The Man Who Loved Books Too Much:The True Story of a Thief, a Detective, and a World of Literary Obsession by Allison Hoover Bartlett

Is it possible to love books too much?

This is a true story about a man named John Gilkey, a man who loved books. He didn't love to read them, he was obsessed with collecting them, with how having them made him look to other people.

So John Gilkey stole rare books, from book dealers, bookstores, and libraries. He came up with elaborate and successful credit card scams. He got away with thousands of dollars worth of books.

And then Ken Sanders, a book dealer, became obsessed with tracking him down and bringing him to justice.

Bartlett is given unparalleled access to Gilkey, Saunders, and a myriad cast of characters caught in the web of Gilkey's thievery and deception, as she works to answer the question, is it actually possible to love books too much?

4/5 stars