Warmly Inscribed : The New England Forger and Other Book Tales

Rating:
Summary: A charming book about books and collecting
Review: Authors Lawrence and Nancy Goldstone are also book collectors and, in "Warmly Inscribed," they share their experiences in the used, rare and antiquarian book world. The tales are charming and anecdotal, filled with their love of books, and come across very conversationally, as if you were chatting with them over coffee instead of reading their adventures in a book. Also, it makes that particular world seem less stuffy and very accessible to everyone.

Each chapter shares a small bit of the vast world of books and booklore, from the first chapter that deals with the immense colleciton of the Library of Congress (as well as their lovable eight-year-old daughter Emily and a missing teddy bear) to the true story of the New England forger Ken Anderson who created quite a to-do with the Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America. Plus, they give much of the history of books, bookfairs, and even a glimpse into the life of writer Max Beerbohm.

This is a wonderful book to read, whether you're into book collecting or not.

Rating:
Summary: A charming book about books and collecting
Review: Authors Lawrence and Nancy Goldstone are also book collectors and, in "Warmly Inscribed," they share their experiences in the used, rare and antiquarian book world. The tales are charming and anecdotal, filled with their love of books, and come across very conversationally, as if you were chatting with them over coffee instead of reading their adventures in a book. Also, it makes that particular world seem less stuffy and very accessible to everyone.

Each chapter shares a small bit of the vast world of books and booklore, from the first chapter that deals with the immense colleciton of the Library of Congress (as well as their lovable eight-year-old daughter Emily and a missing teddy bear) to the true story of the New England forger Ken Anderson who created quite a to-do with the Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America. Plus, they give much of the history of books, bookfairs, and even a glimpse into the life of writer Max Beerbohm.

This is a wonderful book to read, whether you're into book collecting or not.

Rating:
Summary: Would be perfect, except...
Review: but I have to agree with the reviewer who felt that the first two books in this series were more entertaining.

One of the best aspects of this series is the glimpse that it gives the reader into the world of serious book collecting and the Goldstones' adventures therein. That being said, nearly a quarter of this 215 page book is taken up by the story of the New England forger - which has very little bearing on the Goldstones and their collection. A semi-interesting aside, it hardly deserved to dominate the book.

On the other hand, I really did enjoy reading about the visits to the Library of Congress and the Folger Library, which offered a glimpse into collections that few of us will ever have the chance to visit. Their take on the influence of the internet on the book trade was also interesting, but should there be a fourth book in the series, I hope that they will return to what they do best - relating personal stories of chasing down treasures.

Rating:
Summary: The Goldstones get going
Review: I liked this book better than their first two. The somewhat precious plural narration is considerably more charming when it's not so constant, and their travels here are usefully varied. Most of all, this book is meatier, which really helps. The informative section about the New England forger adds a needed note of factual reportage. For me it anchors the rest of the book.

I knew the Washington book scene fairly well at one point, and their account is a mixed success. The section on the Library of Congress is nicely done, but they managed to miss the two best bookstores in town: Booked Up, which they knew about but somehow couldn't manage to get into (?), and Andy Moursund's Georgetown Books in Bethesda. Also, although it's true that more people should know about it, I feel their appraisal of the Folger is lame and tame--the Folger always struck me as a really odd museum, consistently barely interesting enough to warrant a visit yet almost ludicrously top-heavy with Shakespeare First Folios. In this day and age, is there any conceivable need to have 79 First Folios in one place? Any independent-minded curator, it seems to me, would divest two-thirds of them to fund a broadening of the collection and an enlivening of the exhibits. (It's also almost anti-conservationist to have all of them together, where they might all be destroyed at one fell swoop by a natural disaster or an act of terrorism. It would be much better for their safety to spread them around a bit.) I would have liked a more critical viewpoint here.

The Goldstones are not only savvier book people now, which is a relief (I found the "Duh, what's a nice book?" tone of "Used and Rare" too benighted), but they're getting to be better writers, too. The set-piece about Bearite is a hoot, and, despite her sparing appearances, Emily is strongly characterized as a sidekick--I really laughed at the vision of her sitting in the audience at sparsely attended book signings asking her parents how long it took them to write their book. I hope she figures more prominently in book #4. Next time, England? Archer? Get going, Goldstones!

Rating:
Summary: The Goldstones are Back!
Review: The third of the Goldstones' collecting books (after Used and Rare: Travels in the Book World and Slightly Chipped*: *Footnotes in Booklore) is just as charming and whimsical--and educational--as the first two. The Goldstones are a delightful couple with a warm writing style that is easy to read and keeps you coming back.

Apart from the title of the book, which seems to have no relation to its contents, I have only one complaint: the central story of the New England forger goes on for too long. I was kept interested throughout, but I felt that it could have ended sooner.

Other than that, this is a terrific, quick read, and if you are fans of books and collecting you will not be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: Books, books, books
Review: This is the third book in the series written by Nancy and Lawrence Goldstone.

I just discovered this series and basically read all three within a 2 week period. I also ended up reading them out of order, starting with Slightly Chipped.

I loved the premise of these books. I loved reading about two people discovering their love of books and more specifically their love of collecting. Their writing style is funny, witty and entertaining.

Although I loved all three books, I thought that Warmly Inscribed was the weakest of the three books. The charm, for me, of the first two books was to read about the Goldstone's anecdotes about their constant search for yet another bookstore and, of course, another book that they could not possibly buy (but ended up buying anyway). The last book did not have the "friendly, fun, never know what you are going to discover next feeling" that the first two books had. The story was somewhat dry (the forger story was too long) and it felt as though they kept jumping from one story to another without really telling us anything.

By the way, I enjoy hearing about the meals they have during their book collecting trips. THAT's the kind of stuff that made the first two books fun!

Rating:
Summary: Third time is a charm!
Review: This is the third installment of books on book collecting by the Goldstones, and they continue to captivate their readers with wonderful tales about the fascinating world of books!!! A must read for all bibliophiles!!!