
In an 1840 essay titled “The Book Lover,” the French writer Charles Nodier catalogues the new characters of the “age of paper.”
Notable among them are the bibliophile and the bibliomaniac, distinguished from each other as selection to accumulation, order to disorder, care to neglect, and minutia to mass. But the distinctions Nodier charts are precarious; he concedes that frequently the bibliophile becomes a bibliomaniac “when his mind deteriorates or his fortunes increase—two grave afflictions suffered by the best of men.”
Fall 2022/Spring 2023 reading groups will be announced this summer, and registration will open in July. Participation is reserved for Athenæum members. If you have any questions, please email readinggroups@provath.org.
The Athenæum is deeply grateful to our wonderful volunteer leaders. Please note library reading groups are not classes or courses, but rather a way for individuals to discuss readings together, guided by both expert and amateur enthusiasts. Participants should expect discussion-based, not lecture-style meetings.