Ex Libris

Anne Fadiman lives the life of a true bibliomaniac: She first learned about sex from Fanny Hill, which she found in her father's library. Her husband once gifted her a whopping 10 kilograms of dusty old books for her birthday. And at one point, in a fit of desperation, she even devoured the owner's manual for her roommate's 1974 Toyota Corolla because it was the only book in the apartment that she hadn't memorized yet. Ex Libris combines anecdotes about famous writers and books with personal stories from Fadiman's incurably bibliophilic family. She writes about the blending of libraries when moving in with a loved one, about "worm words," her inherited editor's mentality, and the irresistible charm of antiquarian bookstores. A delightfully entertaining love letter to reading and living with books in 17 chapters.