As both a trivia nerd and a bibliophile, I absolutely loved this book. Some of the facts I already knew, but even those were written in a way that was still entertaining. Bonus: Guaranteed to up your jeopardy and trivial pursuit skills.

A compilation of compelling stories about books, stories, authors, and the curious world around us. Graham Tarrant has created a valuable volume, full of data and lists that will make any reader fall in love. There is everything in this book of books!

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For the love of books is not a common book, but I consider it as an encyclopedia of books. For the love of books is a book about books! It’s the perfect book for book nerds and all those people who love books and would never get enough books. As Graham Tarrant wrote there is a book for each episode of our life. Books are like friends; they are always there when we need them.
In this book, Graham Torrent tells the story of books since the beginning. The invention of the print, the etymology of the word “book”, those books banned at the time, regarding authors and so on. In this book we get to know everything about books. The books during history, the different genre of books, the innovation regarding books, why some books become bestsellers, and so on. An A to Z about books. Perfect to read a few pages periodically, whenever there is time. I enjoyed reading each part of it, and I am sure I will read again at some point of my life.

I received an advanced digital copy of this book from the author, Skyhorse Publishing and Netgalley.com. Thanks to all for the opportunity to read and review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This is quite simply, a book of books. A delight to be read and enjoyed. The perfect gift for the voracious reader.

5 out of 5 stars. Highly recommended.

3.5 stars. As a person who loves reading and books, I knew there was no chance this book would not be enjoyable for me. In my family, we have books that we like to keep in the car because they are perfect books for reading in snippets and it gives us the joy of having an option in case we find ourselves stuck somewhere and with nothing to read. This is a perfect car book.

This book is organized by themes and each theme has lots and lots of snippets of stories about different books or authors. Each story is about a paragraph or a page. It's not an essay collection, it's not the author's feelings or thoughts about these stories, it's the stories themselves. For me, this was perfect.

I was reading my book over 4th of July and had family visiting. There were so many fascinating bits in here that I couldn't stop quoting them out loud to my family. If you're a book nerd and like reading about authors, the stories behind the books or the characters, I have no doubt that you'll find something to treasure in this book.

Thank you to netgalley and Skyhorse Publishing for an advanced copy in return for an honest review.

As a librarian, I was immediately drawn to this book and was so excited to receive a digital ARC! It did not disappoint. I found myself laughing, gasping, and shaking my head as I learned more about the world of books than I had even thought to ask about. My favorite part is that this book is structured in a way that allows for excerpts to be read without confusion -- I've recommended passages to my colleagues who teach literature courses, and at least one of them hopes to incorporate this text in some part into their future courses!

As a person who spends most of their time reading books and talking about books and thinking about books, the first mention of Graham Tarrant’s “For the Love of Books: Stories of Literary Lives, Banned Books, Author Feuds, Extraordinary Characters, and More” in my vicinity, initially left me more than a little eager to get my hands on it. But, unfortunately, to a consummate book-devotee there was not really anything new to be gained here; most of the information was general knowledge, its frequent lists banal and rather arbitrary and, towards the end, it started to feel more like a reference book than anything anyone would sit down and actually take the time to read recreationally. The book comes in at a cool $19.99 in the US (no idea how much it costs in the UK, or if it is actually published here) and, honestly, I would advise you to instead divert that money to an actual book as, for most people interested in literature of this nature, this one will not tell you anymore than a quick google search would unveil.

5 dragons for what it does to book lovers. 3 dragons for what I wanted/expected. Averaged out gives us four dragons.

I’m giving this four dragons rather than five because it was difficult to read straight through. It jumped very quickly when it could have slowed down and given a more complete look at some of the more interesting sections. Basically this book was a book of paragraphs that didn’t connect which is fine for the style of the book, but is not my personal taste.

For the Love of Books: Stories of Literary Lives, Banned Books, Author Feuds, Extraordinary Characters, and More is the type of book that almost needs to be read as a physical copy.
I wanted to have this book in my hands where I could flip through it and peek around. I wanted to be able to annotate and highlight (in the real world). I wanted to be able to take the time to commit some of these stories to memory. Instead I found myself flipping through page after page in fascination but remembering very little. This would also make an amazing coffee table book (if those are still a thing). I wanted to be able to pick this up and wow my family with strangle little tidbits.

It is so full of entertaining facts about well-known and beloved authors that I took about a million screenshots while reading it. It’s definitely worth picking up even for just a few pages of escape. I was quite excited to read this and wasn’t really disappointed though I did have different expectations. And in the interest of absolute honesty I haven’t fully finished it. I’ve read well over half, but I didn’t want to rush it because then I wouldn’t remember any of the cool stuff. So I’m writing this review without being able to say I’ve read every word which is unusual for me at least when the book is not a DNF, but it is because I enjoy the book so much that I don’t want to end it just yet.

As a huge lover of books, I also love books about books. Out of the ones I've read, I would consider this one of the best.
It's not written in essay format, it's not a book if you want to really want to go in dept on a particular subject. This is a book about books and authors and everything in between! Everything is bite sized, interesting, and informative! There were some more common facts, and some much more obscure, so most people will find something they never knew before in between these pages.
A very fun book to have and flip through, and you never know what conversations will start with the information you find out.

Thank you to NetGalley for a free eCopy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I thought this would be a book that I read through quickly perusing some sections and taking more time with others. I found myself slowing down and reading every word, For The Love Of Books covers everything from the earliest history of books to the advent of digital print to writing habits to feuds with fellow authors to authors with experience in the spy world. It has a great balance of printing history and interesting stories to keep it from being either dry or a book of bibliophile trivia. I had no idea that George Washington was once a book salesman or that there are so many authors who worked as spies or informants in the World War.

There are also lists of the best books related to each subject or chapter. I plan on listing them all in my journal and choosing a couple from each list to read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Skyhorse Publishing for an advanced readers copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I found For the Love of Books such a fun experience. Graham Tarrant writes conversationally about some of the most interesting anecdotes, quotes, and observations regarding writers and books. I learned some new trivia, explored some genres I might not have been exposed to before, and added some things to my to be read list. I really appreciated how the book is laid out. There are no consequences for reading out of order, leaving us the opportunity to pick it up and put it down at will. I think For the Love of Books would make a perfect gift option, and would be happy to recommend it.
I received my copy through NetGalley under no obligation.

This is definitely a book for people who like useless trivia. My father would have loved this. He was the King of Trivia no one else knew. For us mere mortals, this has some sections that are interesting and fun to read through but as a whole it probably isn't the sort of book that is for everyone to sit and read from cover to cover.

#ForTheLoveOfBooks #NetGalley

I believe I stopped reading this around 85%, so, this is not a DNF.

At first, I was rather excited; however, as I progressed, the excitement diminished. Mainly at the point when I realised that many of these things which were featured in this book were in the literature textbook, we had in high-school. And other things I would note as "common knowledge"(not the right word... basically things most book worms know just by searching new books, reading and due to the existence of Wikipedia), very few things were surprising to me, and suddenly I had to push myself through this book.

I'm going to give this two stars if only for the excitement I had at the beginning. Unfortunately, for me, this book is pointless.

For me, this was just an okay book. It covered a lot of different topics, but it was a bit scatterbrained in the excecution and superficial. Also, some of the lists included weren't even remotely related to the topic of the chapter.

I am drawn to books about books, reading, writing, authors, libraries, and bookstores, so I was naturally intrigued to pick up Graham Tarrant’s, “For the Love of Books: Stories of Literary Lives, Banned Books, Author Feuds, Extraordinary Characters, and More.” This book keeps its promise. It has quirky, well-researched, and chock full of interesting factoids about all things book. It was entertaining and quick … not because it was a page-turner, but because it was easily skimmable.

I wasn’t interested in some chapters but found others highly entertaining. My favorite sections were on the famous feuds between authors, and the one on glittering prizes. Whether I was engaged in the subject matter or not, I did appreciate the clever writing. I also loved the “It’s a Fact” call-outs and lists at the end of each section. I added three books to my TBR folder on Goodreads from the Ten Impressive Debut Novels list, and four books from the Ten Good Reads about the Book Trade.

I would have preferred print over the e-version of this book. I would have liked it for my bookshelf to reference the lists and facts in the future because it’s unlikely I’ll bother to search my digital files.

For the Love of Books: Stories of Literary Lives, Banned Books, Author Feuds, Extraordinary Characters and More by Graham Tarrant covers a variety of nonfiction bookish topics. He starts the book with a brief history of printing, books, and libraries. He then progresses to historical notes on the novel. From there many topics are covered from book banning and writers' feuds to the history of crime fiction to writers who ran afoul of the law to lawsuits and authors. And so much more, roughly 22 bookish topics are covered.

I pretty much enjoyed most of the book. My favorite segments were those about spies, science fiction and fantasy, and children's books. While this is a very good book, it does have one drawback. It's pretty much centered on authors and books from the United Kingdom. While there are some other authors mentioned, I felt like there could have been a more balanced approach.

I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars. I would recommend this well-researched book to people who enjoy reading about books and authors. Even though this book mainly has a UK focus, there is still a lot to enjoy for any book lover.

For the Love of Books by Graham Tarrant was published June 4th, 2019 by Skyhorse.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. all opinions herein are my own and freely given.

This was a very entertaining collection of essays about writers and their books. The opening bits were more of a history lesson - and I almost stopped reading because it was all information I already knew and wasn't anything like the hidden backstory stuff promised in the blurb. Don't be turned off by that - skim (or skip) those bits if you already know them, but keep reading because the good stuff is just around the corner... There were delightful tidbits of trivia, gossip, and "did you know" here, paired with a nice history of books/authors/reading/writing and some great lists of books to look for (if you haven't read them already). It was quite a run read and a great choice for any bibliophile!

I was a bit disappointed about the lack of American authors and books in this collection but there are some interesting facts within this book. Nothing earthshaking, just some little tidbits of trivia that make for a somewhat entertaining bit of reading.

This is not a long book but packed with information told in thematic chapters. Although it is British-centric, I found that I recognized many of the authors mentioned (though not the literary festivals). The "Its a Fact" pieces were my favorites, as were the lists. I bookmarked a number of pages to refer back to later. There are a number of things that were subjective that the author states as if it were a fact. I am not sure that I would recommend this book, though an English major might enjoy parts of it. Some of the book is written at such a basic level, while other parts are more high level, which makes it hard to find the right audience for the book.

Thanks to NetGalley for a Kindle ARC of For the Love of Books.

This was a quick, amusing read about the lives of some of the most celebrated authors in the world.

To be honest, if you love books (like me), some of these anecdotes are not new but some were, such as I didn't know Truman Capote was so superstitious.

I enjoyed the fun facts section and sidebars where readers are given a brief overview of some of the authors' lives, offering brief insight into their childhoods, adulthood and what shaped their path toward becoming a literary star.

My first caveat is that I would have enjoyed more exposition on some of the authors, nearly all are too brief and only a few paragraphs long.

Second, this book is very UK-centric, focusing mostly on authors in the UK, so I'm going to make an educated guess and say the author of this compilation is based in the UK or, a local, at least.

This may put off some American readers (like moi), looking for juicy and/or fascinating tidbits on our favorite American authors. There definitely wasn't enough of that here.

The part about book festivals was interesting but they are all in the UK! Come on!

This was a fast read with some funny and amusing facts but it could have been so much better!