shoelessmama's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
3.75
"Unfortunately I have mislaid the book in question"- Neil Gaiman
It's rare that a book blurb will lure me in, but this one did. It was quite apt since much of this "tome" is about mislaid books, lists, items, etc. Fortunately this was the perfect book for me at this moment in time. It's November, and since autumn leaves are a similar flavor to old books I long for an antique book shop that is crammed full of books and nooks and comfort. Unfortunately my local library was lately demolished and rebuilt as a glass and metal monstrosity that sneers at the word comfort. When I walk inside I feel completely exposed and confronted... instead of being able sneak in unobtrusively as one would wish. Most of my favorite book places are now similarly transformed. So it was quite a comfort to be surrounded by the ambiance of this books contents for a few short hours and to feel that the people from 84 Charing Cross still exist in hidden corners of the world like Sotheran's. I'm glad to know that eccentric places and people can still be found.
It's rare that a book blurb will lure me in, but this one did. It was quite apt since much of this "tome" is about mislaid books, lists, items, etc. Fortunately this was the perfect book for me at this moment in time. It's November, and since autumn leaves are a similar flavor to old books I long for an antique book shop that is crammed full of books and nooks and comfort. Unfortunately my local library was lately demolished and rebuilt as a glass and metal monstrosity that sneers at the word comfort. When I walk inside I feel completely exposed and confronted... instead of being able sneak in unobtrusively as one would wish. Most of my favorite book places are now similarly transformed. So it was quite a comfort to be surrounded by the ambiance of this books contents for a few short hours and to feel that the people from 84 Charing Cross still exist in hidden corners of the world like Sotheran's. I'm glad to know that eccentric places and people can still be found.
cayleigh's review against another edition
informative
lighthearted
fast-paced
I read this because Tom Holland liked it and I was very intrigued as to what he liked. I can't describe why but it makes so much sense, and I don't know all that much about him. This was an interesting read because I know so little about this field. At times I would think that this is what Joe from You would have turned out like if he didn't kill all those people.
jessieraeyo's review
5.0
Step into one of the oldest bookshops in the world, where the joke is that the business has been "one year away from closing since 1761." Once Upon a Tome: The Misadventures of a Rare Bookseller by Oliver Darkshire is a charmingly augmented account of the long tradition, peculiar clientele, forsaken cupboards and paper-filled catacombs, poisoned bindings, delightful disarray, and one eager-ish apprentice learning the unspoken rules of a place where "the arrival of something as trivial as the internet was like a fly landing on the hide of a brachiosaur." One of my favorite reads of the year so far! If you're as fascinated as I am by the sentimental (and much less often commercial) value of old books and the Smaugs and Draculas who hoard them, you'll smile right through this acquiescent love letter to the whimsical world of antiquarian bookselling.