04 Nov Bibliomania and Casanova

There are, I think you’d agree, lots of beautiful books: books that are beautiful because of the ideas they carry, the passion they evoke, the imagination they set free; and then there are books (sometimes the same ones) that are beautiful because they are fine to look at, to touch and, yes, to smell. What better than two beautiful books to satisfy the most demanding book maniac. So how about books about books? Martyn Lyons’ Books: A Living History (Thames & Hudson) explores how, for two and a half thousand years, books have been used to govern, to record, to worship, to educate and entertain. And James Campbell and Will Pryce’s The Library: A World History (Thames & Hudson) shows how the finest libraries, from all around the world, are repositories not just of books, but of learning, creativity and contemplation; they embody some of the highest achievements of humankind.

And while we’re at it let’s celebrate some of the great librarians of the world: (from left) Casanova, Marcel Duchamp, Lewis Carroll, Jorge Luis Borges and Philip Larkin.