Library Notes

Russell, A. P. (Addison Peale), 1826-1912Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.8

Word count: 800K words
Chapters: 80

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Library Notes by A. P. RussellAuthor: Russell, A. P. (Addison Peale), 1826-1912,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Jun 15, 2012

Editor's review

Library Notes is a collection of essays by the nineteenth-century American writer and bibliophile Addison Peirce Russell, part of the free Project Gutenberg e-book series and classified under American literature. The title translates literally as "Library Notes," and the contents revolve around reading, book collecting, and life in the study, with a gentle bookishness and personal charm. Its value lies not in a systematic method of scholarship but in showing how a book lover lives with books: the habit of browsing at random and jotting down reflections makes the whole book suited to fragmented reading. The prose belongs to the nineteenth-century English essay tradition, with long sentences and many allusions, offering today's readers both language practice and a window into the reading tastes of old-style men of letters. As a public-domain e-book, it is better suited as leisure reading or as extensive reading material for English essays than as a research monograph. The ideal settings for reading it are bedtime, the commute, or a casual browse at the desk, perhaps with note-taking and excerpts, to appreciate the meaning of the "library notes" genre itself.

Who it's for

A good fit for

General readers who enjoy English essays and are willing to read old-style prose slowly
Enthusiasts interested in book collecting, reading life, and study culture
Learners who want to practice extensive reading in English with short pieces

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking a systematic method of reading or an academic research guide
Readers who prefer modern plain prose and fast-paced reading
Those expecting plot-driven narrative or a novel-like experience

Reading tips

Read one or two pieces a day and jot down sentences or bookish anecdotes that interest you.
When you meet an allusion or an unfamiliar title, skip it for the moment and look it up after finishing, to keep your reading rhythm.
You can read bilingually, using nineteenth-century essays to practice understanding long sentences.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book about library science or reading methods?

No. It is closer to personal reading essays and notes, recording the author's reflections on and encounters with books, rather than a systematic library science textbook or a reading methodology. If you want practical guidance, this book is not the right fit.

How difficult is the English? Is it suitable for beginners?

It is a nineteenth-century English essay, with rather long sentences and many allusions, posing a certain barrier for beginners. It suits readers with intermediate or above English reading ability who are willing to read slowly; beginners can start with short passages and need not insist on reading it all.

Where can I get the e-edition, and is it free?

The book is published by Project Gutenberg as a public-domain free e-book, and can be found on its website by searching the title. The specific available formats and download methods are subject to the instructions on that website's page.

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About the author

Russell, A. P. (Addison Peale), 1826-1912 Author · American · 1826–1912

Addison Peale Russell (1826–1912) was an American writer and bibliophile known chiefly for his essays on reading and his notes on books and documents. His representative work, Library Notes, centers on books, reading, and book collecting, and belongs to the essay-and-notebook genre, colored by personal reflections on reading and by documentary observations. Given the publicly available material, information about his life and the full range of his writing is limited, making it difficult to describe in detail his education, professional career, or social activities, or to confirm how his works circulated in his own time. Since only one of his works is held in this collection, judgments about his style and influence should remain cautious: he is best understood as an essayist writing on books, whose value lies mainly in recording the pleasures of reading and preserving documentary leads, and who may be consulted by readers interested in the history of reading and book-collecting culture.