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Trish's Reviews > Die Stadt der Träumenden Bücher
Die Stadt der Träumenden Bücher (Zamonien, #4)
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by
What a book! A book about books!
We start with this:
A wonderful way of announcing that this book is about the love for everything book-related.
Therefore, this installment of the Zamonia novels takes place in Buchhaim (no idea if they translated the city's name or not, sorry) and tells of an adventure as experienced / survived by Hildegunst von Mythenmetz.
Hildegunst von Mythenmetz is the literary great we already know from previous installments. At the beginning of the book, he mourns his godfather who passed away and left him a mysterious and dangerous manuscript. He thus leaves his home, the Lindenfeste, and goes to the famous "city of dreaming books", Buchhaim.
Once there, he not only strolls through what is every booklover's paradise (full of shops that only have things you need for reading, like bookmarks, or books of all kinds) but also finds out that the manuscript he came into possession of is incredibly valuable but in a dangerous kind of way. And it all seems to have to do with the labyrinth beneath the city as well as Buchhaim's history!
This is book 1 in what was supposed to be a trilogy but is now at least a tetralogy. Therefore, not absolutely every strand of the story has been resolved yet. However, the way the story ended was still very satisfying while managing to make me curious for more.
As mentioned in my status update(s), this book was less in the realm of hilarity, unlike some of the others, but more in the realm of quirky literature. It definitely showed the author's absolute passion for books and reading as well as his often amusing outlook on topics such as literary critics or antique stores.
So yes, thoroughly enjoyable, with gorgeously written prose and an almost incredibly cozy atmosphere.
It also doesn't hurt that the paperback edition I was reading alongside the audio version was very nicely illustrated.
Can't wait to continue (though the next book, chronologically, is not about Hildegunst's adventure). :D
We start with this:
A wonderful way of announcing that this book is about the love for everything book-related.
Therefore, this installment of the Zamonia novels takes place in Buchhaim (no idea if they translated the city's name or not, sorry) and tells of an adventure as experienced / survived by Hildegunst von Mythenmetz.
Hildegunst von Mythenmetz is the literary great we already know from previous installments. At the beginning of the book, he mourns his godfather who passed away and left him a mysterious and dangerous manuscript. He thus leaves his home, the Lindenfeste, and goes to the famous "city of dreaming books", Buchhaim.
Once there, he not only strolls through what is every booklover's paradise (full of shops that only have things you need for reading, like bookmarks, or books of all kinds) but also finds out that the manuscript he came into possession of is incredibly valuable but in a dangerous kind of way. And it all seems to have to do with the labyrinth beneath the city as well as Buchhaim's history!
This is book 1 in what was supposed to be a trilogy but is now at least a tetralogy. Therefore, not absolutely every strand of the story has been resolved yet. However, the way the story ended was still very satisfying while managing to make me curious for more.
As mentioned in my status update(s), this book was less in the realm of hilarity, unlike some of the others, but more in the realm of quirky literature. It definitely showed the author's absolute passion for books and reading as well as his often amusing outlook on topics such as literary critics or antique stores.
So yes, thoroughly enjoyable, with gorgeously written prose and an almost incredibly cozy atmosphere.
It also doesn't hurt that the paperback edition I was reading alongside the audio version was very nicely illustrated.
Can't wait to continue (though the next book, chronologically, is not about Hildegunst's adventure). :D
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Quotes Trish Liked
“Von den Sternen kommen wir, zu den Sternen gehen wir. Das Leben ist nur eine Reise in die Fremde.”
― The City of Dreaming Books
― The City of Dreaming Books
“Die Neugier ist die mächtigste Antriebskraft im Universum, weil sie die beiden größten Bremskräfte im Universum überwinden kann: die Vernunft und die Angst.”
― The City of Dreaming Books
― The City of Dreaming Books
“Warum tötest du mich nicht?" fragte der Bücherjäger. "Du solltest eigentlich wissen", antwortete Homunkoloss, "daß es immer einen geben muß, der überlebt, damit er die Geschichte erzählen kann. Denn sonst gäbe es bald keine Geschichten mehr, um die Bücher zu füllen.”
― The City of Dreaming Books
― The City of Dreaming Books
“Es war sogar etwas Tröstliches in dieser toten Welt, denn die Abwesenheit von Leben bedeutet auch die Abwesenheit von Gefahr. Alles Böse geht von den Lebenden aus.”
― The City of Dreaming Books
― The City of Dreaming Books
“Da waren sie, die träumenden Bücher. So nannte man in dieser Stadt die antiquarischen Bestände, weil sie aus der Sicht der Händler nicht mehr richtig lebendig und noch nicht richtig tot waren, sondern sich in einem Zwischenzustand befanden der dem Schlafen ähnelte. Ihre eigentliche Existenz hatten sie hinter sich, den Zerfall vor sich, und so dämmerten sie vor sich hin, zu Millionen und Abermillionen in all den Regalen und Kisten, in den Kellern und Katakomben von Buchhaim. Nur wenn ein Buch von suchender Hand ergriffen und aufgeschlagen, wenn es erworben und davongetragen wurde, dann konnte es zu neuem Leben erwachen. Und das war es, wovon all diese Bücher träumten.”
― The City of Dreaming Books
― The City of Dreaming Books
Reading Progress
Finished Reading
(Paperback Edition)
March 20, 2010
– Shelved
(Paperback Edition)
January 1, 2023
– Shelved
January 1, 2023
– Shelved as:
to-read
March 28, 2023
–
Started Reading
March 28, 2023
–
21.0%
"This is definitely the right book for bibliophiles - if only for the descriptions of (antiquarian) bookstores, libraries and books themselves. 🥰"
March 28, 2023
–
54.0%
"I swear, this must be the coziest book about books that I've ever read - while also a great adventure / mystery! It's less funny than the other two, but I did chuckle at some points and since this is supposed to be quirky rather than hilarious anyway, that is no reason for criticism."
March 28, 2023
–
Finished Reading
