The Greatest Books You'll Never Read

There is no shortage of books that recommend other books. One well-known title suggests that there are one thousand and one books that we should and must read before we die. Another tells us that there are one hundred books which are not only ‘must-read' but also ‘life-changing'. A local bookshop sells mugs with the slogan ‘so many books, so little time'. It is commonplace to say that to the making of books there is no end, and this sentiment applies equally to books about books. From Holbrook Jackson's magisterial Anatomy of Bibliomania to Anne Fadiman's delightful Ex Libris,...