Phantoms on the Bookshelves

This enchanting study on the art of living with books considers how our personal libraries reveal our true nature: far more than just places, they are living labyrinths of our innermost feelings. The author, a lifelong accumulator of books both ancient and modern, lives in a house large enough to accommodate his many thousands of books, as well as overspill from the libraries of his friends. While his musings on the habits of collectors past and present are learned, witty and instructive, his advice on cataloguing may even save the lives of those whose books are so prodigiously piled as to be a hazard...The Phantoms on the Bookshelves ranges from classical Greece to contemporary Iceland, from Balzac and Moby Dick to Google, offering up delicious anecdotes along the way. This elegantly produced volume will be a lasting delight to specialist collectors, librarians, bibliophiles and all those who treasure books.

Review: 'This is a charming book full of erudition and wit, and is very nicely translated' John Sutherland, Literary Review. * Literary Review *

'Part cataloguing manual, part homage to books, adventure story and autobiography, this Borgesian account is a promise of happiness' Jerome Garcin, Nouvel Observateur. * Nouvel Observateur *