Rating: 
Summary: Book-lovers will first identify, then be inspired.
Review: In their quest for books, the two Goldstones are nearly as one - one completely obsessed collector. They share that obsession (and an almost palpable love for books) with their readers, in a style that is charming and compelling. In fact, "Used and Rare" does for book collecting what "A Year in Provence" did for the south of France - makes it seem immediate and accessible and a most desirable thing. Anyone who has ever loved a book will thoroughly enjoy "Used and Rare" - and will probably be keeping an eye out for old books of their own.
Rating: 
Summary: A tiresome journey into the book world.
Review: A great disappointment. Relying too heavily on preachy dialogue (the phonetically spelled Australian accent is annoying beyond measure) and self-serving in its petty ax-grinding about anyone who might have offended the authors , one wonders if the manuscript ever crossed an editor's desk. The information in the book is not well-organized, and much of the writing seems stilted and awkward in attempting to explain things. While I realize the book was probably not intended as a handbook for book collectors, an organized glossary of terms could have at least claimed it a spot in the book case. There is none. A book must be useful and/or beautiful. "Used and Rare" is neither. It was a completely flat read. A trip to the library constitutes more adventurous "travels in the book world".
Rating: 
Summary: This one's a keeper!
Review: A simply delightful romp! MUST READ for anyone who has ever collected or even thought about collecting books.
Only true bookhuggers will understand the madness but I laughed out loud! These are real people, real questions, real "been - there".
Rating:
Summary: I can't wait to give it to all my book-loving friends
Review: After working in a publishing house all day, reading this book on the commute home always refreshed my love for all aspects of books no matter how irritated I had been with the blasted things at work! My mouth watered at the book descriptions and my hands itched to hold books that weren't worth $5,000 but were still beautiful and entrancing. It made me feel better about my love to collect first editions of Angela Thirkell. Although not monetarily valuable they are still the jewels of my collection. Any book is wonderful no matter how hight a price they fetch at an auction, dealership, or book fair as long as it means something to the reader!
Rating:
Summary: Informative
Review: As a book lover who haunts the library and not "used and rare" booksellers, I truly enjoyed this work. In addition to being an entertaining narrative it was very informative. As with so many subjects, book collecting has a language and following of its own. And as with so many subjects one can be drawn into it and become involved and even obsessed. I envied the Goldsteins the time they had to pursue their interest as well. In short this was a fully enjoyable book.
Rating: 
Summary: Travel elsewhere
Review: As the subtitle of the book suggests, Lawrence and Nancy Goldstone give us `travels in the book world'. The story begins with the pursuit of a cheap copy of Tolstoy's War and Peace and moves gradually from local to interstate bookstores, small town auctions to big city auctions and book fairs, provincial booksellers to exclusive antiquarian dealers. Along the way, various creatures of the book world are met with and their idiosyncrasies, their virtues and their flaws, as far as these things can make themselves known to people like the Goldstones, are paraded for all to see. Some characterisations are not flattering, but the authors do not condemn outright, nor are their portraits overly unfair; some reviewers have thought otherwise, but one would not wish for sugary descriptions on every page - and the book world is the last place where one would look for normalcy. A few random explanations of book terminology are given, though the authors wisely and skillfully defer to more trusted authorities than themselves, and for that one is thankful. I am not really sure at whom this book is aimed. The neophyte book collector may derive some enthusiasm from the stories within, urged on by someone else's successes (and failures); the more experienced bibliophile might smile at some of the authors' blunders; the seasoned book collector would probably not bother to read it. And certainly the general reader will wonder what the fuss is all about. The stories are occasionally interesting, as long as one keeps one's focus on them and not on the Goldstones. The Goldstones are not a particularly happy presence in this book. One is not really convinced of their passion for books, for book collecting, or for reading. The authors seem to be another bored husband-and-wife team, sick of the usual amusements of middle America, who decide to follow up a novel past time, whilst making sure that all those `usual amusements' are not completely abandoned in the meantime and that their respectable credentials remained unblemished (leaving the daughter with a baby-sitter overnight was a `first'; no trips for books without the hotel room and the dinner table being a large part of the experience). One gets the distinct impression that the idea of writing this book came to the authors, if not before the search for War and Peace began, then some short time later. The narrative covers several years, and one suspects that many of the `stories' in this book were experienced precisely so as to form the content of the narrative. What the account should be, rather, is a reflection on what has been and gone before. One cannot escape the conclusion that the Goldstones' 'travels' have an eye to posterity. And yet one wonders `why?' The Goldstones reveal naivete, poor taste, and poor judgement on many pages - and not just in their collecting habits. The narrative is supposedly factual, but there is no contents page, no list of further reading, no index. More importantly there is no extended reflection, at any point in the book, about the nature of book collecting or of the book trade. That should have been an important part of the narrative, a point where the authors take a step back from their experiences and comment upon them. The other shortcoming is the unfortunate technique of trying to represent in writing the accent of one of the booksellers. It is a mistake, doubly so since it is the only such attempt in the book and sits awkwardly with the rest of the narrative. It does not add charm, and indeed may be considered quite insulting given the man's kindness to the authors. Lawrence Goldstone is (so the dust-jacket explains) a teacher of creative writing, and one might have expected more wisdom from him on this point. Often we marvel at such narrative techniques in works of fiction, but this book, alas, is no work of fiction. Early in the story, the reader is introduced to the figure of Clarence Wolf, the 90-year old grandfather of the Goldstones' daughter. Wolf is a book collector from way back, and one immediately gets the impression that he has a story to tell. By the end of this book, one has a tendency to wish that it had been his story that had been told in place of the Goldstones'.
Rating:
Summary: Travel elsewhere
Review: As the subtitle of the book suggests, Lawrence and Nancy Goldstone give us 'travels in the book world'. The story begins with the pursuit of a cheap copy of Tolstoy's War and Peace and moves gradually from local to interstate bookstores, small town auctions to big city auctions and book fairs, provincial booksellers to exclusive antiquarian dealers. Along the way, various creatures of the book world are met with and their idiosyncrasies, their virtues and their flaws, as far as these things can make themselves known to people like the Goldstones, are paraded for all to see. Some characterisations are not flattering, but the authors do not condemn outright, nor are their portraits overly unfair; some reviewers have thought otherwise, but one would not wish for sugary descriptions on every page - and the book world is the last place where one would look for normalcy. A few random explanations of book terminology are given, though the authors wisely and skillfully defer to more trusted authorities than themselves, and for that one is thankful. I am not really sure at whom this book is aimed. The neophyte book collector may derive some enthusiasm from the stories within, urged on by someone else's successes (and failures); the more experienced bibliophile might smile at some of the authors' blunders; the seasoned book collector would probably not bother to read it. And certainly the general reader will wonder what the fuss is all about. The stories are occasionally interesting, as long as one keeps one's focus on them and not on the Goldstones. The Goldstones are not a particularly happy presence in this book. One is not really convinced of their passion for books, for book collecting, or for reading. The authors seem to be another bored husband-and-wife team, sick of the usual amusements of middle America, who decide to follow up a novel past time, whilst making sure that all those 'usual amusements' are not completely abandoned in the meantime and that their respectable credentials remained unblemished (leaving the daughter with a baby-sitter overnight was a 'first'; no trips for books without the hotel room and the dinner table being a large part of the experience). One gets the distinct impression that the idea of writing this book came to the authors, if not before the search for War and Peace began, then some short time later. The narrative covers several years, and one suspects that many of the 'stories' in this book were experienced precisely so as to form the content of the narrative. What the account should be, rather, is a reflection on what has been and gone before. One cannot escape the conclusion that the Goldstones' 'travels' have an eye to posterity. And yet one wonders 'why?' The Goldstones reveal naivete, poor taste, and poor judgement on many pages - and not just in their collecting habits. The narrative is supposedly factual, but there is no contents page, no list of further reading, no index. More importantly there is no extended reflection, at any point in the book, about the nature of book collecting or of the book trade. That should have been an important part of the narrative, a point where the authors take a step back from their experiences and comment upon them. The other shortcoming is the unfortunate technique of trying to represent in writing the accent of one of the booksellers. It is a mistake, doubly so since it is the only such attempt in the book and sits awkwardly with the rest of the narrative. It does not add charm, and indeed may be considered quite insulting given the man's kindness to the authors. Lawrence Goldstone is (so the dust-jacket explains) a teacher of creative writing, and one might have expected more wisdom from him on this point. Often we marvel at such narrative techniques in works of fiction, but this book, alas, is no work of fiction. Early in the story, the reader is introduced to the figure of Clarence Wolf, the 90-year old grandfather of the Goldstones' daughter. Wolf is a book collector from way back, and one immediately gets the impression that he has a story to tell. By the end of this book, one has a tendency to wish that it had been his story that had been told in place of the Goldstones'.
Rating:
Summary: Two people share their joy of book collecting
Review: Books on book collecting might be boring. This one is exciting. The enthusiasm of Lawrence and Nancy Goldstone, professional writers who live in the Berkshire hills of Massachussetts, is contagious. They are novices at book collecting until Nancy decides to purchase a nice hard cover copy of War and Peace to give to Lawrence. She has a $20.00 budget (based on a deal the couple made to stop buying each other expensive silly birthday presents and to cap the cost at twenty dollars). Nancy decides that she will buy Lawrence a nice hardcover copy of War and Peace. This turns out to be something of a search for the holy grail. Does she want a first edition? In English, French, or Russian. What translation does she want? Nancy and Lawrence soon find themselves hooked on collecting books, especially modern first editions, and go traversing the Berkshire Hills for books, used and rare. They go to Boston and New York. They attend book fairs and auctions. They buy a set of the Wharton sisters books at auction for $60. They promise to give up eating out to rationalize a purchase in Boston.They buy a two volume set of Dickens Bleak House for $700.00. But they are just as happy with their $20.00 copy of Andersonville. They uncover the mystery of what "first state" and "second state" is, and what it means for a book to be "foxed" or "shaken" or "rubbed." They cannot understand why Burroughs first edition of Tarzan sells for $50,000.00. They love every minute of their book exploration, including some eccentric antiquarian book sellers they meet along the way. Their enthusiasm captures the reader. This quick read will make you a book collector.
Rating:
Summary: So good I could hardly wait for before sleep reading time!
Review: Comparing tihs book to A Year in Provence is very accurate, for as with that book I often found myself laughing outloud and smiling aplenty. I love books, but have always preferred mine new and although I probably won't start collecting used and rare I love knowing a bit about the the process. I do collect antiques, like quilts and vintage tablecloths. When I bought the first quilt I said," I just want one," and I won't say how large that collection is now. So I felt the description of the growing obsession about collecting books to fit collecting -- no matter the object. And for sure I must move Bleak House further up my "must read" list. Totally enjoyable and I've moved it to my husband's side of the bed now.
Rating:
Summary: Perfect Book for the Novice Book Collector
Review: Have just recently become intrigued with book collecting, and was surprised and reassured that my original feelings and intentions about collecting were very much the same as the Goldstones! Their style of writing makes this an easy read. They impart a great deal of useful information and with great wit. Would highly recommend this reading for anyone, but especially if you've gotten hooked on collecting books and seek more knowledge on the subject!!
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