Anne Fadiman

In this collection of essays readers have a window into the books, interests, and life of Anne Fadiman, an author and reader who is the daughter of authors and readers Clifton Fadiman and Annalee Jacoby Fadiman. The "Common Reader" of the subtitle takes its name from the column she writes for Civilization, and the essay by Virginia Woolf. These essays were her columns, in some cases lengthened, renamed, or otherwise changed.

I have read and reread this book, and each time I come away with show more something more. The first essay, "Marrying Libraries," about how she and her husband went through the painstaking process of combining their books, never fails to make me laugh, as does "Inset a Carrot" (the title in complete with editing marks that I can't reproduce here) as I recognize my own proofreading tendencies. Her ambivalence about how gender equality is changing our language in "The His'er Problem" sets me thinking about how language changes and what might be lost or gained while it does. I find myself as a book lover in these pages, from enjoying sesquipedalians - long words - to arguing with her over the proper way to read a book (I cannot bring myself to write marginalia in most books). If you enjoy books about books, this is a must read. show less

I am vacillating between calling Anne Fadiman's EX-LIBRIS 'profoundly delightful' or 'delightfully profound,' but what the hell - it's both. Particularly if you are a booklover as I am, and, of course, so is the author. The daughter of writers and intellectuals - Clifton and Annalee Jacoby Fadiman - Anne Fadiman grew up surrounded by books and stimulated by intellectual pursuits of all kinds. How could she not become a confirmed bibliophile?

EX-LIBRIS belongs to that special category: a book show more about books. But it is so much more. It is also about love of family, and gives us intimate views of two loving and erudite families. The first is the one in which the author grew up, where every week she watched The GE College Bowl on TV with her parents and brother and, invariably, "Fadiman U" was almost always victorious. It also gives us small but delicious snapshots of her own courtship and marriage to writer, George Howe Colt, (THE BIG HOUSE) and how their own love of books drew them together and has influenced their children.

She tells us that her first Christmas present from George was (a book, of course) Ernest Thompson Seton's BIOGRAPHY OF A GRIZZLY. This is a book I read as a child, so I felt an immediate rush of memories and a kinship with Fadiman and Colt.

When Clifton Fadiman lost his sight in his early nineties, Anne began to read to him, remembering how he had often read to her when she was a child, "specializing in Dr. Seuss."

"Now I read to him. The generational table-turning was disorienting at first. I seemed the parent and he the child, but the child frequently corrected my pronunciation."

Again, a flash of recognition and memory, this time a sad one, for I read to my mother in the last several months of her life, after a small stroke at 95 impaired her vision. The first time was indeed disorienting and caused me to cry. The book was Sarah Plain and Tall, a book (and film) my mother had loved. But I adapted. The last book I was reading my mother, the week before she died, was another of her favorites, TISHA.

Fadiman's love of books - and family - permeates this absolutely lovely little tome. She tells of how her husband took her to a newly-discovered out-of-the-way used bookstore for her 42nd birthday. "Seven hours later we emerged from the Riverrun Bookstore carrying nineteen pounds of books ... Now you know why I married my husband."

I certainly do, Anne. Thank you for sharing your love of books and for these intimate glimpses into the lives of your two families. It has been a 'profoundly delightful' journey. I loved this little book and will cherish it. VERY highly recommended. show less

Usually, books about books, they often feel too defensive or too elitist and haughty, but here Fadiman balances it all just right and has proved to be the exception. Her essays range from the typical books-about-books topics of book-buying, book-defacing (dog-ears and writings etc) to essays about the sexism of language, one of my everyday pet topics, and involuntary proofreading reflexes. Even if you do not share the same opinions and book-reading niches as Fadiman - I value practicality show more over romanticism so her Antarctic explorer defenses did not work on me but I could appreciate her appreciation of her own niche -, her honesty and overwhelming love of books are heartwarmingly resonant with this common reader. show less

In the Preface, Anne Fadiman quotes her father's regret that the familiar essay is dying, and declares her intention of this book to be her contribution to continuing the genre. She defines the familiar essay as one that includes both the personal (the "at small" of her title) and the general ("at large"). Each of the dozen essays in this collection also include the large and small in terms of topic, ranging from ice cream to Samuel Coleridge, as well as exhibiting Fadiman's broad knowledge show more base in literature and vocabulary.

One of my favorite essays was "Procrustes and the Culture Wars." Not only was it a topic that I was interested in - the culture wars as seen through four questions regarding one's interpretation of capital-L Literature - but also my personal response in reading was pondering what my own response might be, what my own essay on the topic might be like. Even when I disagreed with her points, the essay was thought-provoking, smart, and witty.

One of the greatest strengths of this collection is Fadiman's ability to make disparate subject matter interesting, forcing me as a reader to only read one or two essays at a time, because I wanted to fully absorb what she was saying and think about the subject, rather than moving on quickly to something else as I could have done. Until now, I had only read Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader, her collection of essays on books and reading, but this collection has convinced me to try more of her titles. show less