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Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader Audiobook
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(4.00) - 4,860 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
Anyone who has ever loved a book will relish this playful, yet deeply literate collection of essays celebrating the joy of reading. From building castles with books as a child, to the trauma of joining her library with her husband's, the author reveals, with much warmth and humor, the intimate details of her lifelong affair with books. For Anne Fadiman, books are not built for function, and certainly not for decoration. They are close personal friends who never fail to delight and amaze. Fadiman gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "reading for pleasure" with her lyrical descriptions of the range of emotions evoked by literary experiences. And being read to is one of the greatest pleasures of all, according to Fadiman. You will understand just what she means as you sit back and enjoy Suzanne Toren's delightful reading.
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"Ex Libris is a collection of essays about books - reading books, collecting books, growing up and old with books. Fadiman is passionate and witty, and her essays are, for the most part, very entertaining and thoughtful. I would recommend this to any avid reader."
— Sam (4 out of 5 stars)
Ex Libris Listener Reviews
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" my absolute favorite book, ever. porn for readers. "
— gretl, 2/20/2014 -
" Essays on books and reading of varying quality. I felt some of it was just a bit too clever for it's own good, while others were good, or perhaps I just got used to the style as I did prefer the second half to the first. "
— Gordon, 2/10/2014 -
" The essays were beautifully written and several of them I really enjoyed. But overall, I was disappointed. I was hoping to hear more about great books that I should read and why we love reading. Instead, most of the topics were clever, but not illuminating. It was often self-indulgent and self-promoting. The book's subtitle is "Confessions of a Common Reader", but I felt Ms. Fadiman spent a lot of energy trying to prove that she and her family have higher aspirations and IQ than we common readers. "
— Lynn, 1/28/2014 -
" I really enjoyed this book - I couldn't believe how many times I had to look up words in the dictionary! (In a good way). It also introduced me to my new favorite smart phone dictionary app. "
— Lori, 1/17/2014 -
" A collection of Anne Fadiman's essays. She is a word freak and bibliophile from a bibliophilic, logocentric family. My bias: I have a particular fondness for books in which I learn new words, of which this is one. "
— Mary, 1/13/2014 -
" This book is a hoot and a holler for anyone who loves reading. It's a collection of fabulously crafted essays covering variance aspects of reading. "
— Tiffany, 1/4/2014 -
" And I thought I loved books! Turns out, I just have a small crush compared to Anne Fadiman's love for all things printed. I'm very impressed! "
— Krista, 12/20/2013 -
" A drought of books led me to re-read this gem of a book. Just as lovely to read the second time round. "
— Autumn, 11/9/2013 -
" Read this out loud with Liz--we both had to buy a copy because it was so perfect for each of us. "
— Christy, 11/3/2013 -
" I remember being charmed by it--and by the idea of each of us reading a bit aloud as we discussed it. "
— Karen, 11/2/2013 -
" Charming collection of short essays about books and the author's family's relationship to them. "
— Aneel, 10/12/2013 -
" I really enjoyed this tiny book (novella) that was as much about the addiction of reading as it was the Queen of England. "
— melody, 9/8/2013 -
" I've read a few "books for book addicts" and this is my favourite - short, sweet and satisfying. "
— Roddy, 8/4/2013 -
" Loved it. Small, cute, and funny. "
— Eileen, 4/4/2013 -
" I think I would give this a 3.5 rating. Some of the essays I just didn't enjoy. I found myself saying "Am I that ignorant of writers?" But there were several essays that were thought provoking and I am looking forward to discussing at book club "
— Aubry, 12/8/2012 -
" Finished in early May, enjoyed for the most part but it didn't click for me. Was waiting to review til JD read it so I didn't give spoilers, but now I don't even remember spoilers to give them! "
— Amanda, 10/16/2012 -
" Read in two sittings, this was delicious to devour! Witty, entertaining, thoughtful, and insightful. There are some amazing ending lines of her essays too. "
— Katie, 10/7/2012 -
" Fun fun fun collection of essays that will highly appeal to anyone who likes to read and/or who loves language and books. For such readers, Fadiman is clearly a kindred spirit and her essay and well-written, engaging and often highly amusing! "
— Kelsey, 8/9/2012 -
" This is my favorite book of book-related essays. It's a bibliophile's dream come true! "
— Faith-Anne, 5/4/2012 -
" First essay is fabulous but the rest was blah. "
— Lincoln, 4/20/2012 -
" A charming read for anyone who loves books. "
— Ginger, 3/14/2012 -
" 3.5 stars. Click here for my full review. "
— Tricia, 1/14/2012 -
" I laughed, I cried, I bought it for my best girlfriends. Gave it to my boyfriend's mother. Yelled it from a mountain top. "
— Nancy, 10/19/2011 -
" Short easy read, enjoyable enough. I learned some new words. Nice change of pace from the tech books I'm slugging through at the moment. "
— Xavier, 6/25/2011 -
" A really lovely set of essays about being a book-lover, reader, collector, fetishist... ;) Definitely a good read for any lover of books! "
— Emilie, 6/17/2011 -
" Last evening, my friend, Sue Farbman lent me this little book of essays because she thought I would like it. I sat down this morning and read it through without a break. I loved it. I love words. I love books. Much of my connection with my own father was grounded in our shared love of reading. "
— Susie, 6/8/2011 -
" This was a cute little book. It was humerus and I will probably read other books of hers. Plus it will help my vocabulary; I had to look up a word every page or so. "
— Erin, 5/18/2011 -
" Made a gift of it. Learned some new words, which is always a joy. "
— Sam, 5/14/2011 -
" This book is a little piece of magic. "
— Josephine, 4/23/2011
About Anne Fadiman
Anne Fadiman is the Francis Writer-in-Residence at Yale. Her first book, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, is an account of the unbridgeable gulf between a family of Hmong refugees and their American doctors. It won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction, among other awards. Fadiman is also the author of two essay collections. The London Observer called Ex Libris “witty, enchanting, and supremely well-written.” NPR said of At Large and At Small, “Fadiman is utterly delightful, witty and curious, and she’s such a stellar writer that if she wrote about pencil shavings, you’d read it aloud to all your friends.”
About Suzanne Toren
Suzanne Toren, award-winning narrator, has over thirty years of experience in narration. She was named a “Golden Voice” by AudioFile magazine in 2019. She has won the American Foundation for the Blind’s Scourby Award for Narrator of the Year, AudioFile magazine named her the 2009 Best Voice in Nonfiction & Culture, and she is the recipient of multiple Earphones Awards. She performs on and off Broadway and in regional theaters and has appeared on Law & Order and in various soap operas.