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queerbillydeluxe's review
2.0
Sigh...I love books on books, because let's face it, I am an unrepentant, lifelong book geek. I enjoy learning all the weird tidbits of history, etc. BUT a lot of books on books tend toward the upper crust collecting set and are a little...bougie for my taste. This one sort of fell into that realm. I enjoyed reading it, and it was interesting, but ultimately, not amazing. It was also published in 1999 which made the section on internet book buying particularly amusing.
It has been on my tbr for quite some time along with the Goldstones' first book Used and Rare which I think follows a similar idea, so I'm glad to finally get around to it in any case.
It has been on my tbr for quite some time along with the Goldstones' first book Used and Rare which I think follows a similar idea, so I'm glad to finally get around to it in any case.
ericwelch's review
4.0
The Goldstones, apparently on their way to a trilogy, successfully followed their first book with this one. It’s another delight. Becoming more accomplished as rare book aficionados, they are able to provide even more enlightening and amusing anecdotes of the book trade. They are informative as well about many of the authors whose books are collected. I had never heard of "Bloomsbury" members, being literature-challenged, but it seems the august members of that strange coterie are very collectible, not just because many were good writers, but also because they were prolific and lived lives (there are more than twenty-five 900- page biographies of the members) that would be unbelievable on most soap operas.
The group consisted of Lytton Strachey, Virginia and Leonard Woolf, Clive Bell, Roger Fry, Duncan Grant, and John Maynard Keynes, although there is some dispute about others. The group had a unique ethos "which can be summed up by the sort of incisive comment the group and Lytton Strachey in particular were known for. Upon arriving at Clive and Vanessa Bell's apartment one evening, Lytton noticed a stain on Vanessa's dress, 'Semen?' he inquired." Another interesting story of the Bloomsbury folks is that Virginia Woolf and her husband, Leonard had often spoken of starting their own press. One day, while walking by a small printing supply company, they saw a hand press for sale in the window. They bought it, took it home, and taught themselves how to set type.
Thus began Hogarth Press. It reflected their ineptitude visually. Virginia routinely confused the h’s with the n’s. They had trouble with the ink, and the woodcuts they used for illustrations never inked up just right. These volumes are, of course, quite valuable today, especially because their print runs were so small (the first was 134 copies, which sold out, making them a small profit). One of the delights of the Goldstones’ books is learning about many authors of years ago with whom I was completely unfamiliar, for example, William Mcfee (nautical stuff) and Josephine Tey (British mystery writer who died in 1952).
No stranger to book signings, having traveled along to many of Sheila’s, not to mention many at ALA and ABA, I got a huge kick out of an anecdote they relate that happened to a friend of theirs. This author was sitting at the table in the bookstore with lots of his books but hadn’t been aproached by anyone for over an hour when a woman and child came over. “Are your the author of these books?” she asked. He assured her he was. “You wrote them,” she inquired again, “and you’ll be here for a while.” He answered again in the affirmative. She then asked if he would watch her child while she went shopping. The Goldstones don’t relate his response.
The group consisted of Lytton Strachey, Virginia and Leonard Woolf, Clive Bell, Roger Fry, Duncan Grant, and John Maynard Keynes, although there is some dispute about others. The group had a unique ethos "which can be summed up by the sort of incisive comment the group and Lytton Strachey in particular were known for. Upon arriving at Clive and Vanessa Bell's apartment one evening, Lytton noticed a stain on Vanessa's dress, 'Semen?' he inquired." Another interesting story of the Bloomsbury folks is that Virginia Woolf and her husband, Leonard had often spoken of starting their own press. One day, while walking by a small printing supply company, they saw a hand press for sale in the window. They bought it, took it home, and taught themselves how to set type.
Thus began Hogarth Press. It reflected their ineptitude visually. Virginia routinely confused the h’s with the n’s. They had trouble with the ink, and the woodcuts they used for illustrations never inked up just right. These volumes are, of course, quite valuable today, especially because their print runs were so small (the first was 134 copies, which sold out, making them a small profit). One of the delights of the Goldstones’ books is learning about many authors of years ago with whom I was completely unfamiliar, for example, William Mcfee (nautical stuff) and Josephine Tey (British mystery writer who died in 1952).
No stranger to book signings, having traveled along to many of Sheila’s, not to mention many at ALA and ABA, I got a huge kick out of an anecdote they relate that happened to a friend of theirs. This author was sitting at the table in the bookstore with lots of his books but hadn’t been aproached by anyone for over an hour when a woman and child came over. “Are your the author of these books?” she asked. He assured her he was. “You wrote them,” she inquired again, “and you’ll be here for a while.” He answered again in the affirmative. She then asked if he would watch her child while she went shopping. The Goldstones don’t relate his response.
librarydino's review
2.0
Sigh...I love books on books, because let's face it, I am an unrepentant, lifelong book geek. I enjoy learning all the weird tidbits of history, etc. BUT a lot of books on books tend toward the upper crust collecting set and are a little...bougie for my taste. This one sort of fell into that realm. I enjoyed reading it, and it was interesting, but ultimately, not amazing. It was also published in 1999 which made the section on internet book buying particularly amusing.
It has been on my tbr for quite some time along with the Goldstones' first book Used and Rare which I think follows a similar idea, so I'm glad to finally get around to it in any case.
It has been on my tbr for quite some time along with the Goldstones' first book Used and Rare which I think follows a similar idea, so I'm glad to finally get around to it in any case.
superlove's review
1.0
The content of this book has little to do with book collecting and more to do with name-dropping. Unfortunately, Lawrence and Nancy Goldstone come off as pretentious and boring. They spend a considerable amount of time discussing what people wear and how much they spend on dinner, but very little time talking about... books. After reading all their books about books, I can only conclude that they have learned very little about the book world and they remain book-collector-wannabes. Worse, they are disrespectful of the very people they write about and who provide them with free content.
The entire book is nothing more than an over-inflated magazine article possibly suitable for publication in Reader's Digest or maybe GRIT magazine. It would have been much better if they had actually written more about booklore and books and less about wardrobe and how much money they have or how they might scam a free meal. The book is full of pretense and sadly lacking in interesting content. I hope the Goldstones aren't this annoying in person. Pretentious and obnoxious.
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