pickImmensely detailed and comprehensive. If you‘re interested in the topic then you will enjoy this book. It can be quite dry and suffers from a disinterest in pacing. It‘s clear that the authors did an enormous amount of research and want to share it all
so-soI can't say there was anything wrong with this book, but it still felt a bit laborious to get through. No stories were bad, it was just never brilliant.
Alma mater mention! Well, for less than a year of grad school I don't think it counts if you don't have a degree from there? Anyway, fun fact: Lund University was founded in an effort for "swedishify" Skåne, an area that had until very recently been Danish since Lund's founding. I had philosophy lectures in Kungshuset, "the kings' house", the oldest building on campus.
(let's pretend I didn't hate Lund)
"Personalized illustrations were a key component of any luxury Book Of Hours; ranging from the ubiquitous coat of arms to full-page portraits of the owner and their family /... /These delicate and sumptuous miniatures ensured that such books were prized possessions, passed down to children or other members within the ruling dynasty."
Decent start. Not pictured: the most absurd pistachio croissant
pickI enjoyed it, so I‘ll give it a pick, but it was definitely Euro-centric (as some other reviewers on here have pointed out as well) and some may find it dry.
What? Citizens were allowed to borrow books from the public library?!! 🤯
So thankful to live in a city with a good public library that actually lets us borrow books.
Perfect location for this book. 😊
@julesg @susanita @oryx @squirrelbrain @raelovestoread @rockpools @leniverse @mitch @jenniferw88 @cgainor @TrishB
This library hold came in on Libby. It seems quite fitting with the windy and gloomy day ahead.
I‘m finally back home to my little library. It was a great summer away from home, but I sure missed my books and reading corner 😁
This is my favorite corner in my little library 🤗
#homelibrary #bookshelves #mylittlelibrary #readingcorner
pickI read this book in April and should have reviewed it then. Yes, this book is a bit dry, especially two of the chapters in the middle, but it‘s also the most comprehensive book on western libraries that I‘ve ever read. If you can get through the pedagogical feel of it, it holds a wealth of information. If you like something a bit more relatable choose Stuart Kells or Matthew Battles books on libraries. This is still a pick for me.
bailedOkay, it‘s just too dry for me 🙁 But here are tidbits I learned from the first 50 pages. The history of people disdaining trashy or fun literature being included in libraries goes all the way back to Rome. Most classical texts have come to us today because of the pious works of monks.
panAn odd book. While it says it‘s a comprehensive history of the library, it spends a lot of time on white male Europeans who were private collectors. Glances over places like China, Tibet, India, and Japan. Some of the information seemed out of date, other information inaccurate, and they contradict themselves in some spots. Felt like a couple academics with dreams but no real world exposure decided to publish a big book to show their friends.
So excited to find these on the new release shelf at my library today. 💚
so-soPettegree and der Weduwen‘s focus is more on the ancient, medieval, and Renaissance history of the library, when it largely existed as personal collections of the wealthy and powerful. I‘ll admit I skimmed some of those chapters, but if those eras of history make your heart sing, you‘re in luck. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/new-releases/
Starting this 400+ page chunkster and am so excited! I‘ve been checking my library app daily to see where I was on the waitlist. Today the text came it was ready for me to pick up 🙌🏻
Link to Goodreads for a summary since it‘s not showing on Litsy: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57356057
The Library: A Fragile History | 
