The New York Times Book Review book is one hundred and twenty-five years of book history.
In 2021 The New York Times published a book that featured their book reviews from the last one hundred and twenty-five years.
I am not a huge coffee table book person, but this book is one that will definitely be displayed on a coffee table or end table at my house.
I bought this book shortly after it was published last year because I thought it sounded interesting. This book far exceeded my expectation of it. It was well worth the price.
I have had so much fun looking through it and reading all the book reviews.
I don’t think this book got the attention that it deserves. I have not seen it promoted much since it came out.
Books and what people are reading tell you a lot about culture during specific time periods.
The New York Times Book Review book is like a walk through the history of what people were reading and enjoying over the years.
I think this book is a fascinating look at the history of books and publishing and I think this is a book a lot of people would enjoy.
Book Reviews and More
This book highlights memorable book reviews, author interviews, and famous contributors to the New York Times book section.
It also includes letters, book buying patterns, and all kinds of bookish information from the last one hundred and twenty-five years.
Honest Book Reviews
I love the honesty of the book reviews and the quotes they highlight in this book.
Apparently, the New York Times was not a fan of author Arthur Conan Doyle and his Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
Their review of Anne of Green Gables back in 1908 was also a less than an enthusiastic review.
They found Anne to be wanting and overall found the book lacking. Yes, the same Anne of Green Gables that generations of girls have read and loved.
It is so interesting to see what books got poor reviews, but have stood the test of time with readers.
Good Book Reviews
The New York Times book reviews may not have loved Anne of Green Gables or Sherlock Holmes, but they were besotted, yes that is the word they used, by Agatha Christie and Hercule Poirot.
Their review of Gone With the Wind in 1936 declared it one of the most remarkable and best first novels produced by an American. They also called it a feast of storytelling. I doubt it would get that same review today.
Bookish Information
The book also includes articles about books and authors.
The article they included about the disappearance of Agatha Christie that was written in 1926 is very fascinating.
It includes popular reading during and after WWI and WWII.
It has a page that lists best sellers from 1896 to 1945.
At the bottom of some of the pages there is a timeline with facts like in 1945 The Book Review began a regular mystery column, in 1946 Dr. Spock published The Commonsense of Book of Baby and Child Care, and in 1996 Oprah Winfrey’s book club debuted. The timelines have all kinds of interesting bookish facts.
More recent authors and books like Toni Morrison, J.K. Rowling, Celeste Ng, and Colson Whitehead are also featured.
The book ends with a list of Ten Best Books features and again it was so interesting what books have made the list over the years.
Book Gift
The New York Times Book Review book would make a great gift for anyone that loves books. It is an oversized book, so the pages are large and it has over three hundred and fifty pages. There is a lot of information in this book.
Because of how this book is set up it is easy to pick up and read a page or two and set it back down.
This book would make for great bookish conversation, which is why it makes a great coffee table type of book.
If you have a friend or family member that loves reading, books, and information about the history of books this is the perfect book to give as a gift.
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