Cost: $6.98US
Page Count: 262
Proving that I AM capable of spending more than a buck or two, I picked up The Man Who Loved Books Too Much for a staggering seven bucks..it was a hardback in the clearance bin. So, not everything I read has to be paid for with pocket change.
The premise of The Man Who Loved Books Too Much is quite interesting. It follows the author, yes this is a pseudo-biographical work, in her search for the title character, a man named John Gilkey. Apparently, Mr. Gilkey was a scam artist who looked only to pilfer fine books in order to satiate his addiction to literature. He wished to own a huge library filled with rare and valuable tomes. So, the author, Ms. Bartlett, searches and interviews Gilkey and a small cast of booksellers who have been duped by the scammer.
There's actually not much in the way of 'action' in this book. But, that's ok. It's really a well-written document of one man's insatiable addiction to books. The author tries to understand what makes the criminal tick, interviewing him in various places including prison. Gilkey spends as much time in jail as he does free but doesn't really have much remorse for ripping off countless booksellers around the country. In my humble opinion, Gilkey is a common thief and a typical lying douche.
One particular book-man, Ken Sanders, is prominently involved. That's because he is the de-facto watchdog for the booksellers. He acts as a sort of detective in trying to solve the theft of rare and valuable books. Pretty neat job, if you can get it. But, Sanders is obsessed himself. Obsessed with finding those, not just Gilkey, that steal literary masterpieces. So, in some respects there is a correlation between the criminal and the sleuth. Sanders, at times, comes off as kind of a douche, as well.
Overall, I'd say The Man Who Loved Books Too Much was worth a read. But, only because it is short. Any longer, and I would have grown tired of the back and forth between the author and the criminal. There is, however, a whole cornucopia of information about rare books and the business itself. To me, that's cool because I am somewhat interested in the whole realm. But, to the layperson this may be sort of a snoozer.
Proving that I AM capable of spending more than a buck or two, I picked up The Man Who Loved Books Too Much for a staggering seven bucks..it was a hardback in the clearance bin. So, not everything I read has to be paid for with pocket change.
The premise of The Man Who Loved Books Too Much is quite interesting. It follows the author, yes this is a pseudo-biographical work, in her search for the title character, a man named John Gilkey. Apparently, Mr. Gilkey was a scam artist who looked only to pilfer fine books in order to satiate his addiction to literature. He wished to own a huge library filled with rare and valuable tomes. So, the author, Ms. Bartlett, searches and interviews Gilkey and a small cast of booksellers who have been duped by the scammer.
There's actually not much in the way of 'action' in this book. But, that's ok. It's really a well-written document of one man's insatiable addiction to books. The author tries to understand what makes the criminal tick, interviewing him in various places including prison. Gilkey spends as much time in jail as he does free but doesn't really have much remorse for ripping off countless booksellers around the country. In my humble opinion, Gilkey is a common thief and a typical lying douche.
One particular book-man, Ken Sanders, is prominently involved. That's because he is the de-facto watchdog for the booksellers. He acts as a sort of detective in trying to solve the theft of rare and valuable books. Pretty neat job, if you can get it. But, Sanders is obsessed himself. Obsessed with finding those, not just Gilkey, that steal literary masterpieces. So, in some respects there is a correlation between the criminal and the sleuth. Sanders, at times, comes off as kind of a douche, as well.
Overall, I'd say The Man Who Loved Books Too Much was worth a read. But, only because it is short. Any longer, and I would have grown tired of the back and forth between the author and the criminal. There is, however, a whole cornucopia of information about rare books and the business itself. To me, that's cool because I am somewhat interested in the whole realm. But, to the layperson this may be sort of a snoozer.
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