This was fine. It had some good stories and some interesting facts, but it definitely had serious bias towards Western lit, and I wish there had been a bit more discussion of the factors that have made the writing and publishing world so white and male.

This is a fun book and would be a perfect gift for any hard core bookworm. The facts and connections brought together about the most infamous books and authors are sure to entertain any literature major or fiction fan. I will be buying at least a few of copies to give away as gifts this year!

For the Love of Books is a delightful collection of anecdotes, some of which I knew, others of which were new to me. Overall, this is a volume that should delight any booklover looking for some light-hearted reading about their passion. My only gripe was when the author let personal opinion get in the way. For example, he lists names of Nobel Prize-winning authors who he claims no one has heard of, yet one of them is in my Top Ten Authors list, so it's a sweeping statement to say they are completely unknown and, as he seems to suggest from that, unworthy. Likewise, he expresses disdain for self-published authors, suggesting no self-published works are properly edited. This, too, is erroneous. I am a qualified freelance editor and work predominantly with self-publishing authors. I am friends with many other self-publishers, none of whom would release an unedited work. Some people out there may, it's true, but there are also many excellent self-published works. Comments like that rankled me and may upset others too. However, setting aside those occasional personal interjections from the author, there's a lot here that will appeal to the avid reader, and the book would make an excellent gift for any bookworm.

I received an ARC of this book thanks to Net Galley and publisher Skyhorse Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

I very rarely read nonfiction, despite having quite an impressive collection of various nonfiction books. When I saw this on Net Galley I thought it looked so interesting that I couldn't resist requesting it and I'm so glad I did! This is an absolute must-read for anyone with an interest in books, authors or literature-based history. It is full of fascinating facts about such a wide range of authors, mostly focusing on the more literary ones but occasionally dropping in facts about contemporary writers.

I loved how this book was laid out and it made it immensely readable for me. Each chapter has a theme (for example, authors who went to prison or famous crime fiction) and then is divided further into sections about specific authors or events. There are also additional information boxes which, while a little randomly placed in topic, were formatted perfectly in ebook format. None of them divided up any of the smaller sections which was fantastic because I hate it when I have to flick back and forth.

The breadth of topics was good, although I must admit a lot of the references to american authors were lost on me. This wasn't necessarily a bad thing since I loved learning about something entirely new, but I did find it interesting how absolutely none of them were covered by my UK-based education. I'm sure someone with a higher degree in literature would find it even more interesting having heard of more of the authors, but it definitely didn't deter from my reading experience. It also covers authors from many different countries which is really cool. I think both people with an expert knowledge of literature and people with a casual interest in books will find the information in this book fascinating. While I can't say for definite how common this knowledge is within the field, there was enough variation and detail that I can't imagine anyone knowing everything already.

Overall, this is a fantastic trivia book for people who love books. It's well-written, well-organised and full of both indepth anecdotes and fun little snippets you can randomly share. I am so glad I read it and I will definitely be suggesting it to my bookish friends.

Overall Rating: 5/5

The book is what it sets out to be-- a book full of facts about books, publishing, and writers. Some of the facts were interesting, but most were things I was aware of just by being a bookish person. I think that's where this book ultimately didn't work as well as it ought to have for me-- it's a book for bookish people full of information that bookish people are likely to already know.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest opinion. This book will be available to purchase on June 18th, 2019.

The word “incredible” does not do this book justice: I love, love, love it! Containing a wealth of information, this book is for anyone who loves to read. It’s both entertaining and incredibly informative at the same time. The history of books is just as fascinating as the books themselves. And some authors’ lives are even more sensational than many works of fiction!

Containing everything from the history of different genres to the genesis of popular terms; author feuds (there are a few authors who seem to only be happy if they’re mad at someone) to bizarre deaths; this book has it all. I learned so much that I almost wish I was a social person so that I could quote some of my new knowledge at parties.

I will most definitely be reading it again. This is a book that I want to own in hardback. Not only is it absolutely fascinating, but it will make an excellent addition to my homeschool. The information in the chapters is easily accessible and very well organized.

This book sucked me in and reminded me why I love to read in the first place. I can’t recommend this one enough.

Read it.

Fun, quick read about books, the people who write them, the people who print them, and the people who love them. Written in a way that it can be picked up and put down, this is good to have when you only have a few minutes to read at a time. Sections about books and publishers, authors, and readers. Fun, enjoyable little book.

One could read “For the Love of Books” straight through or just as easily pick it up and read chapters selected at random, and no matter their style they would be showered with a fun and fascinating array of facts about about some of the most famous books and the women and men behind them. On top of that, through this diverse collection of informative tibits readers can get both greater exposure to books and figures they may only generally know of and also first-time introductions to a lot of great works that they’ve been previously missing out on. I know at least that’s precisely what happened in my case - the only time I was able to put this book down was to add a title to a growing to-reads list or an author to research later.

In so many different ways, “For the Love of Books” is just an absolute treat for bibliophiles and bookworms everywhere.

I don’t know how this one didn’t get more favorable reviews. Being a booklover (like presumably everyone on GR) I found this book to be a delight of random information pertaining to all aspects of literary world. Aside from featuring great many stories that prove once again just how much stranger truth is than fiction, this book was just really fun to read. Literary feuds, quirky factoids behind your favorite books and authors, tons of trivia…even if you’re fairly knowledgeable about the behind the scenes sort of information, I bet you’ll still be able to find something new within these pages. The book is categorized into sections and all entries are succinct and told in a cheery lighthearted manner. In that way it’s much more of a trivia book than a proper encyclopedic literature’s who, what and why sort of book, but then again it’s 224 pages, what did you expect. Definitely more of a cream off the top than the drags at the bottom of the cup, but very entertaining at what it does. I enjoyed it thoroughly, got to revisit some known facts and learn some new ones and really all learning should be this much fun. I can’t imagine a booklover who wouldn’t like this. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.

This was a light, entertaining read about books and writers in general with many fun facts and short chapters.
I can recommend this to any book lover or if you're looking for more books to read as well. The author is giving many lists of books under different topics.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a copy.

What's not to love about a book about books! Fun, informative and a plain good read.

Thanks to ,publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book. While I got the book for free,it had no bearing on the rating I gave it.

A really interesting read for book worms. I enjoyed every bit of this book. It was warmly written and factual

I enjoy reading about books and authors and found this book very interesting. I particularly enjoyed the "It's A Fact" sections. There were authors I did not know but many more I am familiar with. I now have many more books on my TBR list thanks to this book.

This book is an absolute must for every reader in the world. It's interesting, funny and just the best for every book lover.

Questo é un must per ogni amante dei libri che si rispetti! È interessante, divertente e raccoglie le migliori informazioni sui libri e gli autori piú famosi del mondo (o meno).

THANKS NETGALLEY FOR THE PREVIEW!

How many poems did Emily Dickinson write? Which day did Truman Capote consider unlucky to start or finish a novel on? When was the first Sherlock Holmes story published?

These are just a few of the questions whose answers you're about to to find out.For the Love of Books is an ideal book for all book enthusiasts. This is a dream book for the people who want to learn all things bookish. The facts vary from little quirks of the most famous authors out there, to bookish lists that will satisfy every bookworm out there!

Definitely a recommended read for all bibliophiles.