This is a short and sweet book about writers that was not a straight homerun for me. I really liked how concise the facts were and it was easy to get a lot of information about a writer in a quick way. I also appreciated the humor that was present (with topics ranging from banned books to pseudonyms and everything in between).

The main thing that prevented me from appreciating this book as much as I should was that many of the contemporary authors were British, and so I was unfamiliar with them. I think a British reader would probably get much more out of this book. Because there were names I had never heard of, I did end up skipping some sections.

Anyone who loves reading will like these tidbits, but if you're already quite educated about famous writers, there might not be much new information here for you.

For the Love of Books is a book for all of us bibliophiles. Those of us who live in libraries and between the pages of a book will enjoy the stories of stories and of books. How well known stories came to be, and facts about books that we may not know about.

This was a light and fun exploration of all things bookish, with feuding authors, bestseller lists, under the influence and many more topics discussed. Interspersed with little 'it's a fact' snippets, the book gives a cursory look at the major genres of fiction and also delves into biographers, poets, travel writers and even cookbooks. What I will say is that the focus is very white, western, male cannon, which I found increasingly frustrating and there is nothing earth shattering here that hasn't been done before. However, as a book to dip in and out of for interesting facts, it's definitely one to bear in mind.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This is a cute, coffee table book for book lovers. Organized by topics, such as banned books, literary feuds, etc., Tarrant takes the reader on a trip full of literary love. It was enjoyable, but not worthy of a re-read. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thia collection would make for a great gift for book lovers. It is one of those books that you can read a few chapters from every night. I enjoyed the fun facts. What I didn't realize was how UK focused the collection is. As a Canadian, it was difficult to relate to.

For the Love of Books by Graham Tarrant is a book that will appeal to non-fiction book lovers.⠀
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This book is a biography of books and writers. The first chapter starts with how first books were made, the invention of the printing press, and the world’s first library. A few chapters that caught my interest were feuds between famous writers such as Lord Byron vs. John Keats and the addiction of writers. I learned that Stephen King was a drug addict and alcoholic in the 1980s. King does not have a recollection of working on a few books that became bestsellers. Other topics of interest were about the working style of different writers, how authors met their end if writers shaped their characters after a real-life person, and many more.⠀
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The book is also peppered with facts and book recommendations for various categories. The book was written in an academic thesis style which made me skim quickly through the book. The book will be an interesting read for non-fiction book lovers.

I feel kinda sad that i didn’t love this book (and that's the reason it took me so loooong to finish to read this). But it was so boring and I got lost between a LOT of dates, authors, titles, facts, etc. It’s too much information for my poor brain.

Besides, I’m not from the Uk so I didn’t know the context of some chapters, the British authors, the places, etc.

So, this was such a disappointing, but only for me. I don’t think I’m the public target.

This was a fascinating book! I would absolutely recommend it to people who love to read and want to learn fun facts about writers!

Ever wondered how literary rivalries began? Ever wanted to know which authors met a gruesome and untimely end? Or even the ones that were the perpetrators of those untimely deaths? *Gasp!* Graham Tarrant has written a fascinating book of facts, histories, tidbits, and lists on all thing bookish. He leads readers through the ancient history of all of the stepping stones that brought us to what we now know as books. Tarrant stories of authors lives and best seller histories keep avid book enthusiasts excited about learning more.
For the love of books is a great book for hardcore bibliophiles, the jumping around to and from various literary topics and anecdotes might not interest the casual reader. Reading fanatics will enjoy!

Full disclaimer: I received this as an ARC from Netgalley. Thank you so much!

I think this book does not get justice being in ebook form. The lists often crossed onto the next page, and it was hard to read and longer than I think it should be due to the empty space lists often have. I'd have preferred to get this as a print book, and I hope that my review wasn't colored too much by this.

A book about books, and mostly in list form, is a reader's dream. Books like this give you an abundance of future books to read by piquing your interest as to what is out there. Literary feuds, second careers, and origin stories galore. However, I found that this list didn't generate *quite* as many recommendations as I'd wanted, mostly because I'd either read the recommended texts, or had no desire to. The author's education seems pretty Euro centric, UK specifically, and very heavily dead white dude oriented. He actually calls out literature as being a sexist and heteronormative place and it being a problem, but then doesn't give much place for non white authors.

I don't think this was intentional; in fact I think the author genuinely does see an issue. But it would have been nice for him to do some research beyond his sphere of influence to herald other voices who are arguably also great and should have a place in canon.

I think I would buy this as a physical book because I do have a budding collection of "books for book people" and this fits nicely into the genre. It would also serve as a foil for other books that potentially undertake this project with a broader lens. It is also a good book for people who love facts and trivia about the literary world

Graham Tarrant's For the Love of Books has as its subtitle Stories of Literary Loves, Banned Books, Author Feuds, Extraordinary Characters, and More. Sounds exciting, right? On paper, it certainly does, but the way it is set up, it reads more like an encyclopedia or textbook.

Each literary topic is divided into small sections designed, I'm assuming, to be read a few at a time. This setup seems like it would make it an easy read, but it did just the opposite for me. The sections were so short that they provided very little new insights about the author or book they were talking about. I would have liked the author to have taken a more in-depth approach instead of just giving the reader a limited overview.

I found For the Love of Books to not be interesting enough to read all the way through at a normal book's pace. In fact, I began it in August 2019 and didn't fully complete it until now. For bibliophiles, it definitely offers some fun tidbits about books and the authors behind them. But with no clear path through, it's difficult to see the point of it all.

MY RATING - 2

This is a perfect read for anyone who loves books. There were so many interesting stories included and I loved reading about a world of bibliophiles. Would definitely recommend.

A fun book with interesting stories. Great for people looking for little known stories and curious backgrounds of authors and books.

A book for someone who absolutely loves books, trivia and anything nerdy. I loved learning new facts about books I have already loved and read, and it definitely made me want to pick up the other works that were mentioned.

This is a book lover's dream! Filled with bookish antidotes, trivia knowledge and general fun this book is entertaining for the new and old book lover alike. I enjoyed its general format and I loved that it allowed me to read about a variety of genres even if they're not my usual cup of tea. It makes the perfect for your book lover companion, bestie, or acquaintance.

This is a fun and delightful book for any lover of books! This book has essays written by authors about books.

I love books about books. This book has essays written by authors about books. A must read for anyone who loves books.

I enjoyed this read mostly because I voraciously read anything about books! It was the perfect book to pick up here and there whenever I had small segments of time to read. Great book for waiting in car line, taking a bath, or killing 5 minutes of time.

I found this book entertaining, though it was more of a flip through than a read everything kind of book. At least to me. It had a lot of little details about books and authors I never knew before. It was organized into a bunch of sections, so it was nice flipping through the sections I wanted. A recommended book for sure though!

A fun collections of trivia for the book lovers. I did notice that some of the information isn't 100% accurate if you are especially familiar with an author's biographical information (Anais Nin being the one I noticed some discrepancies with) but it was great book to pick up and read lightly. I also found a few authors I became more interested in putting on my to read list.