A nice little tome to dip in and out of and pick up a few new facts about books that one wouldn't expect. Nothing enormously thought provoking however I enjoyed the chapter structure and the author is obviously extremely knowledgeable in the field as one would expect from an academic.
I thought the hardback edition itself was very pleasing, a good weight in the hand and pretty cover illustration. I almost felt like it would have benefitted from the inclusion of an insert with photographs of the books referred to, particularly in the cases of those more unusual ones. The closing chapter on the nature of what is a book was probably necessary but a little bit waffle-y. Nevertheless I will certainly keep hold of this, and likely read it again or pass on to others. I wonder whether there is the potential for a sequel, exploring the role of different genres
I thought the hardback edition itself was very pleasing, a good weight in the hand and pretty cover illustration. I almost felt like it would have benefitted from the inclusion of an insert with photographs of the books referred to, particularly in the cases of those more unusual ones. The closing chapter on the nature of what is a book was probably necessary but a little bit waffle-y. Nevertheless I will certainly keep hold of this, and likely read it again or pass on to others. I wonder whether there is the potential for a sequel, exploring the role of different genres