*****
Leona Rostenberg and Madeleine Stern together wrote "Old Books, Rare Friends". The New York Times describes these ladies as an "..institution." They are two literary sleuths that share a passion of rare books and writing.
The book, "Old Books, Rare Friends" took me awhile to read. Not because it was boring but it's not light reading. You can tell by the picture above that I found many passages that I wanted to go back to read again. At first I had a hard time remembering which lady was which so I put a sticky note on the picture of them to remember who was who. (Madeleine on the left, Leona on the right) And again - this was not a fast read. For me anyway!
These two friends traveled the world finding rare books for their business "Leona Rostenberg, Rare Books" and doing research.
These two friends traveled the world finding rare books for their business "Leona Rostenberg, Rare Books" and doing research.
Rostenberg and Stern are renowned for unlocking the hidden secret of Louisa May Alcott's life when they discovered her pseudonym, A.M. Barnard, along with her anonymously published "blood and thunder" stories on subjects like transvestites, hashish smoking, and feminism. Their book is "Louisa May Alcott: A Biography".
These ladies led an interesting life and were able to fill the pages of "Old Books..." with the stories that made them who they were. I am always so impressed to read of lives that went above and beyond convention and made their lives what they wanted - not what was expected of them. - Which in those days was to get married and raise a family.
At one point in the book, Madeleine shared about a man that seemed to be crazy about her. She talked of him kissing her in the park, dancing the "Merry Widow Waltz" and he would sing to her as they danced. She added that she hadn't heard from him for ten days. "I could be mad about him. How I wish I could see him again! To love and be loved are, after all, what we are made for. It is better to be happy than to be interesting (Farewell adolescentai). Growing, I learned, could be painful." But the Great Depression was just beginning and Madeleine soon came to the realization of what was really important to her.
These two women witnessed first hand so much of the history I've only studied and read about. They write how this history touched their lives.
Leona Rostenberg died in March 2005 at the age of 97. You can read more about Leona HERE. Madeleine Stern died in August 2007 at the age of 95. You can read more about Madeleine HERE. This link also lists titles of all the books they've written.
I am a lover of books. So for me to be able to read a book about books, about others that love books even more than I, about those same book lovers researching and writing about authors... Well, this was a very good experience for me.
I will admit, this book is not for everyone. But I loved it. The 5 star rating is because I enjoyed it so much. It's wordy, it's detailed and it's about books!
At one point in the book, Madeleine shared about a man that seemed to be crazy about her. She talked of him kissing her in the park, dancing the "Merry Widow Waltz" and he would sing to her as they danced. She added that she hadn't heard from him for ten days. "I could be mad about him. How I wish I could see him again! To love and be loved are, after all, what we are made for. It is better to be happy than to be interesting (Farewell adolescentai). Growing, I learned, could be painful." But the Great Depression was just beginning and Madeleine soon came to the realization of what was really important to her.
These two women witnessed first hand so much of the history I've only studied and read about. They write how this history touched their lives.
Leona Rostenberg died in March 2005 at the age of 97. You can read more about Leona HERE. Madeleine Stern died in August 2007 at the age of 95. You can read more about Madeleine HERE. This link also lists titles of all the books they've written.
I am a lover of books. So for me to be able to read a book about books, about others that love books even more than I, about those same book lovers researching and writing about authors... Well, this was a very good experience for me.
I will admit, this book is not for everyone. But I loved it. The 5 star rating is because I enjoyed it so much. It's wordy, it's detailed and it's about books!
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