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Stories of Books and Libraries
An enchanting book about books: a beautiful hardcover Pocket Classics anthology of stories that testify to the irresistible power of the written word.
The characters in the delightful stories collected here range all the way from the ink-stained medieval monks in Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose to the book-besotted denizens of Ali Smith's Public Library and Other Stories. In these pages readers are invited to enter the interior lives of librarians in Lorrie Moore's "Community Life" and Elizabeth McCracken's "Juliet" and are ushered into a host of unusual libraries, including the infinite rooms of Jorge Luis Borges's "The Library of Babel" and a secret library in Helen Oyeyemi's "Books and Roses."
Books exert their power in mysterious an attempt by the military leaders of an imaginary nation to censor all of literature goes awry in Italo Calvino's "A General in the Library" and Julio Cortázar's mesmerizing "The Continuity of Parks" dramatizes the merging of the world inside and outside of a book. In Stories of Books and Libraries, a dazzling array of writers including Evelyn Waugh, Colette, Walter Benjamin, Isaac Babel, Teffi, and Ray Bradbury pay tribute to books and the magical places that house them.
Everyman's Library pursues the highest production standards, printing on acid-free cream-colored paper, with full-cloth cases with two-color foil stamping, decorative endpapers, silk ribbon markers, European-style half-round spines, and a full-color illustrated jacket.
The characters in the delightful stories collected here range all the way from the ink-stained medieval monks in Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose to the book-besotted denizens of Ali Smith's Public Library and Other Stories. In these pages readers are invited to enter the interior lives of librarians in Lorrie Moore's "Community Life" and Elizabeth McCracken's "Juliet" and are ushered into a host of unusual libraries, including the infinite rooms of Jorge Luis Borges's "The Library of Babel" and a secret library in Helen Oyeyemi's "Books and Roses."
Books exert their power in mysterious an attempt by the military leaders of an imaginary nation to censor all of literature goes awry in Italo Calvino's "A General in the Library" and Julio Cortázar's mesmerizing "The Continuity of Parks" dramatizes the merging of the world inside and outside of a book. In Stories of Books and Libraries, a dazzling array of writers including Evelyn Waugh, Colette, Walter Benjamin, Isaac Babel, Teffi, and Ray Bradbury pay tribute to books and the magical places that house them.
Everyman's Library pursues the highest production standards, printing on acid-free cream-colored paper, with full-cloth cases with two-color foil stamping, decorative endpapers, silk ribbon markers, European-style half-round spines, and a full-color illustrated jacket.
496 pages, Hardcover
First published January 5, 2023
38 people are currently reading
659 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
June 6, 2025
Typical of an anthology, some of these were wonderful, a lot more very good, some just so-so, and a few I just skimmed. I do love these Everyman Pocket Editions though.
September 10, 2023
I cannot remember where I came across this book, probably from a book podcast, but it looked interesting so I put it on my wish list. I received it for my birthday. This is a collection of short stories, essays, and excerpts from books all about books or libraries. As with any story collection, some will be better than others. I did not recognize most of the authors unfortunately but it was a wide range of years the stories were originally written. The Man Who Liked Dickens by Evelyn Waugh was a Twilight Zone type of story so I enjoyed that one. The Well of Lost Plots by Jasper Fforde, Wuthering Heights, was fun because the characters from the novel are interviewed by Miss Havisham. The Gatsby Trial from Reading Lolita In Tehran by Azar Nafisi did make me curious to read the whole book. It starts and ends with a Ray Bradbury story.
July 30, 2023
A varied and fascinating collection of stories, essays, and excerpts focusing on books, libraries, and readers. Highly recommended!
June 16, 2024
this is a lovely collection of essays and stories by famous writers. In essays, we get a peek into the writers' love and affection for books and stories, and how their experience with books influences their lives and career.
its always been a fascinating topic for me to read about writers' reading and how they interpret the text. Neil Gaiman Tumblr was a great insight to this - he lets his readers know about references that's found in his texts and the extent of research it goes to pick something as inane as a cornerstone. Are all writers like this? i don't think so.
when young, i always believed that writers are also great readers. but as an adult who is weary of the world, i believe it was quite naive to think so. great writing isn't always pretty. its not always greatly researched. its definitely not always has great literary merit.
sometimes great writing are those that just make us feel deeply about the world, about the strangers we never met, about invoking compassion to things that don't even exist.
isn't reading just grand?
its always been a fascinating topic for me to read about writers' reading and how they interpret the text. Neil Gaiman Tumblr was a great insight to this - he lets his readers know about references that's found in his texts and the extent of research it goes to pick something as inane as a cornerstone. Are all writers like this? i don't think so.
when young, i always believed that writers are also great readers. but as an adult who is weary of the world, i believe it was quite naive to think so. great writing isn't always pretty. its not always greatly researched. its definitely not always has great literary merit.
sometimes great writing are those that just make us feel deeply about the world, about the strangers we never met, about invoking compassion to things that don't even exist.
isn't reading just grand?
February 15, 2024
Another book I would have given 5 stars to if it weren't for that absurd "It was amazing" tag. Honestly, how many books in your life (and I've read hundreds in over 70 years) have been "amazing" in the full sense of the word?
Be that as it may, this lovely volume is a paean to books, libraries, the people who create them and use them, and to the love of reading. There is much to enjoy here in this collection of short stories and excerpts from longer works, and best of all for me was the discovery of two authors I thoroughly enjoyed and had never heard of, Elizabeth Taylor (the British writer) and Teffi, the nom de plume of the late 19th-early 20th century Russian writer Nadezhda Lokhvitskaya, both of whose writing is available from the NYRB Classics series. Recommended.
By the way, as it is an Everyman publication, it has a fine description of the founding of that marvelous publishing house, which by itself is almost worth the price of the book.
Be that as it may, this lovely volume is a paean to books, libraries, the people who create them and use them, and to the love of reading. There is much to enjoy here in this collection of short stories and excerpts from longer works, and best of all for me was the discovery of two authors I thoroughly enjoyed and had never heard of, Elizabeth Taylor (the British writer) and Teffi, the nom de plume of the late 19th-early 20th century Russian writer Nadezhda Lokhvitskaya, both of whose writing is available from the NYRB Classics series. Recommended.
By the way, as it is an Everyman publication, it has a fine description of the founding of that marvelous publishing house, which by itself is almost worth the price of the book.
December 7, 2023
Short stories that are more (or less) linked to books & libraries. Written from 1820 to 2016 by many different authors. Some are better than others which I often skimmed.
September 24, 2024
I imagine that everyone on Goodreads is a book lover. I am also a fan of libraries, so reading this book was a treat for me. I had read several of the entries previously, but revisiting them was, in general, a delight. And, as in all anthologies, there were a few selections that didn't especially appeal to me, but they obviously were written by someone who loved books or libraries, so I was able to skim them and give them a pass.
During the course of reading this collection, I've visited a library in the home town of a young army officer during WW 2; been to Catalonia and read the stories of two dissimilar yet similar women; taken a tour of the Bodleian Library in Oxford, given by the first woman who was allowed to enter its sanctuary in 1868 at the age of 17; encountered a bookish teen-age girl in 1950's England who is from a lower middle class background, raised by a single mother, and who experiences another side of life when she's invited to visit the home of a classmate from a well to do family; read the story of two women who are partners, but who break up when one is obsessed by researching the life of Katherine Mansfield, to the annoyance of the other partner. What happens after that is very interesting, to say the least.
After that, I encountered a time travel fantasy (not a favorite genre for me, but I enjoyed this one) in which a little known author from the 1890's is given the opportunity to visit the future and discover how posterity will regard his work; another fantasy (for certain) in which Queen Elizabeth II becomes an avid reader; and a tale of a group of Russian icon painters doing tedious piece-work and how books change some of their lives.
After that, a short humorous essay written by Charles Lamb on lending books (for better or for worse, something I don't do):
"The human species, according to the best theory I can form of it, is composed of two distinct races, the men who borrow and the men who lend...."
Among the borrowers was C. (Samuel Taylor Coleridge). Lamb forgives him because he would return the books with "annotations tripling their value". He accuses another friend - K. , the playwright James Kenney, of borrowing books for "the childish love of getting the better of thy friend". Kenney evidently wasn't greatly offended, because some research turned up the fact that he named one of his sons (who became a writer) Charles Lamb Kenney.
Then, I encountered Fay Weldon's whimsical reimagining of the fates of some of literature's tragic female figures, including Emma Bovary, Anna Karenina, Edith Wharton's Lily Bart, and Ibsen's Norah; excerpts from Helene Hanff's 84 Charing Cross Road, which made me want to reread that book for the 4th or 5th time; a rendering of the beginnings of Everyman's Library (the ancestor of the company that produced the handsomely printed and bound book that I was reading) written by its original editor who gave the company its name; and a university mock trial for the book, The Great Gatsby, held in revolutionary Iran.
Finally, Seneca left me me with a thought to reflect on and contemplate: "A student is burdened by a crowd of authors. not instructed; and it is far better to devote yourself to a few, than to lose your way among a multitude."
After reading the numerous authors represented in this book, and being engaged and enlightened by so many of them, I have to disagree with Seneca's notion. When it comes to reading, variety can, indeed, be the spice of life.
During the course of reading this collection, I've visited a library in the home town of a young army officer during WW 2; been to Catalonia and read the stories of two dissimilar yet similar women; taken a tour of the Bodleian Library in Oxford, given by the first woman who was allowed to enter its sanctuary in 1868 at the age of 17; encountered a bookish teen-age girl in 1950's England who is from a lower middle class background, raised by a single mother, and who experiences another side of life when she's invited to visit the home of a classmate from a well to do family; read the story of two women who are partners, but who break up when one is obsessed by researching the life of Katherine Mansfield, to the annoyance of the other partner. What happens after that is very interesting, to say the least.
After that, I encountered a time travel fantasy (not a favorite genre for me, but I enjoyed this one) in which a little known author from the 1890's is given the opportunity to visit the future and discover how posterity will regard his work; another fantasy (for certain) in which Queen Elizabeth II becomes an avid reader; and a tale of a group of Russian icon painters doing tedious piece-work and how books change some of their lives.
After that, a short humorous essay written by Charles Lamb on lending books (for better or for worse, something I don't do):
"The human species, according to the best theory I can form of it, is composed of two distinct races, the men who borrow and the men who lend...."
Among the borrowers was C. (Samuel Taylor Coleridge). Lamb forgives him because he would return the books with "annotations tripling their value". He accuses another friend - K. , the playwright James Kenney, of borrowing books for "the childish love of getting the better of thy friend". Kenney evidently wasn't greatly offended, because some research turned up the fact that he named one of his sons (who became a writer) Charles Lamb Kenney.
Then, I encountered Fay Weldon's whimsical reimagining of the fates of some of literature's tragic female figures, including Emma Bovary, Anna Karenina, Edith Wharton's Lily Bart, and Ibsen's Norah; excerpts from Helene Hanff's 84 Charing Cross Road, which made me want to reread that book for the 4th or 5th time; a rendering of the beginnings of Everyman's Library (the ancestor of the company that produced the handsomely printed and bound book that I was reading) written by its original editor who gave the company its name; and a university mock trial for the book, The Great Gatsby, held in revolutionary Iran.
Finally, Seneca left me me with a thought to reflect on and contemplate: "A student is burdened by a crowd of authors. not instructed; and it is far better to devote yourself to a few, than to lose your way among a multitude."
After reading the numerous authors represented in this book, and being engaged and enlightened by so many of them, I have to disagree with Seneca's notion. When it comes to reading, variety can, indeed, be the spice of life.
March 29, 2023
There were several stories/excerpts from books that I really enjoyed in this collection. Among my favorites were the short stories, "Girl Reading" (Elizabeth Taylor), "The Man Who Liked Dickens" (Evelyn Waugh), and A General in the Library (Italo Calvino). I was interested enough in the excerpt from 84 Charing Cross Road that I plan to read the book. While I did enjoy a few others, most of the selections here were not to my taste. Many of the short stories were translations and hard to follow, most notably Jorge Luis Borges' The Library of Babel. I had no interest in following the dissociated labyrinths of his mind and skipped that one after a few pages. While there were selections from all eras, I would say the overall vibe in this collection is that of 20th and 21st century nihilism and despair. I feel kind of depressed after reading it, which is not what I expected. Whoever chose these works was not someone who revels in the beauty that books and libraries can bring to our lives, but rather someone who likes to look down their nose at those who are actively trying to improve their lives with good books. In other words, I think an "academic," in the worst sense of the word, put this one together. Read if you enjoyed your literary theory class, wear black turtlenecks, and think to yourself "that illiterate plebeian," when encountering anyone who doesn't want to discuss philosophy with you.
June 30, 2023
This anthology contains short stories, chapters from longer novels, and excerpts from memoirs, essays, and diaries, with the common thread that all involve books or libraries. Inevitably, not all the excerpts were to my taste. But I was surprised at how diverse and generally enjoyable the selections were, and the clothbound hardback is satisfying to hold - not as much of a priority when I’ve chosen a book for the specific information it contains, but a factor when I’ve chosen a book purely for the pleasure of reading. This would be a good gift for a reader who likes books and reads eclectically.
Favorites selections for me include Helen Oyeyemi, ‘Books and Roses’; Elizabeth McCracken, ‘Juliet’; Maxim Gorky, ‘The Icon Painters’; Saki, ‘Forewarned’; a selection of letters from Helene Hanff’s 84 Charing Cross Road; and a bunch of the shorter selections, including two essays on reading and book ownership by Montaigne.
Favorites selections for me include Helen Oyeyemi, ‘Books and Roses’; Elizabeth McCracken, ‘Juliet’; Maxim Gorky, ‘The Icon Painters’; Saki, ‘Forewarned’; a selection of letters from Helene Hanff’s 84 Charing Cross Road; and a bunch of the shorter selections, including two essays on reading and book ownership by Montaigne.
December 4, 2023
What an interesting little book (little in size, not in length). Here is a compendium of stories about books and libraries, ranging from more modern short works to older (i.e. late 17th Century) short works. Some of the works are standard to the readers of books on books, like Charles Lamb's, Two Essays of Elia, Jorges Luis Borges', The Library of Babel and Walter Benjamin's, Unpacking My Library. Many others are new and equally interesting. If you are interested in the subjects here, you should really enjoy this book. As a side note, it is published by The Everyman's Pocket Classics, and it fits nicely in the hand (which is great for a book that is 494 pages long).
January 15, 2024
I was disappointed to find this to be full of uneven offerings. Most of the best entries were excerpted from novels, all of which, aside from the Borges, I had already read. The essays were barely tolerable, making me feel that they were included only because a scanner had picked up the word “book” or “reader.” I placed my hopes in the short fiction and found the best of these to be the Bradbury (both of which I had read), and the Helen Oyeyemi, Gorky, Elizabeth Taylor, Saki, and Ali Smith stories.
August 23, 2024
Una gran colección de relatos referentes a los libros y las bibliotecas. Desde cuentos o extractos de novelas, hasta ensayos y reflexiones sobre estas maravillosas creaciones, cúmulos de conocimiento, sentimientos y palabras.
«You would find that the past is interesting to her because the present is so intensely real; that she handles knowledge purely as the instrument of feeling, and loves it only because by it feeling is deepened, widened and refined»
- Mary Arnold
«You would find that the past is interesting to her because the present is so intensely real; that she handles knowledge purely as the instrument of feeling, and loves it only because by it feeling is deepened, widened and refined»
- Mary Arnold
March 20, 2023
A thoughtful variety of short stories and excerpts. Highlights for me included works by Italo Calvino (A General in the Library), Julio Cortazar (Continuity of Parks), Ray Bradbury (The Library), as well as lighter excerpts from Helene Hanff (84, Charing Cross Road) and Jasper Fforde (The Well of Lost Plots) -- two books I'd read long ago and was happy to be reacquainted with.
July 24, 2023
I found the stories in this collection. Some of the stories, like the Ray Bradbury ones, I liked a lot and made me want to try all of the others. But some of them did not hold my interest at all. I did read this specifically for the Library of Babel since this was the only book my library had that included that story. I enjoyed it, so I guess the whole thing was worth it in that sense.
September 3, 2023
There were several stories that I rated 4.0, others not quite this standard but a good diversion between books. Some of these stories were written well into the past, others more current. In particular I liked stories by Italian Calvino,Mary Arnold, Elizabeth Taylor, Evelyn Waugh, Max Beerbohm, and Azar Nafisi.
April 15, 2024
What a splendid volume and collection of stories! It has such an interesting variety of them, it’s hard to choose a favorite because there were so many that were delicious to read. Would recommend and reread
July 4, 2024
The ones I remember & enjoyed:
Exchange (Ray Bradbury)
Books and Roses (Helen Oyeyemi)
The Man Who Likes Dickens (Evelyn Waugh)
The Ex-wife (Ali Smith)
Enoch Soames (Max Beerbohm)
If On A Winter's Night A Traveller (Italo Calvino)
Wuthering Heights (Jasper Fforde)
The Gatsby Trial (Azar Nafisi)
Exchange (Ray Bradbury)
Books and Roses (Helen Oyeyemi)
The Man Who Likes Dickens (Evelyn Waugh)
The Ex-wife (Ali Smith)
Enoch Soames (Max Beerbohm)
If On A Winter's Night A Traveller (Italo Calvino)
Wuthering Heights (Jasper Fforde)
The Gatsby Trial (Azar Nafisi)
January 12, 2025
A charming collection of short stories.
Of course, there were some that were better than others - but there were enough really good ones to make this collection worthwhile.
My favourites included 'A General in the Library', 'The Library of Babel', 'The Uncommon Reader' and 'Lily Bart's Hat Shop'.
Of course, there were some that were better than others - but there were enough really good ones to make this collection worthwhile.
My favourites included 'A General in the Library', 'The Library of Babel', 'The Uncommon Reader' and 'Lily Bart's Hat Shop'.
May 21, 2023
Very interesting collection of stories focusing on books and libraries.
June 24, 2023
I love books about books and what a delightful little tome this is!
August 5, 2023
4 stars as some of the stories are brilliant, others not so
February 1, 2024
One of the best in this series of collections.
April 8, 2024
num só volume, contos e textos de borges, calvino, waugh, cortázar, bradbury, colette, benjamin, moore, entre muitos outros - e todos dedicados a livros, bibliotecas e leituras. como resistir?
June 11, 2024
This collection of stories and essays is an absolute gem for any bibliophile.
November 29, 2024
ikkje alle som var like bra, men jamt over ei god samling
October 28, 2024
idk from where to start..okay so this book has become one of my comfort and favourite book..I mean it’s a book about books libraries how can I not adore and love this book !! During autumn reading this book felt really cozy I felt like I was sitting on a library corner transported into each story of this book and witnessing the characters📖🕯️🤍this book contains lots of short stories from a different famous books and all of the stories was beautifully written!! It’s like a warm hug for anyone who’s ever found comfort in a stack of books🌟 and the quotes my goodness, I couldn’t stop underlining the books pages because of how well and deeply it meant to me 🥹✨anyway this is one of my favourite cozy books now and I will forever recommend this to anyone who really loves books and libraries 📚🫶🏼
Currently reading
July 1, 2024Since this is a "night stand book," an occasional book, I'd better jot down notes on memorable stories as I go.
Girl reading / Elizabeth Taylor [not the actress]- friendship across class in mid-century Britain. The working class girl spends holidays at the posh girl's estate home and enjoys sitting under a tree, reading. The mixed emotions the working class mother feels about these treats for her daughter is well portrayed.
The man who liked Dickens / Evelyn Waugh - hooo-whee, a gut-punch of a story about a lost explorer saved by another white man who'd be grateful to have Dickens read to him.
Max Beerbohm one - writers, the devil, ego, and time travel set in about 1916. Quite good.
Girl reading / Elizabeth Taylor [not the actress]- friendship across class in mid-century Britain. The working class girl spends holidays at the posh girl's estate home and enjoys sitting under a tree, reading. The mixed emotions the working class mother feels about these treats for her daughter is well portrayed.
The man who liked Dickens / Evelyn Waugh - hooo-whee, a gut-punch of a story about a lost explorer saved by another white man who'd be grateful to have Dickens read to him.
Max Beerbohm one - writers, the devil, ego, and time travel set in about 1916. Quite good.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews