Craig's Book Club reviews Used and Rare by Lawrence and Nancy Goldstone

Do you love books? (I hope so, otherwise this page has little to offer you.) And I don't mean just do you love reading; I mean do you love books? The feel of them, the smell of them, having them on your shelf not even read yet; just looking at them?

I do.

If you see yourself in this description, you'll no doubt want to engross yourself in the world of the Goldstones' version of their book love, Used and Rare: Travels in the Book World.

After years of extravagant gift-giving oneupsmanship, the Goldstones decided one birthday to limit themselves to $20. This led to a search for a used copy of Tolstoy's War and Peace and their introduction to the world of used bookstores, book collecting, first editions, what constitutes "rare," and a $50,000 copy of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan.

This is a surprisingly readable trip. Writing in a conversational, first-person style, the Goldstones really take you with them on every step of their journey. You will meet several quirky booksellers, go to book sales, and learn everything you need to know to start a good book collection.

I read this book two years ago and it began my obsession with book collecting. I was already a voracious reader, but when I read this book and discovered that there was a whole other world behind those pages, I knew I had to be a part of it. It helped me find my dream--owning a bookstore. I am now making plans to enable me to make this dream a reality.

So, if books are your thing, then take a trip with Lawrence and Nancy Goldstone.

(The Goldstones have written three other books about their education in book values. If you like this one, be sure to pick up Slightly Chipped: Footnotes in Booklore, Warmly Inscribed: The New England Forger and Other Book Tales, and Out of the Flames: The Remarkable Story of a Fearless Scholar, a Fatal Heresy, and One of the Rarest Books in the World [The scholar is Michael Servetus, burned at the stake for heresy in 1553].)

Click on the links above to purchase any of the books mentioned, or use the search box below to find what you like.

(Email me and let me know what you think.)

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