Reading Art: Art for Book Lovers

As a bibliophile and book collector, I have a number of art books showing beautiful libraries. Until now, however, I had never come across a book like this one. It is a collection of artwork whose main theme is persons reading.In all I honesty, I enjoyed this much more than I expected to. The artwork is varied in time and style, and is well-selected. There is a valuable opening essay and a number of the pieces have descriptive paragraphs attached. There are quotes about reading scattered through the pages. I expect this is a book I will dip into time and again.

Besides the cool concept of art for book lovers, this is a beautifully constructed book from the cloth like cover to the thick pages. I first saw this in an art museum gift shop but didn’t want to pay full price and was glad to find it for sale on Amazon. It’s perfect for any art or book lover, which is why I even bought another copy for my friend who is an artist and librarian.

The format is smaller than you might expect, but this is a delightful book to plunge into, whether you start at the beginning or just open at random and see what you find. Although David Trigg's introductory essay is useful, you don't really need to read it in order to enjoy the many works of art featuring books. I found the commentaries accompanying some of the individual works more interesting than the introduction, so my advice is just to dive in and let your eyes, your curiosity, and your love of books guide you. This is a fascinating addition to the bibliophile's library.

Not the biggest book as far as coffee table books go, but as a book lover it’s such a unique item. The artwork featured is beautiful.Only 4 stars because Amazon shipped it loose in a box, no dust cover (maybe it’s not supposed to have one?) and no wrapping like bubble wrap. End result is slightly bent corners and few pages w tiny bends in corners.

This wonderful (but small format) volume is packed with excellent reproductions of paintings depicting books and readers. I go to many art museums here and abroad, and I have many dozens of art books, but there are lots of paintings here that I've never seen anywhere else. If you like books, and if you like art, the hundreds of quality illustrations in this volume are sure to give you many hours of enjoyment.

Exactly what I wanted. I love the pictures and the info. Very well done.

For people who like art/books. The compact size is a little awkward and the art work could be crisper. Some work has some interesting commentary.

It's an amazing book that explains many paintings and the thought behind them. As if the painters are talking straight to the viewers. Great knowledge stuffed in this book

Ben student Kunstacademie, dit boek is fantastisch jezelf te ontwikkelen, c.q verdiepen

lo avevo visto di sfuggita in libreria. me ne sono innamorata per l'elegante rilegatura, per le immagini artistiche dove i protagonisti sono i miei amati libri e poi è scritto in inglese

Expecting comments on each paintings, this book just shows the paintings without any constructive nor critical comments on them. Very disappointed and regretted buying this book.

per gli appassionati di arte è sicuro un pezzo essenziale da tenere in libreria