, informative, and pleasurable reading on your favorite subject--the love of books.
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ErinSBecker
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My new book (A Passion For Books) arrived today. My 3 year old asked why I bought it. Me: Because I like books about books. Him: I like books about books too! Me (skeptically): What book about books do you like? Him: Sesame street! (Meaning B is for books) .... The 🍏doesn't fall far from the 🌳😆

Cuilin That is adorable. I teach three years olds and miss them as our school is closed. 5y
ErinSBecker They can be very cute at times.... 😆 5y
26 likes2 comments
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Booksnchill
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Hyde Brothers, Booksellers run a really fun facebook page with great bookish posts like this! And so very true!

Tamra 👌🏾 5y
Ddzmini 🤣🤣🤣 5y
51 likes2 comments
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lesliemarie
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😂😂😂

42 likes2 comments
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Caterina
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Managed to rally and eat this amazing dinner that my mom made (seriously, wow ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐) and watch Songland with my family. Back to bed and reading, but the migraine is finally letting up after almost 15 hours! I'm exhausted to the bone from not sleeping and being in so much pain for so long. Reading on my Kindle until I fall asleep is going to feel so good. 😴❤️ (Thanks for all the support #BookFitnessChallenge #BFC fam ❤️)

OrangeMooseReads Glad you are feeling a little better 5y
Jerdencon Hope you feel 100 💯 better after some sleep 5y
Lindy 🌻🌻🌻 5y
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DarcysMom Glad you are feeling better! Your dinner looks divine! 5y
BarbaraJean Hope you get some great rest and wake up refreshed and renewed! 5y
Freespirit Headaches stink!! Hope it goes away 5y
Susannah Your endurance is incredible. I hope you can rest easy after so much discomfort. Take care! 5y
48 likes7 comments
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bookandbedandtea
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Easter books from The Hubs 😍💜🐰

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MaGoose
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Pickpick

Interesting to see how the essay authors talk about book collecting and about the books themselves as a collectable object. Most of the time they collect authors they like to read and feel are going to be classics for the long term. All of these essays were written more than 20 years ago, some significantly earlier, but still enjoyable.

42 likes1 stack add
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MaGoose
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1. Aries
2. Hmmm
3. None recently
4. Reading
5. @phatsallylee

#friyayintro @howjessreads

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MaGoose
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1. Tagged book, plus A Reader on Reading by Alberto Manguel and several others
2. In the theater, Search for Spock back in the 1980s. On DVD, Murder on the Orient Express with Kenneth Branagh
3. Tea or chocolate milk

#weekendreads @rachelsbrittain

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MaGoose
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I just started this this morning. Sounds interesting. Has anybody else read it yet?

PurpleyPumpkin Haven‘t read it, but it does sound interesting. How is it so far? 6y
wanderinglynn It sounds good. Are you enjoying it? 6y
MaGoose @PurpleyPumpkin I'm only 6 or 7 pages into it but so far it's okay. I'll do a review when I finish or if I bail. 6y
MaGoose @wanderinglynn I haven't read too much yet, 6 or 7 pages. It's a bit dated maybe (1999 copyright), but I'll read a little further and see how it goes. 6y
PurpleyPumpkin Looking forward to your review!👍🏽 6y
48 likes2 stack adds5 comments
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Clive
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Do you have your favorite book? If so, what is it?

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Caterina
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I have a killer headache and a cough from deep in my lungs, so I'm resting with this collection of short pieces on books. It's fun to read pieces by people who love books, even if they're basically all white Western men. Crossing my fingers I'll be up for leaving for work in an hour... 😷

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Lizpixie
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I think being in a bit of a financial crisis at the moment may be a blessing in disguise for my library! I‘ve been unable to buy new books since the new year which is having the benefit of me slowly whittling down my #MountTBR This is just the front stacks filling up my desk,there‘s two more behind these plus two stacks next to my chair,plus the 10 double stacked shelves on the other side.Oh,plus the classics shelf. #embarrassmentofriches

ReadingVampire Wow 😮 (edited) 7y
AmyG Whoa. And this is why one “collects” books. In case of emergency (read tbr) 7y
jillannjohn This makes me feel better. 😀 7y
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Cinfhen Such a wonderful photo! A feast for the eyes ( and mind) 🙌🏻❣️ 7y
LibrarianRyan We have a similar TBR pile. 7y
Lizpixie @Puredragonstar Thankyou! @AmyG exactly. At least I have books stockpiled to get me through my sorrow of not being able to buy more books😢 @jillannjohn I try @Cinfhen my fave photos on Litsy are Shelfies. I could spend hours checking out other peoples books. @LibrarianRyan that‘s coz we‘re awesome!👍 7y
LibrarianRyan Yes we are! Hey did you get the Last Magician, or have you sent it on already? 7y
Ddzmini I feel you and yes instead of going to the book store and buying several books I go and maybe get one book or look at used books but my book buying has slowed down considerably 😖 7y
Kalalalatja All the possibilities 😍😍 7y
Lizpixie @LibrarianRyan I have it here. The hubby hasn‘t worked since Xmas so we‘ve been struggling a bit with money, which is why I haven‘t sent it yet. Hopefully it‘ll be next week.🤞 7y
LibrarianRyan @Lizpixie I completely understand. Take all the time you need I was just hoping it hadn't gotten lost in the mail. The mail currently doesn't like me. 7y
79 likes11 comments
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Coleen_Nieto
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1. Watching by sitting with my husband reading a book while he watches, every so often checking the score to see if I won anything in the pool from work. Oh, and commercials :)
2. 50 degrees! #Denver
3. Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore
4. Ireland
5. ✋
#friyayintroers!

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jpmcwisemorgan
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My neighbor bought this ebook for me earlier this month - it‘s a collection of #essays and stories about books. It‘s still $1.99 for the Kindle in case anyone is interested. There are more than #sixteen entries (the one shown is the 16th, not including the intro). #NoteworthyNovember #NovemberByTheNumbers

38 likes2 stack adds
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MemoirsForMe
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What fun! Thanks @Kalalalatja
#bookishwouldyourather

1. Always in bed for this insomniac
2. It's Greek to me
3. Gotta go with lots of average books. How could I survive one whole month with only one book?
4. Movies cause I'd probably miss some episodes of the TV show
5. I'm testing the YA waters, but adult fiction is always my go-to

Kalalalatja 👏👏 7y
MemoirsForMe @Kalalalatja 🤓📚🙌🏻 7y
22 likes2 comments
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MrBook
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#TBRtemptation post 5! How about I start with the sub-title: "A Book Lover's Treasury of Stories, Essays, Humor, Lore, and Lists on Collecting, Reading, Borrowing, Lending, Caring For, and Appreciating Books". That pretty well covers this highly praised book on books ?. This is a collection of 60 classic & contemporary essays by bibilomaniacs--Bradbury to Roth, Montaigne to Benchley to Quindlen. You'll love it! #blameLitsy #blameMrBook ?

christineandbooks Oh, @MrBook ... Another for the TBR... 😶 8y
MrBook @christineandbooks 😂👏🏻And I've got a bunch more to come, especially books on books. 😎 8y
christineandbooks 👏📚👍 8y
See All 6 Comments
LitLogophile This one is so tempting! Definitely adding it and moving it up the list 8y
LeahBergen Got it! 👍🏼 8y
LitsyGoesPostal 😊👍🏻 8y
79 likes12 stack adds6 comments
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TotoroReads
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Bailedbailed

Despite a good start, Totoro ended up not finishing this book. Perhaps the later essays are wonderful, but the first part had an air of snobbishness that made Totoro uncomfortable. The love of books should be welcoming, not excluding.

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TotoroReads
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From the forward of the book - we're definitely off to a good start!

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bookloversnevergotobedalone
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He just loves books!

LeahBergen ❤️❤️ 8y
Hooked_on_books What a sweetie! ❤️🐶 8y
Bette 💕🐶 8y
30 likes3 comments
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SusanInTiburon
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This I find soothing: "No longer delude thyself; for thou wilt never read thine own memoranda, nor the recorded deeds of old Romans and Greeks, and those passages in books which thou has been reserving for thine old age." - Marcus Antoninus

stargazerblue49 Your pup is a cutie! 8y
britt_brooke Aw, how old is your pup? I love when their little faces start turning gray. 💙 8y
KikiLovesBooks Aww, so cute! And I want to read this now. I love books about books and reading! 8y
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MyBookLife I want to read the book and pet the dog ❤️ 8y
Hugoreads A book about books and an adorable dog. That's what I call the Good Life!! 8y
SusanInTiburon @britt_brooke We're not sure how old she is! They estimated about 7 years old when she was rescued as a stray, and we adopted her two years ago, so 9? 10? She is a comical little lovebug! 8y
britt_brooke She's adorable! Yay for rescues! My Boston is graying now, too. He's almost 9. We adopted him when he was 7 months old. 💙🐶 8y
Tav Doggie! 8y
67 likes4 stack adds9 comments
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SusanInTiburon
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Today I'm taking Winston Churchill's advice for an overabundance of books: "If you cannot read them, at any rate handle them and, as it were, fondle them. Peer into them. Let them fall open where they will. Read from the first sentence that arrests the eye. Then turn to another. Make a voyage of discovery, taking soundings of uncharted seas."

Texreader @SusanInTiburon Nice quote! I'll have to take it to heart. ❤️ 8y
Bookworm83 💗💗💗 8y
Gulfsidemusing Perfect!❤️ 8y
shawnmooney Love love love, both the pic and the quote! 8y
62 likes2 stack adds4 comments