I first heard about Anne Fadiman while listening to Nancy Pearl on NPR. Pearl was actually reviewing a different work by Fadiman, At Large and Small: Familiar Essays. However, when Pearl was asked which Fadiman essay was her favorite, she referenced a piece from Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader. The essay she spoke of sounded so charming (the moment she officially felt married was when her and her husband merged libraries), I added it to my choices for the Non-Ficition Five Challenge.
Now, I like to read... but I made the fatal mistake of comparing my reading habits and knowledge to Fadiman's. No contest. Reading this book made me feel like an ignorant novice. Many of the anecdotes were cute and thoughtful... but others left me thinking, "Now I'm sure I've heard of that book before...or have I?" Fadiman assumes her reader has read it all... at least twice.
Recommendation: Unless you are a fanatical reader, don't choose Ex Libris as your first Fadiman selection. That being said, the cover is adorable.
6 comments:
Now I am very curious, I don't want to feel inadequate but I might take a look at this one - maybe a good library check out option. Thanks for the review.
You know, I read this one last year, and I was rather less than impressed. I thought she was pretentious! I admired some things about the collection, but I'm not sure I'd enjoy talking to her at party, you know?
I know! The essay where she talks about not knowing 20 words in an esoteric cat book from the 1920s... It made me feel like I should break out a Word-A-Day calendar or something!
lol! It made me want to slap her. ;)
The cover's very cute, though. Just to let you know so you can double-check, the link to your blog when you commented on my site had one too many 'l's, so it didn't go through. So next time you comment on a wordpress blog, make sure to check the link! :)
Hello, just arrived on your blog through the NFF review link. Thank you for the review: I know for sure I will feel ignorant, but now I just can't wait to read it.
hi! i am finally getting to my copy of ex libris and currently enjoying it myself. you're right, lots of references however i am very interested on her take on reading habits and the like.
found your blog bc i was google-imaging a picture of fadiman.
cool stuff!
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