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gaiainc's review against another edition
3.0
It was fine. I wanted to be more entranced by it, but I wasn’t. Interesting topic. Gilkey definitely had some gall with some of what he did. Wished I knew what happened to all of the books he took.
mtcronin's review against another edition
5.0
A fascinating story of theft and detection inside the rare book world. More at http://bookhopping.wordpress.com
arodplatypus's review against another edition
2.0
DNF. Got about 65% of the way through and couldn't do it. This book is boring as hell.
jeannepathfinder's review against another edition
4.0
The irony of reading this book about bibliophiles on an e-reader, was not lost on me. A gripping story of a book thief and those who wished him behind bars. The man surely has mental problems and does not consider himself a thief. A very interesting read. I recommend it to anyone who loves books.
lisavegan's review against another edition
3.0
I’d wanted to read this book since it was first published (I first learned of it, and Gilkey, from one of my local independent bookstores), and so I was grateful when my real world book club decided to read it.
It was not exactly what I’d expected, a book about a man who loves books, and happens to steal them. The man in question is less a book lover and more a narcissist, sociopath and thief, primarily but not exclusively stealing books.
I was not as enthralled as I’d expected to be. I was appalled and I did remain interested, but not quite as fascinated as I’d expected to be, given how much I like books and given how owning/losing books has been such an important influence in my life, and given that this is a true story with a focus on San Francisco. I tend to be especially interested in San Francisco themed books. I did find this man’s family history very intriguing. I also enjoyed the information about rare book collectors and dealers, and some of the history about books in various cultures.
I know this is irrational but at times as I read I felt like a guilty witness.
I was particularly infuriated about the stealing from libraries, including my (SFPL) public library. I do often see the only copy/all the copies listed as “missing” in the online catalog. I’d known some of those books might have been stolen but always assumed they were more likely to have been lost.
I wish the footnotes that contain additional stories and text had been incorporated into the book proper because they were distracting as footnotes and the ones with extra stories could just have easily been included in the main part of the book.
What I enjoyed most was recognizing so many of the San Francisco settings.
One thing I learned is that, despite owning so many books, I am not a book collector, as the term is used here. I don’t aim to acquire valuable or rare books, not even signed first editions. And I have to say I’m grateful I’m a heavy duty user of the library. I don’t want people like Gilkey coming into my place to steal anything.
I’d recommend this book less for bibliophiles and more for readers interested in psychopathology.
3 to 3 ½ stars, which means it was a bit of a disappointment, but I still liked it.
It was not exactly what I’d expected, a book about a man who loves books, and happens to steal them. The man in question is less a book lover and more a narcissist, sociopath and thief, primarily but not exclusively stealing books.
I was not as enthralled as I’d expected to be. I was appalled and I did remain interested, but not quite as fascinated as I’d expected to be, given how much I like books and given how owning/losing books has been such an important influence in my life, and given that this is a true story with a focus on San Francisco. I tend to be especially interested in San Francisco themed books. I did find this man’s family history very intriguing. I also enjoyed the information about rare book collectors and dealers, and some of the history about books in various cultures.
I know this is irrational but at times as I read I felt like a guilty witness.
I was particularly infuriated about the stealing from libraries, including my (SFPL) public library. I do often see the only copy/all the copies listed as “missing” in the online catalog. I’d known some of those books might have been stolen but always assumed they were more likely to have been lost.
I wish the footnotes that contain additional stories and text had been incorporated into the book proper because they were distracting as footnotes and the ones with extra stories could just have easily been included in the main part of the book.
What I enjoyed most was recognizing so many of the San Francisco settings.
One thing I learned is that, despite owning so many books, I am not a book collector, as the term is used here. I don’t aim to acquire valuable or rare books, not even signed first editions. And I have to say I’m grateful I’m a heavy duty user of the library. I don’t want people like Gilkey coming into my place to steal anything.
I’d recommend this book less for bibliophiles and more for readers interested in psychopathology.
3 to 3 ½ stars, which means it was a bit of a disappointment, but I still liked it.
stacygiven's review against another edition
3.0
It is interesting to see the extreme measures John Gilkey would take to satisfy his book obsession. Oddly this book fits in nicely with "Stuff" which I just read (Mr. Gilkey definitely demonstrates some of the characteristics of a hoarder). It was also fun to read about local bookseller, Ken Sanders.