The Man Who Loved Books Too Much

Truthfully, I only read the first 20 pages. I couldn't get through it. The notes and such just put my brain in knots. Ack. May go back to it in a few years though...

I love all things “book”, so there was more then a fair chance that I was going to love a book about books and the people who collect them! This is the story of John Gilkey, a book klepto and Ken Sanders a rare book collector and bibliodick, that makes it his life story to capture Gilkey.

Really sharp and really informative, though I found some of the meandering historical stories of other book collectors and thieves a little weirdly placed or dry at times. Gilkey is a fascinating person, and I liked Bartlett's personal musings on what was going on! As a Salt Lake City native, I also enjoyed the focus on Ken Sanders, considering he's in my backyard and I love that bookstore! If you're from the area, I really recommend this- especially if you haven't gotten around to reading Sanders' memoir (something I've been putting off for a while).

This book really disappointed me. The premise sounded interesting, but ended up being a story which began as a magazine feature and should have stayed that way. I'm an accountant, so credit card fraud is probably a little more interesting to me than the average person. However, having heard the setup a few times, the repetitious, goodness-me reporting of subsequent thefts became dull.

Also, the author tried to make herself a character. Her attempt to try on rare book collecting could have been substituted with interviews with rare book collectors. Even worse was that the author didn't bother checking into her legal responsibilities until late in the game. Frankly, the inclusion of unnecessary episodes, such as the “ride-along” to Brick Row Books, the visit to his parents house and look into Gilkey's closet packed with likely more rare, stolen books without alerting the authorities, and her embarrassment at possibly meeting friends when she's out in public with Gilkey eroded Bartlett's journalistic integrity and the story itself. Why didn't the author interview Gilkey's father?

The look into the ABA was somewhat interesting, as was the section describing catching Gilkey, but was otherwise less than stellar.