Several months ago I mentioned a book I was browsing through, Bibliophile by Jane Mount. It’s
subtitled “An Illustrated Miscellany”, and that’s exactly what it is. It’s a beautifully illustrated collection of miscellaneous lists and piles of books, descriptions of books grouped around one subject, beloved bookstores, libraries, quizzes, and so much more. If it’s about books, Mount tries to include it in the book she illustrated.

Interested in writers’ pets? Of course, there’s John Steinbeck’s Charley, a standard poodle. But, there’s also Herman, Maurice Sendak’s German shepherd named after Herman Melville. Jack Kerouac loved cats, especially Tyke. Mark Twain was a cat lover, and I’ve seen all kinds of quotes from him about cats.

There’s a map of Fictional Planet Universe. I recognized Asteroid B-612 immediately from The Little Prince, but there were several other planets I’d read about, and so many were unfamiliar. It’s been too many years since I read Robert Heinlein. I should have remembered Zorg, though, because I loved Calvin and Hobbes.

Are you looking for lists of dystopian novels? Books about journeys and adventures? Biographies and autobiographies? Mount has you covered, and she includes gorgeous illustrations of piles of books in each of her categories. There are “Books Made into Great TV”; Roots, The Handmaid’s Tale, Lonesome Dove, Friday Night Lights.

Bibliophile is a weekend book, a browsing collection. When I talked about the book on a Thursday for “What Are You Reading?”, I mentioned that I also bought a collection of notecards. Think of the book in the same way. It’s a collection of notecards, illustrations, as Mount says, “An Illustrated Miscellany.” It’s just a comfortable book for anyone who loves books.

Jane Mount’s websites are www.janemount.com and https://www.idealbookshelf.com

Bibliophile: An Illustrated Miscellany by Jane Mount. Chronicle Books, 2018. ISBN 9781452167237 (hardcover), 224p.

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FTC Full Disclosure – I bought my copy of the book.