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Phantoms on the Bookshelves
This enchanting study on the art of living with books considers how our personal libraries reveal our true nature: far more than just places, they are living labyrinths of our innermost feelings.
The author, a lifelong accumulator of books both ancient and modern, lives in a house large enough to accommodate his many thousands of books, as well as overspill from the libraries of his friends. While his musings on the habits of collectors past and present are learned, witty and instructive, his advice on cataloguing may even save the lives of those whose books are so prodigiously piled as to be a hazard...
The Phantoms on the Bookshelves ranges from classical Greece to contemporary Iceland, from Balzac and Moby Dick to Google, offering up delicious anecdotes along the way. This elegantly produced volume will be a lasting delight to specialist collectors, librarians, bibliophiles and all those who treasure books.
106 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2008
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June 18, 2023
Biblioteci pline de fantome este eseul unui bibliofil cunoscut (a scris despre istoria artei), posesor al unei biblioteci de 40 de mii de volume. Cam tot atîtea au strîns Umberto Eco și Alberto Manguel. Jacques Bonnet se află, așadar, într-o companie selectă. În cele 144 de pagini ale cărții, găsim considerații rapide despre morbul bibliomaniei, despre dificultatea de a aranja o bibliotecă, despre obiceiul lecturii și tabieturile cititorilor, din toate cîte puțin. Am ales cîteva informații anecdotice.
1. Cu siguranță, împăratul Iulian Apostatul (331 - 363) nu a fost cel dintîi bibliofil, dar el a definit cel mai bine termenul: „Unora le plac caii, altora fiarele sălbatice; în ceea ce mă privește, încă din copilărie, am fost stăpînit de o dorință mistuitoare de a cumpăra și a avea cărți”.
2. „Victima tutelară” a bibliofililor se numește Charles-Valentin Alkan. Era compozitor și pianist de renume. În dimineața zilei de 29 martie 1888, a fost găsit de valet, în apartamentul din Paris, strivit de un morman de cărți. Se prăbușise peste el biblioteca.
3. Nu toată lumea poftește să aibă mii de volume. Unii se mulțumesc cu mult mai puțin. De pildă, Gilbert Lely (1904 - 1985), poet și specialist în literatura marchizului de Sade, păstra în cabinetul de lucru doar 100 (o sută) de cărți. Cînd cumpăra una nouă, arunca / dăruia / vindea una veche. Respecta astfel sugestia lui Seneca: „La ce bun nenumărate biblioteci cu grămezi de cărți, cînd stăpînul lor abia ajunge, în toată viața, să le parcurgă [doar] titlurile?”.
4. Romanele sînt pline de biblioteci imaginare. Jacques Bonnet dă trei exemple: biblioteca abației benedictine din Numele trandafirului (Umberto Eco), biblioteca formată doar din autori latini a lui Des Esseintes din À rebours: În răspăr (J.-K. Huysmans), biblioteca sinologului Peter Kien din Die Blendung: Orbirea (Elias Canetti). Și încă una: biblioteca naratorului din romanul La Casa de papel: Casa de hîrtie (Carlos María Domínguez). Iată ce spune protagonistul acestui roman: „20 de mii de volume nu pot fi rînduite dintr-un foc. Trebuie să respecți cu sfințenie o ordine și să ai față de cărți, ca să zic așa, un respect aproape inuman”. Cînd îi dispare fișierul, personajul nostru își pierde mințile.
5. Unii colecționari de cărți, Sir Richard Heber (1774 - 1833), de exemplu, par orbiți de patima achiziției. Heber ajunge proprietarul a 300.000 de volume. Nu-și mai face iluzii că ar putea citi acest morman de cărți. Îl bucură simpla lor posesie.
6. Uneori, deținătorii unor biblioteci imense, precum Alberto Manguel, ajung să se întrebe de ce mai păstrează cărți pe care știu cu precizie că nu le vor citi, reciti niciodată. Toți am încercat această tristețe...
7. Cînd ai multe cărți, trebuie să le clasifici, să le așezi într-o ordine. Cum faci? În Penser/ Classer, Georges Perec a propus niște soluții ingenioase (ordinea alfabetică a autorilor, mărimea, formatul etc.), dar nu a uitat că există și opere imposibil de clasat.
8. Christian Galantaris amintește că regulamentul (din 1863) al unei biblioteci publice din Marea Britanie cerea ca operele autorilor femei să stea pe rafturi diferite față de operele autorilor bărbați. Doar autorii căsătoriți aveau voie să ocupe același raft.
9. Ce înseamnă cuvîntul „fantôme” din titlul cărții lui Jacques Bonnet: Micul Larousse explică: fișă (bucată de carton, semn) pusă în locul unei cărți împrumutate, pentru a semnala absența ei”.
10. În încheiere, voi aminti povestea prințului medieval Mahmud al-Dawla ibn Fatik, posesorul celei mai bogate biblioteci din Cairo:
1. Cu siguranță, împăratul Iulian Apostatul (331 - 363) nu a fost cel dintîi bibliofil, dar el a definit cel mai bine termenul: „Unora le plac caii, altora fiarele sălbatice; în ceea ce mă privește, încă din copilărie, am fost stăpînit de o dorință mistuitoare de a cumpăra și a avea cărți”.
2. „Victima tutelară” a bibliofililor se numește Charles-Valentin Alkan. Era compozitor și pianist de renume. În dimineața zilei de 29 martie 1888, a fost găsit de valet, în apartamentul din Paris, strivit de un morman de cărți. Se prăbușise peste el biblioteca.
3. Nu toată lumea poftește să aibă mii de volume. Unii se mulțumesc cu mult mai puțin. De pildă, Gilbert Lely (1904 - 1985), poet și specialist în literatura marchizului de Sade, păstra în cabinetul de lucru doar 100 (o sută) de cărți. Cînd cumpăra una nouă, arunca / dăruia / vindea una veche. Respecta astfel sugestia lui Seneca: „La ce bun nenumărate biblioteci cu grămezi de cărți, cînd stăpînul lor abia ajunge, în toată viața, să le parcurgă [doar] titlurile?”.
4. Romanele sînt pline de biblioteci imaginare. Jacques Bonnet dă trei exemple: biblioteca abației benedictine din Numele trandafirului (Umberto Eco), biblioteca formată doar din autori latini a lui Des Esseintes din À rebours: În răspăr (J.-K. Huysmans), biblioteca sinologului Peter Kien din Die Blendung: Orbirea (Elias Canetti). Și încă una: biblioteca naratorului din romanul La Casa de papel: Casa de hîrtie (Carlos María Domínguez). Iată ce spune protagonistul acestui roman: „20 de mii de volume nu pot fi rînduite dintr-un foc. Trebuie să respecți cu sfințenie o ordine și să ai față de cărți, ca să zic așa, un respect aproape inuman”. Cînd îi dispare fișierul, personajul nostru își pierde mințile.
5. Unii colecționari de cărți, Sir Richard Heber (1774 - 1833), de exemplu, par orbiți de patima achiziției. Heber ajunge proprietarul a 300.000 de volume. Nu-și mai face iluzii că ar putea citi acest morman de cărți. Îl bucură simpla lor posesie.
6. Uneori, deținătorii unor biblioteci imense, precum Alberto Manguel, ajung să se întrebe de ce mai păstrează cărți pe care știu cu precizie că nu le vor citi, reciti niciodată. Toți am încercat această tristețe...
7. Cînd ai multe cărți, trebuie să le clasifici, să le așezi într-o ordine. Cum faci? În Penser/ Classer, Georges Perec a propus niște soluții ingenioase (ordinea alfabetică a autorilor, mărimea, formatul etc.), dar nu a uitat că există și opere imposibil de clasat.
8. Christian Galantaris amintește că regulamentul (din 1863) al unei biblioteci publice din Marea Britanie cerea ca operele autorilor femei să stea pe rafturi diferite față de operele autorilor bărbați. Doar autorii căsătoriți aveau voie să ocupe același raft.
9. Ce înseamnă cuvîntul „fantôme” din titlul cărții lui Jacques Bonnet: Micul Larousse explică: fișă (bucată de carton, semn) pusă în locul unei cărți împrumutate, pentru a semnala absența ei”.
10. În încheiere, voi aminti povestea prințului medieval Mahmud al-Dawla ibn Fatik, posesorul celei mai bogate biblioteci din Cairo:
Prințul iubea atît de mult lectura și scrisul încît nimic nu întrecea această afecțiune. De îndată ce descăleca de pe cal, seara, se dedica pasiunii sale. A ajuns un poet desăvîrșit. Cînd a murit pe neașteptate, soția lui (o prințesă din neam regal) a poruncit sclavilor să adune toate cărțile lui Mahmud în curtea interioară a palatului. Aici a început să murmure cîntecul funebru, aruncînd încet în bazinul cu pești cărțile care au privat-o de iubire.
June 19, 2019
"...it was years before I could afford a living space equal to my book-collecting ambitions." (12)
3.5 out of 5. A niche little memoir lovely for old coots and codgers, eccentric young bookworms, and all manner of hoi polloi whose books exceed their means.
3.5 out of 5. A niche little memoir lovely for old coots and codgers, eccentric young bookworms, and all manner of hoi polloi whose books exceed their means.
April 2, 2017
"Depois do prazer de possuir livros, não há outro que seja mais doce do que falar sobre eles."
Charles Nodier
Estão num quarto que se foi transformando em biblioteca; num outro onde durmo um pouco; na sala onde vivo; e até já invadiram a cozinha e a casa de banho. E muitos em casa alheia...
Em estantes; em mesas; em armários; em prateleiras; em cadeiras...ainda não nos roupeiros, nem nas gavetas.
São cerca de dois milhares e meio que todos os dias clamam por mais e mais...
Vivem livres, desorganizados; apenas, mais ou menos, separados por "cofre aberto" e "cofre fechado". Sei sempre onde está cada um deles; por vezes, um ou outro, brinca comigo de esconde-esconde, mas nunca me canso até o encontrar. Entre eles e eu existe uma perpétua relação de amor, que nasceu quando eu era menina e aumenta a cada dia.
Este é um livro - escrito por um bibliófilo - que fala desse amor, vicio ou loucura de que padecem alguns abençoados.
Aqui, li uma das mais lindas e comoventes histórias sobre esse amor:
"Há aquela história, lida não sei onde, sobre um condenado no período do Terror revolucionário que ia lendo um livro na carruagem que o conduzia ao cadafalso, e que marcou a página onde estava antes de subir para a guilhotina."
...e porque eu também marcaria a página, não duvido das (cinco) estrelas...
Erik Desmazieres, "Library of Babel"
Charles Nodier
Estão num quarto que se foi transformando em biblioteca; num outro onde durmo um pouco; na sala onde vivo; e até já invadiram a cozinha e a casa de banho. E muitos em casa alheia...
Em estantes; em mesas; em armários; em prateleiras; em cadeiras...ainda não nos roupeiros, nem nas gavetas.
São cerca de dois milhares e meio que todos os dias clamam por mais e mais...
Vivem livres, desorganizados; apenas, mais ou menos, separados por "cofre aberto" e "cofre fechado". Sei sempre onde está cada um deles; por vezes, um ou outro, brinca comigo de esconde-esconde, mas nunca me canso até o encontrar. Entre eles e eu existe uma perpétua relação de amor, que nasceu quando eu era menina e aumenta a cada dia.
Este é um livro - escrito por um bibliófilo - que fala desse amor, vicio ou loucura de que padecem alguns abençoados.
Aqui, li uma das mais lindas e comoventes histórias sobre esse amor:
"Há aquela história, lida não sei onde, sobre um condenado no período do Terror revolucionário que ia lendo um livro na carruagem que o conduzia ao cadafalso, e que marcou a página onde estava antes de subir para a guilhotina."
...e porque eu também marcaria a página, não duvido das (cinco) estrelas...
Erik Desmazieres, "Library of Babel"
October 6, 2015
A habit I have picked up of late is to read books about books and also about people who love books. It is like finding a group of people with whom you can feel utterly at home. The language these authors speak and the ideas they have about books are ones with which I could find similar wavelengths . For want of a better word, I would call this book porn ! Fantasizing about all the books you could read and also basking in the eloquence of authors who could speak the language of the books in the most perfect fashion – I suppose this summarizes the whole idea behind reading such books. And like porn, it is almost always fantasy for you will never finish reading all these books in a lifetime. Jacques Bonnet has a dignified bearing when talking about reading that makes him quite an interesting speaker. You can imagine sitting with him in a library lined with books from floor to ceiling and almost all these books bear the marks of having being read from cover to cover. You share a drink with him and talk late into the night about how books built his world. Reading this book is like having a heart-to-heart dialog with a man to whom reading was as important as sustaining life through the drawing of breath.
Bonnet writes :
I am capable of reading all day, and carrying on late into the night, and to find it restful after a busy day. Reading tires me out as little as it tires fish to swim or birds to fly.
There have been instances where I have mentioned variations of this statement to people (who apparently never loved a book !) and have met with wide eyed looks. But in this site, there would be a lot of people (who conversely love books a great deal !) who can find a sync with such a thought. Bonnet is someone who has grown up on stories and later also found an attraction to books on music and photography too. Naturally, a love for the arts followed and Bonnet was on his way to being an incorrigible reading addict. To him, the formative years of childhood went like :
The tedium of childhood could be fought only by two things : sports and reading. And reading was something like the river flowing through the Garden of Eden, its four watercourses heading off towards the four horizons. Reading scorns distance, and could transport me instantly into the most faraway countries with the strangest customs.
Such men and women are always in the danger of going astray in the eyes of the society. For eventually, one book will lead to another and then to another and they can fill your mind with all sorts of crazy ideas. These kind of people never listen to those who call themselves authorities, are sceptical about a lot of things that are taken for granted and even more dangerously have a perspective all of their own. In short : they are a nuisance ! This could be one reason why books can be called the most dangerous of all weapons. Bonnet is one such person whose mind was sharpened by countless whetstones of books acquired over a lifetime of reading. We get almost all the points covered in other books of this genre : how reading formed a life, a life of being a bibliophile, how books led to interesting people and ideas and why it is an impossible habit to part with.
Unless you are someone fluent in French (I am not), this book will not add to your to-read list. Most of what Bonnet discusses are works in the French language and the ones in English are almost all of them obscure volumes long since out of print. The point of the whole book however is the act of reading and not about books themselves as far as I could gather. Recommended for the love of books !
About being a bibliophile :
The bibliophile is, after all, like a Sultan or a Khan who has countless wives already but another two or three are always irresistible. Reading is a pastime and can be regarded as such, but it can also be supremely important.
Bonnet writes :
I am capable of reading all day, and carrying on late into the night, and to find it restful after a busy day. Reading tires me out as little as it tires fish to swim or birds to fly.
There have been instances where I have mentioned variations of this statement to people (who apparently never loved a book !) and have met with wide eyed looks. But in this site, there would be a lot of people (who conversely love books a great deal !) who can find a sync with such a thought. Bonnet is someone who has grown up on stories and later also found an attraction to books on music and photography too. Naturally, a love for the arts followed and Bonnet was on his way to being an incorrigible reading addict. To him, the formative years of childhood went like :
The tedium of childhood could be fought only by two things : sports and reading. And reading was something like the river flowing through the Garden of Eden, its four watercourses heading off towards the four horizons. Reading scorns distance, and could transport me instantly into the most faraway countries with the strangest customs.
Such men and women are always in the danger of going astray in the eyes of the society. For eventually, one book will lead to another and then to another and they can fill your mind with all sorts of crazy ideas. These kind of people never listen to those who call themselves authorities, are sceptical about a lot of things that are taken for granted and even more dangerously have a perspective all of their own. In short : they are a nuisance ! This could be one reason why books can be called the most dangerous of all weapons. Bonnet is one such person whose mind was sharpened by countless whetstones of books acquired over a lifetime of reading. We get almost all the points covered in other books of this genre : how reading formed a life, a life of being a bibliophile, how books led to interesting people and ideas and why it is an impossible habit to part with.
Unless you are someone fluent in French (I am not), this book will not add to your to-read list. Most of what Bonnet discusses are works in the French language and the ones in English are almost all of them obscure volumes long since out of print. The point of the whole book however is the act of reading and not about books themselves as far as I could gather. Recommended for the love of books !
About being a bibliophile :
The bibliophile is, after all, like a Sultan or a Khan who has countless wives already but another two or three are always irresistible. Reading is a pastime and can be regarded as such, but it can also be supremely important.
September 2, 2016
Antes de mais quero agradecer à minha mãe e a uma bibliotecária da biblioteca municipal de Torres Vedras por me terem dado coragem para trazer este livro (Ando a ler o Eldest e outro livro ao mesmo tempo, então tentei resistir ao encanto de trazer este).
Eu deparei-me com este livro "por mero acaso", o seu título chamou-me desde logo à atenção, como quem não quer a coisa aproximei-me e fui vê-lo.
A minha mãe leu a sinopse e disse que era a minha cara.
É mesmo a minha cara e a de qualquer apaixonado por livros.
"Um livro de amor aos livros".
"Como é que arrumamos os livros?" "Já leste todos os livros que tens na estante?" "Porque é que tens duas cópias do mesmo livro?!" "Porque é que já releste tantas vezes esse livro?"
Conheço a minha biblioteca como a palma da minha mão. Aos olhos dos outros a arrumação é impossível de ser desmistificada. Os livros sublinhados perderam o valor para vocês mas para mim ganharam um valor enorme, neles estão os meus pensamentos, as minhas piadas e conversas com as personagens. Os meus livros vivem em estantes sem vidros, muitas vezes cobertos de pó. Alguns deles têm esterias nas lombadas, marcas de uma vida feliz outros como novos mas que são amados mesmo assim.
Este livro é um lago de sabedoria.
Eu deparei-me com este livro "por mero acaso", o seu título chamou-me desde logo à atenção, como quem não quer a coisa aproximei-me e fui vê-lo.
A minha mãe leu a sinopse e disse que era a minha cara.
É mesmo a minha cara e a de qualquer apaixonado por livros.
"Um livro de amor aos livros".
"Como é que arrumamos os livros?" "Já leste todos os livros que tens na estante?" "Porque é que tens duas cópias do mesmo livro?!" "Porque é que já releste tantas vezes esse livro?"
Conheço a minha biblioteca como a palma da minha mão. Aos olhos dos outros a arrumação é impossível de ser desmistificada. Os livros sublinhados perderam o valor para vocês mas para mim ganharam um valor enorme, neles estão os meus pensamentos, as minhas piadas e conversas com as personagens. Os meus livros vivem em estantes sem vidros, muitas vezes cobertos de pó. Alguns deles têm esterias nas lombadas, marcas de uma vida feliz outros como novos mas que são amados mesmo assim.
Este livro é um lago de sabedoria.
July 14, 2017
3,5
Este é um daqueles "livros sobre livros" e isso, para mim, é meio caminho andado para gostar. Não achei todos os capítulos igualmente interessantes, há muitas referências a escritores franceses que não conheço, mas ainda assim, foi uma leitura bastante agradável. Obrigada, S.!
Este é um daqueles "livros sobre livros" e isso, para mim, é meio caminho andado para gostar. Não achei todos os capítulos igualmente interessantes, há muitas referências a escritores franceses que não conheço, mas ainda assim, foi uma leitura bastante agradável. Obrigada, S.!
February 11, 2014
What a lovely little meditation on the beauty of living in a world full of books. Not only that but the author has three of my all time authors within these pages. Boris Vian, Osamu Dazai and Albert Cossery. So one is surrounded by great taste!
He also comments on the peculiar nature of collecting books as well as the human nature needing these objects to surround us. Without a doubt my library is very much my self portrait. And this book is now part of my collection!
He also comments on the peculiar nature of collecting books as well as the human nature needing these objects to surround us. Without a doubt my library is very much my self portrait. And this book is now part of my collection!
April 10, 2015
Um livro que começa bem com o relato da candidatura de Fernando Pessoa em 1932 ao lugar de conservador-bibliotecário no Museu Condes de Castro Guimarães em Cascais e que se prolonga numa toada deliciosa.
Muitas vezes dei por mim a rever-me nas considerações de Jacques Bonnet sobre os livros, os leitores, os escritores, os hábitos de leitura ou a forma de organização das bibliotecas pessoais. E sobretudo, assentindo sempre ao quadro apresentado dos “viciados” em livros, dos que PRECISAM de viver rodeados de livros para se sentirem, de facto, vivos.
“A nós, o que nos espanta, quando entramos na casa de alguém, é a ausência de livros, ou o aspecto ético da biblioteca de um confrade, ou então ver os volumes perfeitamente arrumados, às vezes protegidos por vidraças, e que sabemos estarem ali apenas para impressionar.” (P.19)
Os meus livros respiram em estantes sem vidros e cheiram a pó… E os vossos?
Muitas vezes dei por mim a rever-me nas considerações de Jacques Bonnet sobre os livros, os leitores, os escritores, os hábitos de leitura ou a forma de organização das bibliotecas pessoais. E sobretudo, assentindo sempre ao quadro apresentado dos “viciados” em livros, dos que PRECISAM de viver rodeados de livros para se sentirem, de facto, vivos.
“A nós, o que nos espanta, quando entramos na casa de alguém, é a ausência de livros, ou o aspecto ético da biblioteca de um confrade, ou então ver os volumes perfeitamente arrumados, às vezes protegidos por vidraças, e que sabemos estarem ali apenas para impressionar.” (P.19)
Os meus livros respiram em estantes sem vidros e cheiram a pó… E os vossos?
December 20, 2016
2,5 estrelas, arredondadas para cima porque é um livro sobre... livros.
No princípio até estava a gostar, mas depois comecei a aborrecer-me com tantas referências, maioritariamente relativas a escritores franceses e completas com o nome do(a) tradutor(a) francês, editora (francesa) e ano de publicação.
Embora haja algumas notas úteis do tradutor, faltam outras tantas, pelo menos para quem não saiba francês.
Para o fim pareceram-me até despropositadas algumas "anedotas" relativas a bibliotecas ou aos seus proprietários e/ou cuidadores, umas a seguir às outras, por vezes sem aparente relação.
Podia dizer que recomendava só a obcecados por livros, mas eu sou dessas...
No princípio até estava a gostar, mas depois comecei a aborrecer-me com tantas referências, maioritariamente relativas a escritores franceses e completas com o nome do(a) tradutor(a) francês, editora (francesa) e ano de publicação.
Embora haja algumas notas úteis do tradutor, faltam outras tantas, pelo menos para quem não saiba francês.
Para o fim pareceram-me até despropositadas algumas "anedotas" relativas a bibliotecas ou aos seus proprietários e/ou cuidadores, umas a seguir às outras, por vezes sem aparente relação.
Podia dizer que recomendava só a obcecados por livros, mas eu sou dessas...
Read
September 25, 2016So so. Its main benefit is giving me reinforcement to smile benignly at those who question my sanity when they see the bookshelves (more arriving next week; the benefit and 'cost ' of volunteering at the friends of the library where books are almost free). Bonnet has 40,000, so I'm a lightweight.
February 13, 2016
Most books on the "gentle madness" of out of control book collecting seem to focus on people not like you or me, that is, on multi-millionaires who seek the largest book collections or to corral every last Shakespeare folio, on book thieves who manage to steal thousands of titles under librarian and archivist noses, people who collect to collect. This slender but enjoyable book was written by one who managed to collect 40,000 titles over 4 decades (to tell the truth, I was forced to cut back when I began to approach 3k), but the author's collection is a working one. Bonnet used every title or intended to or thought he might one day. It is a book, not about the pretty books on the shelves or the valued ones locked away in underground vaults, but the books you want to pull off your shelves and actually read (even mark!), or at least page through for the simple enjoyment of recalling a favorite passage. It's a book about valuing books for their texts and images, more than valuing them for their money value. Too many books out there about decorating your home with books, and not enough about expanding your life with books like this one.
May 27, 2013
If you love books, physical books, then this slender volume, from someone who shares your passion, will fly right into your heart. I felt a sense of recognition from his opening quote: "Some people are fond of horses, others of wild animals; in my case, I have been possessed since childhood by a prodigious desire to buy and own books." --Julian the Apostate. The author has a personal library of 40,000 volumes, so you might say he is a bibliophile extraordinaire. He discusses the problems that come with such a large collection, such as how to organize and house them. He notes that it becomes difficult to think of moving to a different house, since it would entail moving so many books. The author is French, so this book is a translation, and I suspect it may have lost a fraction of its impact in the translation. For one thing, most of the books he mentions having in his collection are French titles that are unfamiliar to me. Still, there are enough points of common cause to keep someone with this "affliction" reading. For example, he notes that often new guests at his home ask, "Have you read them all?" How often I have had that same question posed to me! Of course not! Part of the joy in being surrounded by books is their potential. Or, as the author puts it: "...It's complicated. There are some books I have read and then forgotten (quite a lot of those) and some which I have only flicked through but which I remember. So I may not have read them all, but I have turned their pages, sniffed them, handled them physically. After that, the book might take one of three possible directions (I'm speaking now of books I have chosen or acquired, that is in some way selected, rather than books received). They may be read immediately, or pretty soon; they may be put off for reading later -- and that could mean weeks, months and even years, if circumstances are particularly unfavorable, or the number of incoming books is too great -- in what I call my 'to read' pile. Or they may go straight on to the shelf. Even those books have been 'read' in a sense: they are classified somewhere in my mind, as they are in my library. They will serve their turn one day, I don't know when or what for just now, but they're not sitting there by chance...." (pgs. 48-49)
The title is apparently a bit of a play on words, as the heading to chapter 9 (pg.110) indicates:
fantome :[phantom] A sheet or card inserted to mark the place of a book removed from a library shelf, or a document which has been borrowed. (Petit Larousse)
The author includes many anecdotes about other book collectors in other times and places. He says two personality quirks lead to accumulating many books: either you are an avid collector and/or a manic reader. From page 26, here is one example of a collector:
"...Galantaris quotes the case of Sir Richard Heber (1774-1833) who owned 300,000 books divided between five different libraries in England and on the continent, each of which has spread itself over five different lodgings: 'The books were omnipresent, forming veritable forests, with paths, avenues, groves and tracks, in which one kept bumping into piles and columns of books spilling out from shelves and heaped up on tables, chairs and the floor.'
I have a feeling a modern person would have one of two responses to this story. Either he would be aghast and ready to call in the "Hoarders" TV show crew, or he would be intrigued and envious, wishing to walk through those paths to see what was there. If you are of the former mind, this is certainly not the book for you; if you have the latter impulse, you will be reading this book with a smile of recognition on your face.
The title is apparently a bit of a play on words, as the heading to chapter 9 (pg.110) indicates:
fantome :[phantom] A sheet or card inserted to mark the place of a book removed from a library shelf, or a document which has been borrowed. (Petit Larousse)
The author includes many anecdotes about other book collectors in other times and places. He says two personality quirks lead to accumulating many books: either you are an avid collector and/or a manic reader. From page 26, here is one example of a collector:
"...Galantaris quotes the case of Sir Richard Heber (1774-1833) who owned 300,000 books divided between five different libraries in England and on the continent, each of which has spread itself over five different lodgings: 'The books were omnipresent, forming veritable forests, with paths, avenues, groves and tracks, in which one kept bumping into piles and columns of books spilling out from shelves and heaped up on tables, chairs and the floor.'
I have a feeling a modern person would have one of two responses to this story. Either he would be aghast and ready to call in the "Hoarders" TV show crew, or he would be intrigued and envious, wishing to walk through those paths to see what was there. If you are of the former mind, this is certainly not the book for you; if you have the latter impulse, you will be reading this book with a smile of recognition on your face.
June 20, 2011
I received this book from and reviewed it for New Book Magazine.
This is a book about books, written by a man in the middle of a life-long love affair with books, who has accumulated approximately 40.000 copies in his house.
This is a book about having such a personal library, acquiring the books and the need to keep them, the intricacies involved in organising the shelves and the frustrations associated with not being able to find a certain copy of a certain title. This is a book for those who love books. For people, like me, who can’t walk past a bookshop without going in and leaving, a good while later, with at least a few new acquisitions.
I found so many statements and quotes that spoke to me, sentiments I recognized and feelings I shared that my copy is now littered with little notes so that I may find and experience them again.
However, I feel I should also mention that I was unfamiliar with most of the books and authors mentioned by Bonnet, and although this didn't in any way interfere with my enjoyment it may well alienate other readers to some extend.
For me this book is a little treasure that I will proudly add to my personal library (in the non-fiction section, alphabetically under author’s name to be precise).
This is a book about books, written by a man in the middle of a life-long love affair with books, who has accumulated approximately 40.000 copies in his house.
This is a book about having such a personal library, acquiring the books and the need to keep them, the intricacies involved in organising the shelves and the frustrations associated with not being able to find a certain copy of a certain title. This is a book for those who love books. For people, like me, who can’t walk past a bookshop without going in and leaving, a good while later, with at least a few new acquisitions.
I found so many statements and quotes that spoke to me, sentiments I recognized and feelings I shared that my copy is now littered with little notes so that I may find and experience them again.
However, I feel I should also mention that I was unfamiliar with most of the books and authors mentioned by Bonnet, and although this didn't in any way interfere with my enjoyment it may well alienate other readers to some extend.
For me this book is a little treasure that I will proudly add to my personal library (in the non-fiction section, alphabetically under author’s name to be precise).
October 9, 2012
the author of this book has a library containing 40,000 volumes!! there's lots in here about other collectors - one guy's apartment became so filled with books that he moved out to an apartment opposite and kept his booklined one as an office. Another story is a Brazilian guy who spent 17 years looking for a particular book and finally flew to france to pick up a copy, and then left it on the plane!! (it's ok, he mananged to get it back).
This was orignally written in french, and most of the books mentioned are french titles... there's a list of all books mentioned in the back which is pretty handy, but I fancy that me and jacques are reading quite different books... there's no 'Eat Pray Love' in here.
(oh, there was a bit I didn't like - he does talk about how people won't have libraries or read as much because of the internet and TV, which I don't hold any truck with).
This was orignally written in french, and most of the books mentioned are french titles... there's a list of all books mentioned in the back which is pretty handy, but I fancy that me and jacques are reading quite different books... there's no 'Eat Pray Love' in here.
(oh, there was a bit I didn't like - he does talk about how people won't have libraries or read as much because of the internet and TV, which I don't hold any truck with).
May 8, 2013
A celebration of books by a man who has a collection of 40,000 books. Mr. Bonnet writes about his books, other collectors, methods of organizing books, his very interesting theory of how fictional characters are more real than authors, why he can't bring himself to get rid of a book: "It is true that the Essai de grammaire sloven (Essay on Slovenian grammar) by Claude Vicenot is unlikely ever to be of the slightest use to me. But this is a souvenir from several visits to Ljubljana, and I would feel that I was blotting out my past if I got rid of it.", and whatever other topics concerning books come into his mind. If it weren't so cogently written, it would seem like a drunken rant written by someone in love with books.
At one point, Mr. Bonnet does sober up enough to remark: "At the age of eighteen, one does not take a conscious decision to be burdened... (my italics) with 40,000 books one day in the future."
Jacques Bonnet is entertaining, but I found it hard to identify with him. I'm more like two other men he mentions: "Gilbert Lely (who) apparently always kept one hundred books on his shelves, and whenever he bought one book he jettisoned another." That's actually a bit extreme for me, but I could see myself as one of George Perec's friends "who decided, for some reason as surreal as it is incomprehensible, on the ideal number as 361". That seems like a reasonable number - even though right now, I have many more than that. As the years have gone by and my reading world has become larger, I feel less of a need to "own" it.
I can't complete this without mentioning my favorite passage in Phantoms on the Bookshelves:
"(I still have a photo, taken with Nicole Zand, in Lipiza in 1987 or 1988, by Eugen Bavcar, a Slovenian photographer - who is blind.)"
I enjoyed this book, but it's not one that will remain on my shelves - 361 books or otherwise.
At one point, Mr. Bonnet does sober up enough to remark: "At the age of eighteen, one does not take a conscious decision to be burdened... (my italics) with 40,000 books one day in the future."
Jacques Bonnet is entertaining, but I found it hard to identify with him. I'm more like two other men he mentions: "Gilbert Lely (who) apparently always kept one hundred books on his shelves, and whenever he bought one book he jettisoned another." That's actually a bit extreme for me, but I could see myself as one of George Perec's friends "who decided, for some reason as surreal as it is incomprehensible, on the ideal number as 361". That seems like a reasonable number - even though right now, I have many more than that. As the years have gone by and my reading world has become larger, I feel less of a need to "own" it.
I can't complete this without mentioning my favorite passage in Phantoms on the Bookshelves:
"(I still have a photo, taken with Nicole Zand, in Lipiza in 1987 or 1988, by Eugen Bavcar, a Slovenian photographer - who is blind.)"
I enjoyed this book, but it's not one that will remain on my shelves - 361 books or otherwise.
August 6, 2011
A beautiful homage to books and bibliomania. It's main theme is based on Borges "Paradise is library." The book is crammed with elegant aphorisms and remarkable anecdotes, like the description of a lithograph by Daumier called "the book-lover in heaven", which perfectly illustrates the fascination rarity holds for the bibliophile. It shows a man thumbing through a little book and explaining to another book-lover, "I can't tell you how happy I am ... I've just found the 1780 Amsterdam edition of Horace for fifty ecus -- it's very valuable because every page is covered with misprints!"
November 24, 2018
There is no joy akin to two bibliophiles finding each other. First, you see the sudden sharp look in the eye upon the suspicion that they may have found another of their own. Then the coded test, as one – affecting nonchalance – drops the name Pérez-Reverte. A lightning bolt links the eyes of both. Everyone else is cut out of the conversation. The two fairly resurrect in their own world that would-if-it-could-but-it-can’t have room for you.
Jacques Bonnet’s Phantoms On The Bookshelves, is a love letter to bibliophiles everywhere and anyone who needs their own library, even if that library has but a single, treasured book. Bonnet divides “bibliomaniacs” into two basic categories: collectors and manic readers. Sometimes they overlap.
For the bibliomaniac, “the book is the precious material expression of a past emotion, or the chance of having one in years to come, and to get rid of it would bring the risk of a serious sense of loss. Whereas a collector frets obsessively about the books he does not yet possess, the fanatical reader worries about no longer owning those books – traces of his past or hopes for the future – which he has read once and may read again someday.”
Books grant an internal freedom. They enable one’s mind to travel, learn, and experience limitlessly. How can one be away from the very object that contains this magic? (Hello, my name is Marilyn and I am a bibliomaniac – Hi, Marilyn!)
Bonnet has a chapter devoted solely to the question that few bibliomaniacs ever feel totally satisfied with – Organizing The Bookshelves. By alphabet? By Color? By Genre? And there are some proximities that simply cannot be! What if your Vargas Llosa found itself next to your Garcia Marquez after the former blackened the eye of the latter for the way he found his good friend ‘consoling’ his wife after a marital spat? You could very well have a book brawl on your hands.
Bonnet understands the feeling of leafing through a book from your younger days and wondering, What the hell was I thinking? He never would have imagined that upon a re-reading of Anna Karenina, he would feel more touched by the plight of Anna’s cuckolded husband than by the passion of her feeling for Vronsky. The angels sang when someone else articulated what I felt when revisiting Tom Robbins’ Another Roadside Attraction that was my go-to book in college. And I was appalled at what my snarky younger self had said about Virginia Wolfe that got me thrown out of Perry Meisel’s class in NYU (although in all fairness, Perry Meisel had snark running through his veins and I secretly think he didn’t like when one of us spoiled brats gave it back to him).
Phantoms is quite simply, a gem of a book. And it is sure to give any true bibliophile the warm fuzzies by finding a kindred soul in Jacques Bonnet. A word on Pérez-Reverte, the secret code of bibliomaniacs. Read Dumas’ The Three Musketeers first. Or if you want to cheat, check out Johnny Depp in The Ninth Gate.
For more from The Literary Chick, check out www.theliterarychick.com
Jacques Bonnet’s Phantoms On The Bookshelves, is a love letter to bibliophiles everywhere and anyone who needs their own library, even if that library has but a single, treasured book. Bonnet divides “bibliomaniacs” into two basic categories: collectors and manic readers. Sometimes they overlap.
For the bibliomaniac, “the book is the precious material expression of a past emotion, or the chance of having one in years to come, and to get rid of it would bring the risk of a serious sense of loss. Whereas a collector frets obsessively about the books he does not yet possess, the fanatical reader worries about no longer owning those books – traces of his past or hopes for the future – which he has read once and may read again someday.”
Books grant an internal freedom. They enable one’s mind to travel, learn, and experience limitlessly. How can one be away from the very object that contains this magic? (Hello, my name is Marilyn and I am a bibliomaniac – Hi, Marilyn!)
Bonnet has a chapter devoted solely to the question that few bibliomaniacs ever feel totally satisfied with – Organizing The Bookshelves. By alphabet? By Color? By Genre? And there are some proximities that simply cannot be! What if your Vargas Llosa found itself next to your Garcia Marquez after the former blackened the eye of the latter for the way he found his good friend ‘consoling’ his wife after a marital spat? You could very well have a book brawl on your hands.
Bonnet understands the feeling of leafing through a book from your younger days and wondering, What the hell was I thinking? He never would have imagined that upon a re-reading of Anna Karenina, he would feel more touched by the plight of Anna’s cuckolded husband than by the passion of her feeling for Vronsky. The angels sang when someone else articulated what I felt when revisiting Tom Robbins’ Another Roadside Attraction that was my go-to book in college. And I was appalled at what my snarky younger self had said about Virginia Wolfe that got me thrown out of Perry Meisel’s class in NYU (although in all fairness, Perry Meisel had snark running through his veins and I secretly think he didn’t like when one of us spoiled brats gave it back to him).
Phantoms is quite simply, a gem of a book. And it is sure to give any true bibliophile the warm fuzzies by finding a kindred soul in Jacques Bonnet. A word on Pérez-Reverte, the secret code of bibliomaniacs. Read Dumas’ The Three Musketeers first. Or if you want to cheat, check out Johnny Depp in The Ninth Gate.
For more from The Literary Chick, check out www.theliterarychick.com
June 6, 2017
Ο Μποννέ γράφει: "[...] η βιβλιοθήκη αμβλύνει το πεπερασμένο των ανθρώπινων δυνατοτήτων: αντιπροσωπεύει τη συμπύκνωση του χρόνου και του χώρου."
Γράφει για τεράστιες βιβλιοθήκες με ξεχωριστές προσωπικότητες, για βιβλιοφάγους συγγραφείς, βιβλιομανείς ήρωες βιβλίων, βιβλιοθηκάριους υπαρκτούς και fiction. Κάθε σελίδα σου ξυπνά την επιθυμία να διαβάσεις κι άλλο ή να διαβάσεις κι άλλα από τα βιβλία στα οποία αναφέρεται ο συγγραφέας ή να μείνεις εκστατικός μπροστά στη δική σου βιβλιοθήκη αναθεωρώντας για το σύστημα ταξινόμησης που έχεις επιλέξει...
Γράφει για τεράστιες βιβλιοθήκες με ξεχωριστές προσωπικότητες, για βιβλιοφάγους συγγραφείς, βιβλιομανείς ήρωες βιβλίων, βιβλιοθηκάριους υπαρκτούς και fiction. Κάθε σελίδα σου ξυπνά την επιθυμία να διαβάσεις κι άλλο ή να διαβάσεις κι άλλα από τα βιβλία στα οποία αναφέρεται ο συγγραφέας ή να μείνεις εκστατικός μπροστά στη δική σου βιβλιοθήκη αναθεωρώντας για το σύστημα ταξινόμησης που έχεις επιλέξει...
March 10, 2015
How does one live with tens of thousands of books?
I will almost certainly never have the means to ask myself that question, yet I found Monsieur Bonnet's little book a charming, funny, moving, and effervescent meditation on that question, and I found myself nodding in agreement with point after point. How does one organize one's books? Even though I have only several hundred, not twenty thousand, I debate and think over that question regularly. What does one collect? Am I a "collector"? I find myself wanting all the books written by minor authors from this particular school or region, or books written by obscure writers connected to my favorite ones---and Bonnet speaks extensively about these chains of reference and strange logic that lovers of reading go through.
But this is not a book about reading, but rather a book about living with books. It is a book about the act of curating knowledge, experience, aspirations, dreams, memories, pleasures, and about the ways in which the things we own help to define, to curate, ourselves. Yes, this is a book about how things we purchase make us who we are, or at least help to explicate who we are. But strangely, these things---books---do not lead to solipsism, or to self-absorption. This is because books are fundamentally about others, about things outside of ourselves, and our attempts to configure our relationship to those things outside of ourselves. Bonnet does a superb job of considering those facts. The ways in which books=self(or selves!) is especially pronounced when he considers the ways in which fictional characters seem more real than the authors who made them.
This is not nostalgia; Bonnet admits, without any real sense of regret, the rise of the internet, and the differences it makes in the way we relate to things outside of ourselves, and the ways in which we find and retrieve information. Bonnet is not making judgments about the digital vs. the physical here, and this is to his credit. In turn, what he does produce is something quite magical and necessary: perhaps in 500 years, if there are those who want to make sense of how a certain class of people lived at the turn of the 20/21st centuries, and how they approached life, this little volume is a strong contender for helping to contextualize and describe that way of life. Bibliomaniacs like Bonnet are a sort of postmodern monk, and seeing his rule of life on display is entertaining and enlightening. And for those like me, I find myself not cloistered, but nevertheless a part of the order; the hermits of bibliomania may be of smaller means and libraries than the cloistered brothers, but we are nevertheless of similar minds. Bonnet's little volume is a rule of life for us.
I will almost certainly never have the means to ask myself that question, yet I found Monsieur Bonnet's little book a charming, funny, moving, and effervescent meditation on that question, and I found myself nodding in agreement with point after point. How does one organize one's books? Even though I have only several hundred, not twenty thousand, I debate and think over that question regularly. What does one collect? Am I a "collector"? I find myself wanting all the books written by minor authors from this particular school or region, or books written by obscure writers connected to my favorite ones---and Bonnet speaks extensively about these chains of reference and strange logic that lovers of reading go through.
But this is not a book about reading, but rather a book about living with books. It is a book about the act of curating knowledge, experience, aspirations, dreams, memories, pleasures, and about the ways in which the things we own help to define, to curate, ourselves. Yes, this is a book about how things we purchase make us who we are, or at least help to explicate who we are. But strangely, these things---books---do not lead to solipsism, or to self-absorption. This is because books are fundamentally about others, about things outside of ourselves, and our attempts to configure our relationship to those things outside of ourselves. Bonnet does a superb job of considering those facts. The ways in which books=self(or selves!) is especially pronounced when he considers the ways in which fictional characters seem more real than the authors who made them.
This is not nostalgia; Bonnet admits, without any real sense of regret, the rise of the internet, and the differences it makes in the way we relate to things outside of ourselves, and the ways in which we find and retrieve information. Bonnet is not making judgments about the digital vs. the physical here, and this is to his credit. In turn, what he does produce is something quite magical and necessary: perhaps in 500 years, if there are those who want to make sense of how a certain class of people lived at the turn of the 20/21st centuries, and how they approached life, this little volume is a strong contender for helping to contextualize and describe that way of life. Bibliomaniacs like Bonnet are a sort of postmodern monk, and seeing his rule of life on display is entertaining and enlightening. And for those like me, I find myself not cloistered, but nevertheless a part of the order; the hermits of bibliomania may be of smaller means and libraries than the cloistered brothers, but we are nevertheless of similar minds. Bonnet's little volume is a rule of life for us.
July 13, 2018
I originally picked this up because it is a book about books, written by a man who owns 40,000 books in his private collection, and that really intrigued me.
After reading, I think this book would be good for a specific audience, and I'm sure that doesn't include me. For example, if you own thousands or tens of thousands of books, you will probably like this book and really connect with the author. If you are familiar with authors and literature from all times and from all countries, especially France, you will probably like this book (and understand all the references). If you are highly obsessive about the collection and organization of your books, you will probably like this book.
Honestly, this book was just way too much for me. I love books, but his obsession with them and how he explains anything related to books was just making my eyes roll.
Even though this book was only 123 pages, I found it very hard to get through. This book is basically made of tangents. There were pages and pages of Bonnet describing specific books in his book collection and how they're organized and where he collected them from and how that led him to discover other books. He included passages and quotations from dozens of books and talked about characters as if they're real and authors as if they're imaginary. I'm normally very interested in reading about any topics regarding books, but Bonnet's biography of his library is just too pedantic for my taste.
One nice thing about this book, though, is that there are a handful of very quotable and relatable phrases. Also, there are many recommendations for other books about books, which I found pleasing, although I most likely won't read any of them.
Overall, I would skip this book unless you fit into one of the categories I listed above and also really feel inclined to read it. It was a somewhat interesting read but very slow and one I could have done without.
Check out this review on my blog: Storeys of Stories
After reading, I think this book would be good for a specific audience, and I'm sure that doesn't include me. For example, if you own thousands or tens of thousands of books, you will probably like this book and really connect with the author. If you are familiar with authors and literature from all times and from all countries, especially France, you will probably like this book (and understand all the references). If you are highly obsessive about the collection and organization of your books, you will probably like this book.
Honestly, this book was just way too much for me. I love books, but his obsession with them and how he explains anything related to books was just making my eyes roll.
Even though this book was only 123 pages, I found it very hard to get through. This book is basically made of tangents. There were pages and pages of Bonnet describing specific books in his book collection and how they're organized and where he collected them from and how that led him to discover other books. He included passages and quotations from dozens of books and talked about characters as if they're real and authors as if they're imaginary. I'm normally very interested in reading about any topics regarding books, but Bonnet's biography of his library is just too pedantic for my taste.
One nice thing about this book, though, is that there are a handful of very quotable and relatable phrases. Also, there are many recommendations for other books about books, which I found pleasing, although I most likely won't read any of them.
Overall, I would skip this book unless you fit into one of the categories I listed above and also really feel inclined to read it. It was a somewhat interesting read but very slow and one I could have done without.
Check out this review on my blog: Storeys of Stories
February 10, 2017
I am so buying myself my own copy of this book. As a self confessed bibliophile and avid reader, I recognise my own joys, choices and dilemmas in every page from the constant issue of where to store one's books (went with the buy a house solution) to how to categorise and shelve them and the ever present questions from all those who just don't understand the power the printed page holds over us. Bonnet even manages to capture the thought and reasoning behind the need to keep hold of books, regardless of whether they will be read again or not, something I have been trying to put into words for years. The only problem with this is that Bonnet's library is far bigger than mine and my jealousy is encouraging me to go out and remedy the situation. But I can't blame the book for that.
June 14, 2011
In Phantoms on the Bookshelves, Jacques Bonnet has set out to chronicle a lifetime of book collecting.
As a confirmed bibliophile myself, I was eager to read of another’s journey through the world of books.
Jacques certainly has some tales to tell of the many ways he has come across books, and the best ways in which to catalogue an enormous personal library, and I did find myself chuckling along at moments, recognising my own personal struggles with how best to organise my overflowing bookshelves.
However, other than the odd charming anecdote, and amusing little quotes about the perils of book collecting, I didn’t find much else to engage me, through no fault of the author, and merely due to the fact that, as a French book translated into English, there wasn’t enough common ground to hold my interest.
The French titles (although accompanied by the translation) went over my head, and I’d never heard of the majority of the books mentioned (most of them far too high brow for my mostly popular fiction reading brain) which left me feeling rather lost for the majority of the book.
For a high brow French literature fan, there’s a lot to love here, I did really want to love it, and it is a charming little tale, but it just went too far over my head.
As a confirmed bibliophile myself, I was eager to read of another’s journey through the world of books.
Jacques certainly has some tales to tell of the many ways he has come across books, and the best ways in which to catalogue an enormous personal library, and I did find myself chuckling along at moments, recognising my own personal struggles with how best to organise my overflowing bookshelves.
However, other than the odd charming anecdote, and amusing little quotes about the perils of book collecting, I didn’t find much else to engage me, through no fault of the author, and merely due to the fact that, as a French book translated into English, there wasn’t enough common ground to hold my interest.
The French titles (although accompanied by the translation) went over my head, and I’d never heard of the majority of the books mentioned (most of them far too high brow for my mostly popular fiction reading brain) which left me feeling rather lost for the majority of the book.
For a high brow French literature fan, there’s a lot to love here, I did really want to love it, and it is a charming little tale, but it just went too far over my head.
May 6, 2024
Algunas partes muy interesantes , otras aburrido.
No va de bibliotecas ,"encantadas"
No va de bibliotecas ,"encantadas"
July 2, 2018
I found this a boring read. Not what I expected.
January 9, 2020
Great way to start 2020 ! Nice little book full of interesting thoughts and anecdotes around the themes of bibliophilia, bibliomania, reading in general and private libraries. Would recommend!
December 10, 2014
Leggere e scoprire di essere affetti da bibliomania. Ti dici che in fondo non è grave.
Il fatto è che, prima di arrivare alla scoperta, i libri si sono moltiplicati, e non capisci come sia potuto accadere.
Nell’attesa di trovare una risposta spuntano le domande: collezionista o lettore insaziabile?
Cosa ti ha spinto a scegliere quei libri? Una ragione ci sarà, o dieci cento mille…
Urge però trovargli una collocazione, quindi meglio rimandare la soluzione ai quesiti.
Sì, però… con quale criterio sistemare i volumi? Già perché catalogare una moltitudine di libri non è cosa semplice. Si aprono infinite possibilità, e se non ci credete, lo farete a partire da pagina 42.
A proposito: dove leggete? Quando? In che posizione? Cosa succede quando leggete?
Ho sorriso e persino riso, leggendo questo volumetto che parla di amore/attrazione per i libri. Ci sono spunti per nuove letture, aneddoti e citazioni interessanti.
Una per esempio mi costringerà a fare una ricerca perché, come la metto adesso che si dubita dell'esistenza di Louise Labé? Eh sì, si mormora che i suoi libri siano stati scritti da un gruppo di poeti lionesi, tutti frequentatori della tipografia di Jean de Tourne (M. Huchon, Louise Labé, une créature de papier, Droz, 2006). Ho già preparato cappello e lente per dare inizio all’indagine.
“La mia biblioteca è popolata da centinaia di migliaia di personaggi, alcuni reali e altri fittizi. Quelli reali sono i cosiddetti personaggi immaginari delle opere letterarie, quelli fittizi sono gli scrittori”.
Ho chiuso il libro, ho alzato gli occhi, ho sorriso e salutato tutti i personaggi che abitano la casa.
P.S. Leggo a pagina 115: “Jean Cocteau nel Journal racconta che nel 1950, reduce dall'aver visto I ragazzi terribili di Jean-Pierre Melville dove si sentiva un pezzo di Vivaldi per pianoforte, non riuscì a trovare in tutta Parigi, una sola incisione delle Quattro stagioni.”
Ora, non voglio fare la pignola, ma qui ho avuto un sobbalzo. Passi affermare che sentì un pezzo di Vivaldi suonato al pianoforte, ma non un pezzo di Vivaldi "per" pianoforte... ma questa è un'altra storia. Però però, Vivaldi non ha composto pezzi per tale strumento.
Nulla di grave, solo un leggero fastidio.
E non metto la quinta stella.
Leggetelo! Ne vale la pena! :-)
Il fatto è che, prima di arrivare alla scoperta, i libri si sono moltiplicati, e non capisci come sia potuto accadere.
Nell’attesa di trovare una risposta spuntano le domande: collezionista o lettore insaziabile?
Cosa ti ha spinto a scegliere quei libri? Una ragione ci sarà, o dieci cento mille…
Urge però trovargli una collocazione, quindi meglio rimandare la soluzione ai quesiti.
Sì, però… con quale criterio sistemare i volumi? Già perché catalogare una moltitudine di libri non è cosa semplice. Si aprono infinite possibilità, e se non ci credete, lo farete a partire da pagina 42.
A proposito: dove leggete? Quando? In che posizione? Cosa succede quando leggete?
Ho sorriso e persino riso, leggendo questo volumetto che parla di amore/attrazione per i libri. Ci sono spunti per nuove letture, aneddoti e citazioni interessanti.
Una per esempio mi costringerà a fare una ricerca perché, come la metto adesso che si dubita dell'esistenza di Louise Labé? Eh sì, si mormora che i suoi libri siano stati scritti da un gruppo di poeti lionesi, tutti frequentatori della tipografia di Jean de Tourne (M. Huchon, Louise Labé, une créature de papier, Droz, 2006). Ho già preparato cappello e lente per dare inizio all’indagine.
“La mia biblioteca è popolata da centinaia di migliaia di personaggi, alcuni reali e altri fittizi. Quelli reali sono i cosiddetti personaggi immaginari delle opere letterarie, quelli fittizi sono gli scrittori”.
Ho chiuso il libro, ho alzato gli occhi, ho sorriso e salutato tutti i personaggi che abitano la casa.
P.S. Leggo a pagina 115: “Jean Cocteau nel Journal racconta che nel 1950, reduce dall'aver visto I ragazzi terribili di Jean-Pierre Melville dove si sentiva un pezzo di Vivaldi per pianoforte, non riuscì a trovare in tutta Parigi, una sola incisione delle Quattro stagioni.”
Ora, non voglio fare la pignola, ma qui ho avuto un sobbalzo. Passi affermare che sentì un pezzo di Vivaldi suonato al pianoforte, ma non un pezzo di Vivaldi "per" pianoforte... ma questa è un'altra storia. Però però, Vivaldi non ha composto pezzi per tale strumento.
Nulla di grave, solo un leggero fastidio.
E non metto la quinta stella.
Leggetelo! Ne vale la pena! :-)
March 10, 2015
Breve trattato sulle librerie, o meglio, sui bibliomani che le nutrono, le ordinano, le spostano, le catalogano. Avevo il sospetto di essere affetta da bibliomania ma dopo aver letto questo divertente libricino della Sellerio ne ho proprio la conferma. Non sono arrivata ancora ai 40000 volumi dell'autore (beato lui), ne ho circa 3500 (uno speciale ringraziamento ai miei genitori), ma ho poco più di trent'anni, direi di avere tempo :)
È stato interessante leggere dei vari problemi di catalogazione e ordine dei libri, io li divido tra saggistica e narrativa, poi nella narrativa divido tra letterature varie e gialli/thriller, però dipende anche dal formato, se è un libro rilegato lo sistemo in una delle librerie con vetri perchè è innegabile, dopo qualche anno le pagine ingialliscono. Insomma: solo io so dove sono i libri, il mio compagno ormai ha rinunciato, per leggere mi chiede direttamente un consiglio e se ne fa tirare fuori alcuni che tiene sul comodino, appena finiti me li restituisce per farli tornare nei segreti meandri degli scaffali.
Credevo di essere proprio fissata con le liste e collane di libri varie (due esempi: 1001 libri da leggere prima di morire, curarsi con i libri.) ma leggendo questo libro ho constatato che è una fissa comune, uno dei vari stadi di questa patologia da cui spero di non guarire mai!
Unici due problemi: trovare il tempo di leggerli tutti (è più forte di me, in liberia ne acquisto almeno due) e trovare lo spazio per mettere nuovi scaffali e librerie!
È stato interessante leggere dei vari problemi di catalogazione e ordine dei libri, io li divido tra saggistica e narrativa, poi nella narrativa divido tra letterature varie e gialli/thriller, però dipende anche dal formato, se è un libro rilegato lo sistemo in una delle librerie con vetri perchè è innegabile, dopo qualche anno le pagine ingialliscono. Insomma: solo io so dove sono i libri, il mio compagno ormai ha rinunciato, per leggere mi chiede direttamente un consiglio e se ne fa tirare fuori alcuni che tiene sul comodino, appena finiti me li restituisce per farli tornare nei segreti meandri degli scaffali.
Credevo di essere proprio fissata con le liste e collane di libri varie (due esempi: 1001 libri da leggere prima di morire, curarsi con i libri.) ma leggendo questo libro ho constatato che è una fissa comune, uno dei vari stadi di questa patologia da cui spero di non guarire mai!
Unici due problemi: trovare il tempo di leggerli tutti (è più forte di me, in liberia ne acquisto almeno due) e trovare lo spazio per mettere nuovi scaffali e librerie!
August 9, 2013
About halfway through this short book, I wondered to myself -- what, exactly, am I going to say about this book? What is its thesis, what is it trying to say, does it have a message, or anything?
This is a book about books, and the people who collect them, their collections, and what happens to them in the "real world" as a consequence of their attitude towards books. If you have ever felt that you have too many books, but can never summon the courage (or have the time) to reduce it to a manageable size, this book will likely appeal to you. However, it doesn't really have a thesis; it's just a collection of essays on various thoughts about books, collecting books, and reading.
There is a chapter here on how libraries are organized; the author means personal libraries, not public libraries with cataloging systems, though obviously there are implications here for public libraries. Also there are chapters on reading the books, where the books come from, the relationship between the characters in novels and the authors of these novels (the former are real, the latter (!) are not), and so forth.
The point is to provide comfort for book lovers. If you are a book lover and have wrestled with all the implications of having hundreds or thousands of books, some of which are duplicates and some of which you've never read, the real upshot of this book is that you will feel assurance that you're not alone and that you're not crazy.
This is a book about books, and the people who collect them, their collections, and what happens to them in the "real world" as a consequence of their attitude towards books. If you have ever felt that you have too many books, but can never summon the courage (or have the time) to reduce it to a manageable size, this book will likely appeal to you. However, it doesn't really have a thesis; it's just a collection of essays on various thoughts about books, collecting books, and reading.
There is a chapter here on how libraries are organized; the author means personal libraries, not public libraries with cataloging systems, though obviously there are implications here for public libraries. Also there are chapters on reading the books, where the books come from, the relationship between the characters in novels and the authors of these novels (the former are real, the latter (!) are not), and so forth.
The point is to provide comfort for book lovers. If you are a book lover and have wrestled with all the implications of having hundreds or thousands of books, some of which are duplicates and some of which you've never read, the real upshot of this book is that you will feel assurance that you're not alone and that you're not crazy.
January 25, 2016
Cada vez gosto mais de ler sobre livros. Várias têm sido as leituras deste género ultimamente, e quando me cruzei com referências a este ensaio soube que, mais tarde ou mais cedo teria de o ler. Graças às BLX, acabou por ser bem cedo.
Este livro aborda essencialmente o tema da bibliofilia e de todas as consequências que esta traz. Encontra-se dividido em capítulos que abordam temas como as bibliomanias, a arrumação de livros, práticas de leitura ou a forma como o leitor sabe mais sobre as pessoas que encontra nos livros do que sobre as pessoas que os escrevem.
O autor fala essencialmente da sua experiência pessoal, referindo amiúde episódios curiosos acerca da sua longa relação com os livros e com a leitura. Apesar de a minha biblioteca não ter sequer atingido o milhar de exemplares, identifiquei-me com alguns dos “problemas” que o autor identifica quanto à sua arrumação e senti compreensão pelas manias que quase todos os leitores têm e que as outras pessoas tenderiam a achar muito estranhas.
É também um livro com várias referências literárias, algumas delas a livros ou autores que desconheço de todo. E essa é uma das partes boas deste tipo de livros: faz-nos querer ler mais e melhor, descobrir coisas diferentes e alargar os nossos horizontes. Foi uma leitura que apreciei bastante, essencialmente por me ter identificado com o tema de que aqui se fala. Recomendado.
Este livro aborda essencialmente o tema da bibliofilia e de todas as consequências que esta traz. Encontra-se dividido em capítulos que abordam temas como as bibliomanias, a arrumação de livros, práticas de leitura ou a forma como o leitor sabe mais sobre as pessoas que encontra nos livros do que sobre as pessoas que os escrevem.
O autor fala essencialmente da sua experiência pessoal, referindo amiúde episódios curiosos acerca da sua longa relação com os livros e com a leitura. Apesar de a minha biblioteca não ter sequer atingido o milhar de exemplares, identifiquei-me com alguns dos “problemas” que o autor identifica quanto à sua arrumação e senti compreensão pelas manias que quase todos os leitores têm e que as outras pessoas tenderiam a achar muito estranhas.
É também um livro com várias referências literárias, algumas delas a livros ou autores que desconheço de todo. E essa é uma das partes boas deste tipo de livros: faz-nos querer ler mais e melhor, descobrir coisas diferentes e alargar os nossos horizontes. Foi uma leitura que apreciei bastante, essencialmente por me ter identificado com o tema de que aqui se fala. Recomendado.
November 14, 2015
This small book is lovely - I felt like I had found a kindred spirit.
One of my favorite quotes: "How did these books get into my library? By a combination of chance, systematic curiosity, and impulses generated by conversations or reading."
And this: "My memory works best at being able to find quickly the book the information is in, rather than by loading itself with facts, dates and quotations which are sitting on my bookshelves."
And especially this: "Even when the book really has been read and absorbed well enough to have a specific place in our minds, what we recall is often a memory of the emotion we felt while reading it, rather than anything precise about its contents. (Years later, you give this title as a gift to someone because you remember having loved it long ago, but you are quite unable to discuss it with the recipient because the details have disappeared beyond recall.)"
One of my favorite quotes: "How did these books get into my library? By a combination of chance, systematic curiosity, and impulses generated by conversations or reading."
And this: "My memory works best at being able to find quickly the book the information is in, rather than by loading itself with facts, dates and quotations which are sitting on my bookshelves."
And especially this: "Even when the book really has been read and absorbed well enough to have a specific place in our minds, what we recall is often a memory of the emotion we felt while reading it, rather than anything precise about its contents. (Years later, you give this title as a gift to someone because you remember having loved it long ago, but you are quite unable to discuss it with the recipient because the details have disappeared beyond recall.)"
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