The Man Who Loved Books Too Much by Allison Hoover Bartlett

I found this book at the dollar store...Now there is the start of a blog post I NEVER thought I would say. We went there this past weekend to look for cheap Christmas bulbs for a craft I plan to do and decorations for the outside. And as I was walking around to see what this store had to offer I found that this particular store had a book section! And not just books no one really wanted to read, but books I wanted to read and since it was at the EVERYTHING'S a dollar store, the books were cheap enough for me to buy without even knowing if I will like it or not. Because if I think the book is terrible, I am only out $1. I think I can handle that.

I believe by the title you may have figured out why I picked up this particular book. But after reading the synopsis you will know why I decided this book was worth the whopping $1 price tag.

"In the tradition of 'The Orchid Thief', a compelling narrative set within the strange and genteel world of rare-book collecting: the true story of an infamous book thief, his victims, and the man determined to catch him.

Rare-book theft is even more widespread than fine-art theft. Most thieves, of course, steal for profit. John Charles Gilkey steals purely for the love of books. In an attempt to understand him better, journalist Allison Hoover Bartlett plunged herself into the world of book lust and discovered just how dangerous it can be.

Gilkey is an obsessed, unrepentant book thief who has stolen hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of rare books from book fairs, stores, and libraries around the country. Ken Sanders is the self-appointed "bibliodick" (book dealer with a penchant for detective work) driven to catch him. 

Bartlett befriended both outlandish characters and found herself caught in the middle of efforts to recover hidden treasure. With a mixture of suspense, insight, and humor, she has woven this entertaining cat-and-mouse chase into a narrative that not only reveals exactly how Gilkey pulled off his dirtiest crimes, where he stashed the loot, and how Sanders ultimately caught him but also explores the romance of books, the lure to collect them, and the temptation to steal them. 
Immersing the reader in a rich, wide world of literary obsession, Bartlett looks at the history of book passion, collection, and theft through the ages, to examine the craving that makes some people willing to stop at nothing to possess the books they love." 
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6251543-the-man-who-loved-books-too-much?from_search=true

Happy Reading!