Since its appearance in the middle of the fourteenth century, The Love of Books: The Philobiblon of Richard de Bury has been a beloved guide to a life with books. Written by a bishop and royal counselor who amassed a vast personal library, the book is at once an ode to the joys of book collecting and a solemn benediction on the spiritual value of learning. Books have undergone remarkable changes since the illuminated manuscripts Richard de Bury collected and read with loving care, but the medieval bishop's passion and commitment to the world of letters remains a model for bibliophiles to this day.