A Bookring is underway for this. Since the first book just went on it's world tour many want to wait before joining this ring. It is, however, open to everyone so if you are interested just PM me. The name that is bold currently has the book.

Bookring Participants...
FancyHorse (AL) journaled
MaryZee (MD) journaled
cestmoi (Canada) journaled
LyzzyBee (UK) journaled
AnglersRest (UK) journaled
ckwini (OK) journaled
sqdancer (Canada) journaled
... Then back to me. I Currently have the book. It is available.


Aparently this is the second part of a trilogy.
1. 'A Gentle Madness' was first talking about great books and collectors and what makes them tick (does a great job of making this interesting and readable).
2. 'Patience & Fortitude' which is going to be a journey to great libraries and how they were formed, how libraries first came into being etc. (currently on page 39 and it has been a little dry)
3. 'A Splendor of Letters: The Permanence of Books in an Impermanent World'

As Mr. Basbanes tells it "In the course of my travels I assembled a wealth of pertinent information, and as my manuscript went well past the thousand-page mark, it became increasingly clear that the subject I had chosen demanded two books, not one. Thus it is that 'Patience & Fortitude' pays particular attention to the endlessly fascinating tales of the individuals and the places that I encountered, while the work to follow, 'A Splendor of Letters: The Permanenence of Books in an Imp0ermanent World', deals more pointedly with the issues involved, and the stories that clarify them."

I just received this book in the mail from a fellow bookcrosser. The plan is for me to read it, then send it to the next person who has asked for it.

I'm sorry; I never could get into it. I will send it on to MaryZee ASAP.

Sent to MaryZee

Came in the mail today. I have another bookring here now, but I'll update here when I get started on this one.

1/20/05 - Starting on this today.

Have read the first section (Overture) in this book. There are a couple of items I'd like to include here in the journal -

The sub-title of this book is "Wherein a Colorful Cast of Determined Book Collectors, Dealers, and Librarians Go About the Quixotic Task of Preserving a Legacy."

The oldest library motto in the world, inscribed above the main entranceway to the library of the abbey of Saint Gall in Switzerland (also outside the chamber where books were stored by King Ramses II of Egypt) (p.42) - "House of Healing for the Soul."

p. 43 - "In The Care of Books, John Willis Clark showed how various repositories had facilitated the pursuit of scholarship through history, and he outlined the methods 'adopted by man in different ages and countries to preserve, to use, and to make accessible to others, those objects, of whatever material, on which he has recorded his thoughts.'"

And a quote from Hartmann Schedel's Nuremberg Chronicle, which seems appropriate to BookCrossing (p. 129) -
"Speed now; Book, and make yourself known wherever the winds blow free.
Never before has your like been printed.
A thousand hands will grasp you with warm desire
And read you with great attention.
The affairs of both gods and men you systematically relate,
Aglow with charming illustrations by accomplished artists.
The beginning of things and the world from its start you present,
Recounting everything that has occurred in the passage of time.'"

I'm reading the 2nd section - Book People - now. Just wanted to include a few more quotes from the book that I think are appropriate for BookCrossing and our love of books.

(p. 149) A quote from Jay Fliegelman about his book collection - "All of these books are about the presence of the past in the present."

(p.170) Quote from Rolland Comstock, regarding Basbanes' previous book A Gentle Madness: "I have one little problem with your book" he said good-naturedly. "Collecting is very definitely a madness, but there is nothing gentle about it at all. This is hand-to-hand combat."

(p. 181) - All of we bibliomanes are familiar with this phenomenon. Regarding the Strand bookstore (in NYC, with 3 million volumes, the largest used bookstore in the world), a comment by Nancy Bass, the owner's daughter and partner in the business - "The books multiply at night, it really has nothing to do with us."

(pp. 199-200) - In reference to Serendipity Books, a used bookstore in Berkeley, California, and regarding the random organization of the bookstore by its owner, Peter B. Howard, a quote by Ian Jackson, a friend and colleague of Howard's who wrote 2 scholarly guidebooks on Seredipity Books, both titled The Key to Serendipity - "The subtitle to volume 1 is How to Buy Books from Peter B. Howard; to volume 2, How to Find Books in Spite of Peter B. Howard. The epigraph to the latter consists of an 'interchange overheard at Serendipity Books' by Jackson:
Puzzled customer: Is there any rhyme or reason to this place?
Peter B. Howard: Yes! My rhyme! My reason!

(p. 220) - Quoting the author and Umberto Eco, regarding Umberto Eco's personal library, estimated to be 30,000 volumes, and discussing the bookshelves themselves - "Eco insisted that I note the depth of the shelves, which had been designed to his specifications. A quick examination indicated about nine inches of space, just enough room for one book per slot. 'No more guessing,' he said, arching his eyebrows for emphasis. 'Never again will I have two books deep. Never. Now I can see every title I have at a glance. Everything is in a single line.'" (I suspect there are quite a few BookCrossers who could learn from this comment, including myself ;)

Thanks for sharing these books, Rutchmather! Lots of interesting info about the care and feeding of books (oh, that's right, we don't feed them, they feed us ;)

Since Cestmoi asked to be skipped, sending this on to LyzzyBee tomorrow, 2/14.

Received in the post today - thank you MaryZee! This looks excellent - I just have to finish the borrowed book I'm currently reading then I will start on it. I think this is going back to Rutchmather after me, but I'll PM you when I start it to see if there are any further participants. Will start it at the weekend I imagine.

A quick update on progress...

I love this book! I'm reading it quite slowly, so as to savour it! I hope this is OK - I should be finished with it in a week to 10 days (I also don't want to drag it around in my bag on my commute Weds-Fri so it will stay at home to be read)

I'll keep an eye out on this page to check whether I'm to send back to the originator or send it on elswhere.

Thanks for sharing this and looking forward to getting the others in due course!

Nearly finished this *wonderful* book (I will be buying myself a copy eventually!) and have PM'd AnglersRest for address.

Oh I loved this book and I am definitely going to put it on my list to buy or have as a present (Christmas probably!). Thank you so much for sharing it with me. It was great to see the information on librarians, universities, booksellers, collectors and how they interface all with each other - and it was great hearing about the good old British Library too.

I enjoyed using the little bookmark - I'm going to leave that in there and get myself some to use on an ongoing basis!

I have AnglersRest's address now and hopefully I will be able to get this posted off tomorrow - I have a swollen face due to an Abscess so am hiding in the house, but hopefully Mr LyzzyBee will go to the Post Office for me!

Hope the next people enjoy as much as I have!

RELEASE NOTES:

Posted to AnglersRest today. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Thanks LyzzyBee, the book arrived this morning! Just in time for my trip to Bodmin. I have just started the book that arrived yesterday, then this one will be next.

I've just sent a PM to ckwini, who is next on the list, so that I have the next address to pass onto.
Will be starting the book next week sometime!

This is a great book.
Here is one of my favourite snippets:

"Don Fabrizio Massimo in the archive storage room of Rome's Palazzo Massimo, which contains records documenting more than five centuries of family history; the bookcase in the background [of the photo] was designed for the Massimo family by Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini(1598 - 1680), a leading exponent of the Baroque style in Italy"

This is the text against a photo, the page is not numbered but is located on one of the photograph collections between page 44 & 45.

Still reading this great book and I am likely to go over the month schedule for this one. Can you let me know if this is a problem?

What a great book - As I draw to the close of the book I made a note of a few things that I wanted to journal; this is brilliant:

"What a place to be in is an old library! It seems as though all the souls of all the writers, that have bequeathed their labours to these Bodleians, were reposing here, as in some dormitory, or middle state. I do not want to handle, to profane the leaves, their winding sheets. I could as soon dislodge a shade. I seem to inhale learning, walking amid their foliage; and the odor of their moth-scented coverings is fragrant as the first bloom of those sciential apples which grew amid the happy orchard."
~ Charles Lamb, Oxford in the Vacation ~ Page 71.

Isn't that a wonderful verse?

I have a few more that I want to journal and then the book will be away back to America next week. I will journal when posted.

This was such a wonderful book. Thanks to Rutchmather for sending this out on a ring. I enjoyed this so much and there were so many Italian references that I have bought a copy of this book and will place it in the Anglo italian FHS library as soon as it arrives and will also journal the book on my bookshelf.

I already have ckwini's address and will get this off in the post on Monday 18th April.

RELEASE NOTES:

Posting off to ckwini in the US on 18th April by Surface Mail.
Enjoy the book, its wonderful! - Sorry to have kept it so long!

Received the book to day. Thank you!

Just finished it today. I think I love this book more than the first one. I long to visit all the libraries Mr. Basbanes has explored and written about in his books.

I will send it off to "jessibud" shortly.

Sent off to "sqdancer" today!

Arrived safe and sound. I'm really looking forward to reading this book. I'm on the ring for the first, and think I just might have to sign up for the third too. :)

Since Rutchmather has not had any luck with attempts to extend this ring, the book is on its way home.

It was a bit dry in places, but I definitely enjoyed it. I am looking forward to reading the other two.

Thanks for sharing these books!

Sent this afternoon via surface mail.

While this volume did get around a little, it has had sufficient rest, should you want to read it next ~ PM me for IMMEDIATE GRATIFICATION :)