'I Met a Traveller in an Antique Land' by Connie Willis is a novella about lost things.

Author Jim is in New York City at Christmas trying to see his new book about how overrated nostalgia is for things that are gone. On a rainy day, he ducks into a most unusual book store that seems to be overflowing with extinct books. His visit gets cut short, but will he change his mind about lost things?

I loved this homage to old books and bookstores. Connie Willis is a master storyteller and knows how to pull at any emotion.

Thanks Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book is a book hoarders nightmare. As if we didn’t already feel the need to purchase every copy of anything worth even a minuscule amount of worth, this book will drive you to buy more! If you don’t feel immediately moved to love your books and their authors a bit more, you’re clearly dead inside. Willis went full force with this one! Never have I been so moved in only 80+ pages. Masterful writing, with prose, and passion, oh so much passion. I couldn’t put it down and I yearn to know more about what happened. It is the perfect novella. I will now add everything she’s ever written to TBR list with no shame or regret! Willis is quite the goddess and all will be blessed having spent time with her and her stories!

I was really taken in by this story, and was a bit disappointed it was so short. Truly I would love to hear of a longer tale based on this story. Good writing style, easy to follow. Stoy idea more original than most.

I Met a Traveller in an Antique Land* by Connie Willis. This novella tells the story of Jim, a blogger who has just appeared on a radio show where he insists that the demise of the physical books is necessary and acceptable. He then wanders through New York in the rain and stumbles upon a bookstore that isn't quite what it seems. When he goes through a door in the back he stumbles upon a storage warehouse for books. But what books are these? They are books that are lost forever in fires, floods, library cullings, and other unfortunate events. This is definitely a novella with a message. I enjoyed it but it was not Connie Willis at her finest. For that read To Say Nothing of the Dog or Domesday Book.

Apart from completely misunderstanding why and how libraries weed books, this novella leans heavily on bookish nerdery and nostalgia. Where do books go to die? To this place, writes Willis. This place in a Narnian warren of a New York basement which is larger on the inside than it is on the outside, guarded or perhaps more accurately supervised by highly efficient if distractedly busy people. Given that I'm not huge into New York or into misrepresenting the library weeding process, but mostly because the central character lacked a distinctive voice, I'm giving this four stars.

So much promise, but so little actually happens. Yes, that's probably the point, but we spend so much time in Ozymandis Books that something more should have happened. And the part about libraries weeding books? Just stop.

eARC provided by publisher.

Anti-book (that is, physical object) blogger encounters a library that archives the last copy of every book it can. Something something memory human striving something—Willis hasn’t been working for me for a while, and this didn’t change the pattern.

As a librarian, I absolutely loved this story about the love of books. Connie Willis can weave a wonderful tale and this one is no different. In an age where ebooks are taking over and dead tree books are not as valued, the main character finds himself in a place where those dead tree versions are precious.

I Met a Traveller in an Antique Land is a delightful story of rediscovery, nostalgia, and a love of books that goes deep. Every book lover should read this.

If you love books, this is a terrific story.

Although the blurbs say it’s all about the magic of books, and it is about that, it feels as if it is also, and possibly first and foremost, a book about obsession. And nostalgia. And obsolescence. And definitely books.

I say that it is about obsession because of the main characters reaction to his discovery of and at the strange and mysterious Ozymandias Books.

The name of the bookstore, Ozymandias, probably sounds familiar, but you probably couldn’t place it unless you googled it, as I did. Ozymandias is the title of a poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley, which begins with the line, “I met a traveller from an antique land”.

Ironically, the theme of the poem is hubris, overweening pride, that comes before an inevitable fall. In the case of the poem, it references the inevitable fall of once great empire. One Ozymandias’ other famous lines references that directly, “Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!”

But our protagonist Jim is not mighty. His work, his blog Gone for Good, is all about the inevitable obsolescence of pretty much everything, including printed books, and the way that societies routinely toss things they no longer find needful into the scrapheap of history. And that the things being tossed should not be mourned in their passing, because if they were truly needed they wouldn’t be tossed in the first place.

People, however, have an emotional attachment to those things being tossed, as well as the times they represent. People particularly have an emotional attachment to books, because they represent both the escape of reading their contents and the times and places where we read them. For those of us who are readers, those memories are indelible.

When Jim sneaks his peek into the depths of Ozymandias Books, he finds himself re-captured by that love of books and his own particular memories of the books of his childhood. In other words, he finds the magic and wonder of books and reading all over again, and realizes that their passing away is something to be mourned, and if possible prevented.

But he is ejected from this book lovers paradise, and in the end sacrifices everything to find his way back.

Can we blame him?

Escape Rating B+: I’m pretty sure that most librarians and book lovers are going to love this story. Particularly the people who love books as objects, and not just those who love books for the stories they contain but don’t care as much about the container.

Ozymandias Books, the store, reminds me of two of the libraries in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld. As Jim plumbs the depths of Ozymandias, its neverending row upon row and floor upon floor of bookstacks, it is clear to the reader that he is in a magical space that is not limited by the constraints of geography, geology, logic or common sense. Like a TARDIS, Ozymandias Books is infinitely bigger on the inside. Or, and more likely, it connects to the L-space created in the Discworld, where all great libraries flow into one another by magic.

But the nature of the collection at Ozymandias Books, and the way it is acquired, seem more like Death’s two libraries. One is the library of all the books that were ever written, whether or not those works were lost to the mists of time, fate, or mold. The other, and infinitely larger library, is the collection of all the books that were never written. (I probably have a couple of volumes in there myself)

Unlike many of this author’s other short works, I Met a Traveller is not a funny story. It is ultimately sad. It is a story about the death of books as objects. It is also the story of Jim’s growing obsession with finding this place where it seems like books go to die. As the story ends, it looks like he’s going to devote his life to the search, without leaving the reader feeling as if he has a chance at success.

This is a story that asks questions, and does not provide answers. It will make you think. And leave you with more than a bit of nostalgia for those good old days when books were objects that readers carried around proudly, and that carried readers away.

Disclaimer: I received a free eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I love Connie Willis; her sharp prose and subtle wit, the way her characters run around in chaotic circles until the eureka moment when the story all comes together. Lincoln’s Dreams is the one book I will recommend, but not lend out. (I learned my lesson with Bellwether, thank you very much, I think I’m on my 10th copy.) And don’t even get me started on Impossible Things! I get all fan-girl gushy just thinking about it.

Which is why I’m so surprised that I didn’t fall head over heels for this book…. especially since it’s about books and how this precious resource is disappearing right before our eyes. The main character was not developed, so it was hard to care about him, besides the feelings of solidarity for a fellow book-lover. The story didn’t have a resolution, it just stopped. In short, the whole thing just left me dissatisfied and wishing for more. I think this could be great with a couple hundred more pages (Do you EVER hear a reviewer saying that?) Still love you Connie Willis, but I have to give this one a meh.

Have you ever though about what happens to something when it’s the last of its kind? It’s an interesting question raised by this novella.

Protagonist Jim is shopping around a book (based on his blog) that argues the disappearance of things is good because progress deems it necessary and there’s no reason to be nostalgic over anything. After bombing a radio interview trying to argue that tangible print books are becoming unnecessary, he’s caught in a rainstorm and takes shelter in an old used bookstore. But there’s more to the shop than meets the eye.

When he discovers a secret door that leads to a seemingly unending library of books he’s never heard of categorized by means of disposal (like fire, flood, marker damage, store closing), he begins to recognize the importance of remembering that which has been lost. It’s not until leaving the shop that he slowly begins to realize it wasn’t simply a repository for obscure titles – it was a graveyard for books that are no longer in existence. And, of course, when he tries to find the bookstore again, it isn’t there.

Traveller is a really engaging read with a surprising amount of suspense for the type of story it’s telling – definitely a recommendation for anyone who loves books in general. And, as it’s a novella, it’s a quick read too. But it does raise questions about leaving the tangible behind for convenience and what else we lose along the way.

I'm only not recommending because it's basically a short story. Enjoyable, vintage Willis (unexpected discovery, main character amusingly perplexed, fruitless search with interesting obstacles), it's a great concept and necessarily amusing to librarians who have to weed (and face the guilt of trashing printed matter).

Jim is visiting Manhattan, doing publicity for his blog, Gone for Good, and hoping to sell it as a book to a publisher. The point of Jim’s blog, and his sincere belief, is that things dying out and disappearing ― payphones, elevator operators, VHS tapes, and books nobody cares about ― is part of the natural order, a sign that society doesn’t need these things any longer. If society changes its mind, they can always be brought back. Books are generally digitized, after all. Or so Jim asserts.

When a meeting with a publisher gets cancelled, Jim wanders the streets of Manhattan until a downpour of rain drives him into an old-fashioned bookstore, Ozymandias Books, which appears to deal in rare titles. Jim wanders through the shelves, bemused at the odd variety of obscure books that he sees.

"Promise Me Yesterday was cheek by jowl with A Traveller’s Guide to Salisbury Cathedral, Herman Melville’s The Isle of the Cross, and a 1928 Brooklyn phone book."

Jim ventures deeper into the bookstore, and ends up, Alice in Wonderland-like, following a beautiful blonde woman down a rabbit hole staircase (each step piled with books) to a hidden, cavernous warehouse beneath the streets of Manhattan filled with ― you guessed it ― millions of books, along with a mail chute that constantly spits out more books in a steady stream. Jim’s blonde reappears, conveniently, and Jim gets a personalized tour of this mysterious repository.

Despite abundant clues, including several not-so-cryptic hints from his tour guide, Cassie, Jim takes an inordinately long time to realize just what Ozymandias Books is really all about. The name of the bookstore, Ozymandias Books, is an intriguing symbol, but Willis pounds the symbolism hammer too hard here.

"And all googling “Ozymandias Books” brought up was a headshop in Boulder, Colorado, and Percy Bysshe Shelley’s poem about a traveler in the desert who stumbles onto a monument to some forgotten pharaoh that has an inscription that says, “Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair,” even though whatever “works” he’d had have long since disappeared."

It leaves too little to the imagination of the reader (though I did find it amusing that one of the books Jim notices is called The Lone and Level Sands). Cassie’s name is a more subtle clue, though Jim does explicitly wonder if Cassie is a nickname for Cassandra.

I’m generally a big fan of Connie Willis‘s work, but this novella fell a little flat. Willis takes an idea ― the intrinsic value and irreplacability of printed books, even the most mundane ones ― and runs with it, wrapping the entire novella around this single concept. I Met a Traveller is simply too one-note and comes across as somewhat simplistic message fiction. Additionally, some librarians have complained in their reviews of this novella that part of Willis’s argument ― that librarians “cull” or discard old library books without checking for rarity or other available copies ― is simply inaccurate. And despite some creative details, including their filing “system” and an admirable mix of the titles of actual lost literary works (such as Sylvia Plath’s Double Exposure) with more mundane titles like a Tiger Beat issue, overall the story just wasn’t imaginative enough to completely engage me. Still, I’d love to spend a few days with this lost book collection!

Ahoy there me mateys! I received this fantasy eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. So here are me honest musings . . .

i met a traveller in an antique land (Connie Willis)
Title: i met a traveller in an antique land
Author: Connie Willis
Publisher: Subterranean Press
Publication Date: TODAY!! (hardback/e-book)
ISBN: 978-1596068766
Source: NetGalley

The cover drew me in and three things convinced me to read this book:
1) Connie Willis wrote the doomsday book and it was seriously one of the best books I have ever read ;
2) It is a Subterranean Press book and they do great work; and
3) The story takes place in a bookstore.

I loved this quick paced novella by Connie Willis. It actually feels at first like yer reading a true-life account. Then the protagonist enters Ozymandias Books. It is no ordinary bookstore. The books seem to be shelved with no organization, there are no prices in any of the books, and the store goes on forever. As Jim enters further into the bookstore and learns more about its function, his idea of the disposability of the physical book begins to change. In an era where the e-book is a popular form, those of us readers who cling to our beloved physical copies of childhood favourites and wish we could visit the lost Library in Alexandria will highly enjoy this story of Connie Willis. She captures a moment where changing technology and nostalgia collide and makes ye think due to her masterful writing.

This be the last read in me April BookBum Club Challenge! Much thanks to the BookBum Club for giving me the incentive to finally read this wonderful “short and sweet” book (168 pgs). Day four – challenge complete! Arrrr!

So lastly . . .
Thank you Subterranean Press!

Netgalley had this to say about the novel:

Jim is in New York City at Christmastime shopping a book based on his blog—Gone for Good—premised on the fact that “being nostalgic for things that have disappeared is ridiculous.” Progress decides for people what they need and what’s obsolete. It’s that simple. Of course, not everyone agrees. After Jim bombs a contentious interview with a radio host who defends the sacred technology of the printed, tangible book, he gets caught in a rainstorm only to find himself with no place to take refuge other than a quaint, old-fashioned bookshop.

Ozymandias Books is not just any store. Jim wanders intrigued through stacks of tomes he doesn’t quite recognize the titles of, none with prices. Here he discovers a mysteriously pristine, seemingly endless wonderland of books—where even he gets nostalgic for his childhood favorite. And, yes, the overwhelmed and busy clerk showing him around says they have a copy. But it’s only after Jim leaves that he understands the true nature of Ozymandias and how tragic it is that some things may be gone forever…

From beloved, multiple-award-winning, New York Times best-selling author Connie Willis comes I Met a Traveller in an Antique Land, a novella about the irreplaceable magic of books.

To visit the author’s website go to:
Connie Willis - Author

To buy the novel please visit:
i met a traveller in an antique land - Book

To add to Goodreads go to:
Yer Ports for Plunder List

Previous BookBum Club Monthly Reviews
March 2018 – “And the award goes to – pick a book that has won an award!”

Previous Log Entries for this Author
crosstalk (On the Horizon – Sci-Fi eArc)

I received an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 stars. I feel like this was a bit of a waste of Connie Willis's talent, and had all of its weaknesses and only a little of its strength. This short novella is a story of a single episode - a guy (writing a blog about how books might be a tad obsolete but who cares) wanders New York in the rain, ends up in a magical place, takes too long to realise the place is magic but is taught a valuable lesson.

There is some material to like here - the place is written with love, and the stories of forgotten and lost books give this a nostalgic atmosphere. Unfortunately, the story has little beyond the place and its ambience, and the books themselves. The character is somewhat insufferable - the story is of course about him learning his lesson, but I'm not convinced he needed to require that lesson quite so badly. And the didacticism is fairly obvious, and the ending - less than convincing or satisfactory.

I think the allusions to Connie Willis's other novels were quite pleasant though. Overall, however, if I had bought it, I don't think I would have been satisfied.

Connie Willis is one of my favorite authors, and her works were absolutely formative for my teenaged self, but this novella didn’t quite work for me. I was fascinated by the descriptions of Ozymandias Books (gosh, I would love to spend a week there!) and I was very amused by Jim’s increasingly outlandish attempts to rationalize what he was seeing, which showcased Ms. Willis’ witty humor. Unfortunately, though, the rest of the story felt heavy-handed, and I finished the story feeling unsatisfied by the resolution. It felt like revenge on Jim for his previous beliefs, and it did have a bit of fairy tale feeling in that sense – that of the person who’s gone to fairyland and comes back somehow irrevocably broken by the knowledge he’s gained. Irregardless of my feelings, it was thought-provoking for me, as I’m one of those readers who’s switched pretty much entirely to ebooks and only buy physical books at library book sales (which are then usually donated again once I’ve read them) or, rarely, signed copies from favorite authors.

Overall, even though I didn’t care for it that much, since it’s so short I think I would still recommend this to bibliophiles.

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

This was a unique cute little novella i never read anything by this author but i really enjoyed this novella. I really would like a whole novel that explores more about this whole concept of saving and rescuing books. It was a nice short read.

3.5 stars, rounded up because of Booklove.

I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert... near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed;

And on the pedestal these words appear:
'My name is Ozymandias, king of kings;
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!'
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.

~ Percy Bysshe Shelley

It's an odd thing to begin a review with a sonnet, but therein, you get insight into the theme of this book: things that are lost, forgotten by time. Willis offers us a story about books and bookstores and searching for things you've lost. This novella is built on an interesting kernel of an idea but honestly, I felt it might have been better edited at novelette or even short story length. The last twenty-five pages of Jim's searching for what he couldn't find seemed to stretch as long as the corridors of Ozymandias Books. That said, I enjoyed the novella in spite of this, and found myself with the desire to run my fingers over the spines of all my childhood books that I still have, and whisper that they, unlike Ambush in Apache Canyon are not yet lost to time.

A good Short Story into entropy and the idea of Progress. Not everything has to be thrown away and how treasures get tossed aside as well as the junk. Definitely worth a read.

This just wasn't strong enough to really excite me. The concept of a treasure trove of books, somewhere in New York City. lured me in, and the beginning of the story, with its discussion of how books come to be lost was relevant to me, as someone who has struggled to "weed" library collections (because we just can't keep them all!). Unfortunately, the narrator's journey into the stacks of Ozymandias Books just wasn't interesting enough to hold my attention. I am, nonetheless, grateful to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read the digital ARC.