The enthralling memoir on the art of living with books Phantoms on the Bookshelves considers how our personal libraries reveal our true natures: far more than merely crowded shelves, they are living labyrinths of our innermost feelings. The author, a lifelong accumulator of books ancient and modern, lives in a house large enough to accommodate his many thousands of volumes, as well as overspill from the libraries of his friends. While his musings on the habits of collectors from the earliest known libraries are learned, amusing, and instructive, his advice on cataloguing may even save lives. Phantoms on the Bookshelves ranges from classical Greece to contemporary Iceland, from Balzac to Moby-Dick and Google. Rich in wit and wisdom, it will be a lasting delight for all who treasure books.
Phantoms on the Bookshelves
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"This is a charming book full of erudition and wit, and is very nicely translated."
(--John Sutherland, Literary Review )
"Part cataloging manual, part homage to books, adventure story and autobiography, this Borgesian account is a promise of happiness."
(--Jerome Garcin, Nouvel Observateur )"This charming volume illustrates the intensely symbiotic relationship between reader and writer, a book and its recipients."
(--Publishers Weekly )"The book's ideal readers will be those who share Bonnet's love of being surrounded by the evidence of their minds' journeys, insatiable readers who love to linger over large and quirky accumulations of the printed word. For those readers, highly recommended."
(--Library Journal )"In Phantoms on the Bookshelves, Jacques Bonnet has once again invested the humble reading copy, the mode through which we first read, experienced, and encountered our favorite books and writers, with the old affection, respect and awe we had for it."
(The Hindu )
About the Author
Jacques Bonnet is a publisher, translator and the author of novels and works of art history, including a monograph on the artist.
James Salter is an American novelist and short story writer whose work includes the classic A Sport and A Pastime. He has won the PEN/Faulkner award, and who was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2000.
James Salter is an American novelist and short story writer whose work includes the classic A Sport and A Pastime. He has won the PEN/Faulkner award, and who was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2000.
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28 of 28 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
The esoteric pleasures and quandaries of maintaining a burgeoning private library
October 7, 2012
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book has a very specific audience - bibliophiles with their own library, to which they devote their life reading, organizing, and maintaining. And within that select group, it is targeted not to collectors of rare books but rather to those who actually read and use their books (or might want to read and use a book in the future, which is why they buy it even though they don't really have room for it). If you are one of that breed, I predict that PHANTOMS ON THE BOOKSHELVES will be an enjoyable five-star read. If not, you can safely pass on it.
Jacques Bonnet is a French publisher, translator, and author. For forty years he has been acquiring books, so that, as of the time of writing this slim book, he had a private library of more than forty thousand volumes. It is "a working library, the kind where you don't hesitate to write on your books, or read them in the bath; a library that results from keeping everything you have ever read - including paperbacks and perhaps several editions of the same title - as well as the ones you mean to read one day. A non-specialist library, or rather one specialized in so many areas that it becomes a general one."
Much of the book is devoted to problems of classification and organization. That might sound staggeringly dull, except to those of us who have encountered those sometimes vexing problems and are curious about how others address them - and for the likes of us, Bonnet's discussion is thorough and thoughtful, yet light and witty and anything but dull. The point of organization, of course, is to be able to readily retrieve a specific book when one thinks one needs it.... Read more ›
Jacques Bonnet is a French publisher, translator, and author. For forty years he has been acquiring books, so that, as of the time of writing this slim book, he had a private library of more than forty thousand volumes. It is "a working library, the kind where you don't hesitate to write on your books, or read them in the bath; a library that results from keeping everything you have ever read - including paperbacks and perhaps several editions of the same title - as well as the ones you mean to read one day. A non-specialist library, or rather one specialized in so many areas that it becomes a general one."
Much of the book is devoted to problems of classification and organization. That might sound staggeringly dull, except to those of us who have encountered those sometimes vexing problems and are curious about how others address them - and for the likes of us, Bonnet's discussion is thorough and thoughtful, yet light and witty and anything but dull. The point of organization, of course, is to be able to readily retrieve a specific book when one thinks one needs it.... Read more ›
18 of 22 people found the following review helpful
By Hande Z
Format:Hardcover
This 123-page book was translated from the French language by Sian Reynolds, a translator of Fred Vargas novels, and she herself has written about French culture, but I have not read her other work so I am not sure if the dry, pedantic style was that of the author's or the translator's. The references to books were mostly to French books, but that does not detract from the substance of this book. It read like a short memoir of a book collector, explaining why people collect books and giving his own reasons - the influence of his father's library and a desire to read all the books in the world to gain knowledge. Jacques Bonnet writes about his encounters with other book collectors, libraries, book shops, and inquisitive questions posed to owners of large libraries - "Have you read all these books?" - and the subject of people, places, and things in books, and the habit of reading. Unless you too have a love for reading and books, this book may not interest you, and a rating of three stars may be a more accurate one for this book.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Speaking as a retired Librarian, I enjoyed this book immensely. The author's description of his library: books read over and over again; books read once; books to be read; books which probably never will be read, but still... The practical problems of storing all those books. I don't share the author's mania. But it was a lot of fun reading (!) about it.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By C Gruver
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Phantoms on the Bookshelves by Jacques Bonnet is a slim book (133 pages) and smallish so it fits comfortably in your hand, just right for reading in bed.
I was enchanted by the subject...people who can count their personal libraries in the tens of thousands and their idiosyncrasies. While I'm only halfway to my first ten thousand, I felt Bonnet was speaking directly to me about book collecting and the whys and wherefores of acquiring a book - you like the cover art, someone recommended it, the book had an interesting title. And the downside, they cost a lot of money are aren't worth much in resale. He especially hit home with the comment that even if the book is terrible, it's hard to get rid of. Once part of the library, always part of the library.
The upside, of course, is the pleasure of knowing the books are there waiting for the right time to be read or re-read or just thumbed through for favorite passages. Then there is the obsession of collecting itself and the hunt through used book shops looking for the one volume you're missing.
There is even a chapter on how to organize your collection and a bibliography of the books from his own collection that he discusses in the book.
A charming book fo anyone who loves books.
I was enchanted by the subject...people who can count their personal libraries in the tens of thousands and their idiosyncrasies. While I'm only halfway to my first ten thousand, I felt Bonnet was speaking directly to me about book collecting and the whys and wherefores of acquiring a book - you like the cover art, someone recommended it, the book had an interesting title. And the downside, they cost a lot of money are aren't worth much in resale. He especially hit home with the comment that even if the book is terrible, it's hard to get rid of. Once part of the library, always part of the library.
The upside, of course, is the pleasure of knowing the books are there waiting for the right time to be read or re-read or just thumbed through for favorite passages. Then there is the obsession of collecting itself and the hunt through used book shops looking for the one volume you're missing.
There is even a chapter on how to organize your collection and a bibliography of the books from his own collection that he discusses in the book.
A charming book fo anyone who loves books.
By Nell Abbott
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
A bit erudite for me but still delightful, light and clean prose. Because he's French many of the books and authors were unfamiliar to me, but his love for books, his helplessness as they take over the house any reader will appreciate and relate to. Though he is an intellectual and writing superior, the shared life with books is a bond that makes him a soul mate. I loved it.
By Modemjunkie
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I gave this book to a friend as a holiday gift. She liked it but I have not had the pleasure.
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
I enjoyed reading about other people who build large libraries, since I read it on my Kindle I now need to buy a physical copy :)
By PLT
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Very interesting content. Love the Dust Jacket. Arrived in time for Christmas gift giving. Will order one for myself as well.
