An interesting, somewhat creepy book. ( )

I enjoyed this book a lot, not so much for the tale of Gilkey the thief, but for the exploration of the many different motivations for, and manifestations of, book love (including her own.) She's a girl after my own heart, generally having a personal affinity for non-fiction over fiction!

I admired Bartlett's writing style, particularly the way she weaves-in asides without breaking the flow, and the clean segues from one part of the narrative to another.

Quick read - only a few effortless hours. ( )

Sad tale of one man's lliterary obsession who steals books to possess them, not profit by them. Interesting insider view of the precarious life of a rare book seller's business. ( )

Interesting peek inside the minds of several bibliophiles, and the world of rare books. I am a lover of reading, not collecting, but I do have a sense of what drives the collector. Is it a gentle madness? ( )

I'm not a fan of true crime books; I find any public attempt to 'get into the mind' of a criminal a distasteful glorification of abhorrent behaviour and I think criminals should rot in obscurity.

All of which makes my enjoyment of this book just prove what a hypocrite I am, although in my defence I didn't realise when I bought it that it would be delving into the sociopath's head - I thought it was more a documentation of the chase itself; how a 'bibliodick' investigated the stolen books and how the thief was apprehended. You know, like a mystery!

It was very little of any of those things, since the thief in question was apprehended before Hoover Bartlett started researching the book and agreed to participate (the book started as an article for a San Francisco magazine).

The first half of the book was everything I hoped it would be, as Hoover Bartlett met with rare book dealers, went to book fairs, talked about book collecting and some of the lottery-like finds that have happened over the years. She talked with the 'bibliodick', Ken Sanders, who talked about how he got sucked into chasing down the elusive man who'd stolen over 100k worth of books over three years and was getting away with it. The first half of this book was purely fascinating.

The second half of the book was fascinating too - in a train wreck sort of way. The second half of the book focuses on Hoover Bartlett's attempt to figure out why the thief does what he does, and continues to do even after he's been caught. I loathe using a serial killer as a comparison - for obvious reasons - but this guy was, in every way except the crimes he committed, Ted Bundy: clean cut, well spoken, charming, respectful, intelligent, with absolutely no conscience whatsoever. He knew what he was doing was illegal, but didn't think it was wrong - and he didn't care either way. His delusions were mind-boggling, and just when I thought he couldn't possibly go there in the land of rationalisations, he'd go there.

I originally bought this book years ago in some half-hearted cautionary tale sort of way, when I was battling the stacks of books threatening to take over my house. It wasn't that kind of book, but still, it was one I couldn't put down. It was well written, Hoover Bartlett seemed she was being pretty transparent with the reader, and I genuinely enjoyed the parts about what it means to be a book collector.

But I still don't like true crime books. ( )