Picture of author.

About the Author

Image credit: Stuart Kelly, author of "The Book of Lost Books"

Obras por Stuart Kelly

Etiquetado

Conhecimento Comum

Data de nascimento
1972
Sexo
male
Nacionalidade
UK
Locais de residência
Scotland, UK
Educação
Oxford University
Ocupações
editor (literary; Scotland on Sunday)
critic
writer

Membros

Críticas

Interesting premise, but an extremely dry book. I usually like reading books about books and reading, but this one did not really engage me. The idea of looking at "missing" books (i.e. books mentioned in other books but that did not survive) is an interesting one. However, this book mostly lists things, which after a while does get a bit tiresome. An ok book, but not one I would really recommend unless you are some hardcore bibliophile or history buff.
 
Assinalado
bloodravenlib | 15 outras críticas | Aug 17, 2020 |
This book turned out to be completely different than I expected. It doesn't mean it is bad, not at all. But I am still a bit disappointed.

I have recently read several non-fiction books although I usually stick to fiction. I generally liked those books. And then I came across this book and I liked the idea of it. A book about books that have been lost and which we will never read. Cool.

And that's what this book is about. It consists of short, several-page chapters devoted to different writers in chronological order. Great idea and nice execution. One can see the author's fascination with the whole topic and the very detailed research he conducted.

So why am I disappointed? Because I was expecting to sit down and just read this book quickly just as I do with my fiction (and as I did with my non-fiction books recently). The topic definitely interested me, the chapters are short. Nothing should stop me. But it did not happen.

I wonder what exactly is wrong and it seems to me that this book simply lacks some unique charm. That lightness and humor that you find for example in the books of Bill Bryson. I read one short chapter, sometimes no more than four pages, and I didn't feel the need to start another one. What's more, when I tried to read a few chapters one by one, I lost my concentration, I stopped focusing on the text. I wasn't able to sit down and read 40 or 50 pages at once. Is it bad? No. It's just not a book you read all at once. Rather, one that you read for two, three months, several pages a day with breaks for some other readings. That’s all.

And I just wasn't in the mood for something like that. I try hard for it not to affect my overall rating of this book. But the truth is I read better books. This one is not bad, just not for me I think. Still, love the whole idea.
… (mais)
 
Assinalado
Sarielle | 15 outras críticas | Jan 15, 2020 |
What's funny is that this would be the perfect blog/twitter feed, but it's almost overwhelming as a book. After a certain point, it's hard to focus on the litany of famous authors who may or may not have even written a book, who lost their juvenilia at a train station (okay, that was Hemingway), who we only know exist because Francis Meres who wrote about Shakespeare wrote about them, et cetera. As a blog where one can pick the people one cares about to read about what works were lost, it would be a lot less overwhelming. Now, if you care about lost works, this is the perfect book and if you're not reading all the way through, it's fun and funny, just hard to read in one sitting.… (mais)
 
Assinalado
jeninmotion | 15 outras críticas | Sep 24, 2018 |
i miei occhi sono al lumicino; quindi drastiche scelte caudine: o si passa alle prime trenta pagine o si viene scartati.Questo libro ricade nel secondo caso. Troppo fragile e un po' scontato: sarà per la prossima vita, Amen.
 
Assinalado
icaro. | 15 outras críticas | Aug 31, 2017 |

Listas

Prémios

You May Also Like

Estatísticas

Obras
3
Membros
817
Popularidade
#31,214
Avaliação
½ 3.4
Críticas
19
ISBN
21
Línguas
7

Tabelas & Gráficos