What a joy! This book was a delight from start to finish!
The story takes its time, moving slowly but with great atmosphere and nuance. The depictions What a joy! This book was a delight from start to finish!
The story takes its time, moving slowly but with great atmosphere and nuance. The depictions of the relocated British children during WWII were very well-rendered, and this book struck all the right notes of sorrow and hope and fear and loss. The novel's plot is absolutely beautiful—sad but not bleak—with memorable characters on a quest for life and redemption. The author did a phenomenal job of imbuing the whole book with a fairy-tale-like quality, without ever once drawing on any supernatural element. The novel reads almost like a journey, taking its readers on a long adventure through dark and perilous places, and as the tale goes on, the tension grows and the drama unfolds, until finally the readers reach the journey's end and its thoroughly satisfying conclusion....more
Well, this book isn't about the Titanic, it isn't about surviving, and it isn't about books. How sad to witness such a unique premise devolve into yetWell, this book isn't about the Titanic, it isn't about surviving, and it isn't about books. How sad to witness such a unique premise devolve into yet another run-of-the-mill love triangle! If you're interested in love triangles, you might find something useful here, although I doubt there is much to set this one apart from the crowd of romances. The characters are mildly interesting, the pace at some points isn't egregiously slow, and prose is only distractingly over-written in a few places. So it's okay. Mediocre, sure, but definitely okay. I was perhaps most disappointed by the historical setting, which seems to fall flat, at least to me, as the characters feel quite modern. The whole book seems a little out of focus: the Titanic elements are good, but shoved into the background; the love of books is alluded to but not allowed to shine (which was just a constant reminder to me, the reader, that I could be reading something else); and the supporting characters in the book club scenes are so much more interesting than any of the three leads. If you got something out of this, good for you. I found I didn't care enough about the characters even to make it to the end....more
How interesting! This charming book conveys a great deal of information about the country's first bookmobile and the remarkable librarian who made it How interesting! This charming book conveys a great deal of information about the country's first bookmobile and the remarkable librarian who made it possible. Clear and informative—but never condescending—this book can be enjoyed by youth and adults alike. The many photographs included add to the enjoyment....more
I suppose it's all right for what it is. The story is interesting and the characters likeable. The stunning artwork elevates the book and endows it wiI suppose it's all right for what it is. The story is interesting and the characters likeable. The stunning artwork elevates the book and endows it with beauty. I enjoyed the experience of reading it. That plot, however. Ooh. I feel like the book couldn't quite decide when to be a fairy tale for adults and when to be realistic, and—given that the premise is a talking whale who apparently never needs to eat, who also has a library inside of her—I found some of the more "realistic" elements of the story to be quite unbelievable, even jarring and out-of-place. This book tried to be a lot of things: atmospheric, beautiful, joyful, funny, and tragic. Unfortunately, they just didn't mesh....more
Well, I know I'm probably in the minority here, but I didn't love it. The characters were interesting, and the plot was compelling enough to keep me rWell, I know I'm probably in the minority here, but I didn't love it. The characters were interesting, and the plot was compelling enough to keep me reading, but I didn't think the whole was very well-crafted. I thought it was kind of insulting to women, though I doubt that was intentional.
At first, I liked it well enough. A book dedicated to librarians and set in a famous library? Great! At the beginning, I thought Laura's 1914 plot was more interesting than Sadie's 1992 plot, so I was delighted to see that the more I read, the more I warmed to Sadie's story. I thought the characters there felt genuine, and I enjoyed the journey. I liked that the author took her time with it. I liked that it kept my interest.
Then, the 1914 plot sort of derailed. That storyline's protagonist, Laura, is a married mother of two who is studying to be a journalist so she can help support her family. On the way, she stumbles into a plethora of feminist clichés. I don't say that lightly. I remember being in college and studying history, and we looked (among other things) at the feminist movement and the criticism it drew. There wasn't anyone in my class, as far as I know, who felt women shouldn't vote or shouldn't have jobs, so it was easy for us to kind of roll our eyes at some of the fears of the times. For example, (1) from the mid-1800s, the idea that women shouldn't pursue higher education because they can't handle being told they're wrong. (2) From 1860s-ish, a source suggesting women shouldn't have careers outside the home because they'll be corrupted by sin. (3) From circa 1920, the fear that women shouldn't vote because there will be no one to look after the children. And then, of course, there were the fears the other direction, that (4) powerful men are awful, and that (5) any problem is eclipsed by the larger problem of sexism. As cheap as these criticisms may sound, I hate to say this book reinforced every single one of them.
I get it; things were hard for Laura. Women of my generation have the benefit of seeing how older generations of women balanced work and family. Laura was forging her own path. Fine. But could she have been just a little less TSTL? Take her studies. She and her family sacrificed so much so that she could study journalism. This was, she thought, her career choice. Journalism is what she felt called to do. She took an ethics course. She was told, repeatedly, that journalism was a means of reporting facts, and the she needed to be as objective as possible in her writing. I could tell Laura didn't like factual journalism; she would have been much happier editorializing or working as an activist, but she didn't complain or try to change fields. She just went on through her classes, nodding her head at everything she was told, and then she didn't follow directions on her final project—she gave opinions instead of the objective, factual write-up she had been assigned—and wound up failing. Well, good? I mean, she deserved it. She chose not meet the course's requirements. Then she failed the course. Any sort of learning requires humility, and Laura, for all her gifts, lacks the ability to accept that just because she wants something, that makes it correct. I'm not saying her feelings were wrong, nor that she was wrong to voice them. But she was clearly wrong to turn a specific assignment into her own forum after being expressly told that that particular project was to be an objective description. She was wrong to be so narcissistic as to think that just because she felt it strongly, that made it okay for the project. She was wrong to disregard what the teacher told her just because she didn't like it. She was also wrong to fight the professor after the fact, instead of taking the just criticism. She was wrong to blame her failure on the people around her. Incidentally, I also blame the author here. The problem was Laura's refusal to follow the school's rules, so naturally there had to be a scene showing her teacher as obviously sexist and prejudiced. Why? So his flaws would eclipse Laura's, so that misogyny could steal the scene as the biggest of all problems, and so readers would be distracted from Laura's shortcomings by focusing on someone else's. See numbers (4) and (5) above. That's kind of a cop-out.
It gets worse: Laura herself reinforces a whole bunch of anti-feminism clichés. She couldn't handle school because she didn't want to follow someone else's directions. She started meeting with people to learn about feminism, which led (not kidding!) to moral decline: taking advantage of her mother's time as a free babysitter, lying to her husband about her whereabouts, lying to her friends about her intentions, and invading their privacy for her own gain. As she got better at her journalism, she got more and more impatient with her husband in his work. She became rude, teasing him on purpose about things that bothered him, and she started breaking promises that she had made to him. And the whole time, he seemed to think that all their troubles were somehow his fault; the crueler she was to him, the more he trusted her. She spent time away from her children, oblivious to the troubles that were plaguing them. If the goal here was to show that educating women makes them rude or self-seeking, or turns them into liars, or destroys the home, well good job, Fiona Davis, you nailed it. At the end of the novel, Laura's family (including Laura) is plunged into tragedy because of her. But if she'd stayed a stereotypical, obedient, stay-at-home housewife, everyone would have been happy (including Laura). So the upshot is that anti-feminism is bad. Sexism is bad. (Powerful men are bad.) But also, feminism is bad, and women studying and working is bad. Call me crazy, but I believe it's possible for men to care for their families and for family members to love one another. I believe that men with families can be upright and caring. I also believe that women are capable of studying and working (and yes, being feminist) without sacrificing their honor, character, or morality. I don't believe the patriarchy is incompatible with happiness, nor do I believe that feminism is incompatible with kindness.
Still, if this were as far as it went, Davis might have been able to pull it off. It might have been an illuminating portrait of a more corrupt side of feminism. In a world where little girls are told that they can do or be anything, this would be a novel to show the responsibility and the cost that comes with that power. And in that case, readers—whether feminist or not, whether they agree or not—might appreciate the story that explores those views. Such a story would show one woman's journey as she discovers herself and loses everything in the process. Laura would be seduced by the Dark Side of the Force and become Darth Laura, and I would have been impressed by her strength and sorry for the loss of her innocence and disturbed by the ease with which she let go of the things that are good. But she is not Darth Laura. She is, bizarrely, one of the story's heroes (still!) and all her selfishness seems less a character flaw and more a badge of honor. What a weird little book!
The good: • The setting • The emphasis on books • The insight into rare books (I'm sure that was a lot to research) • The writing, specifically the way the rare books fit the story. The research and the details felt natural and not at all forced. • The way the author took her time telling the story. • The character interactions, especially in the 1992 plotline. I liked the genuine warmth between Sadie and her brother, and I especially liked the sister-in-law. I'm glad this novel avoided clichés like the evil in-law trope; the SIL here was a real class act, and it was refreshing.
As for the rest, just enjoy the story, but don't take it too seriously....more
An interesting memoir. William Ottens writes in a warm, down-to-earth style that is a delight to read. He describes some of the highs and lows of librAn interesting memoir. William Ottens writes in a warm, down-to-earth style that is a delight to read. He describes some of the highs and lows of librarianship in a way that underscores the the sense of community: not just in terms of the staff as a library team, but also with regard to the patrons and communities they serve. He offers some amusing anecdotes from his own varied experience, and he shares comments that others have left on his website. He seems quite proud of the work he has accomplished, and yet he also comes off as humble, and as being quite grateful for the chance to have done the work that he’s achieved. Anyone interested in libraries (and their complexities) or in memoirs might enjoy this. Such an interesting man!...more
This was an interesting take on classic books. Some of these are funny, but many of them just feel like short summaries of the actual plot. Still, it’This was an interesting take on classic books. Some of these are funny, but many of them just feel like short summaries of the actual plot. Still, it’s all in good fun, and this book is witty enough to carry my interest. A fine read for a rainy afternoon, perfect for any bibliophile....more
This was okay. It was an interesting premise, and parts of it were funny. Parts of it felt a bit mean-spirited, though. The reading experience was a pThis was okay. It was an interesting premise, and parts of it were funny. Parts of it felt a bit mean-spirited, though. The reading experience was a peculiar mix of feeling amused and feeling judged. If you’re looking for a quick read filled with bright pictures and allusions to popular books, you might enjoy this. But if you’re looking for something that celebrates all readers, or that spreads the joy of books, then you may want to look elsewhere. There are plenty of other book-themed books with more substance....more
This history of books and art offers a fascinating look at the past. Books changed, as did the way in which the world perceived readers. Were books a This history of books and art offers a fascinating look at the past. Books changed, as did the way in which the world perceived readers. Were books a blessing or a threat? Were women readers dangerous or easily led astray—or were they virtuous and educated? As books became more accessible, customs and expectations changed. Reading this, I learned about the history of the book and about common reactions to literacy, but I didn’t feel that I learned very much about art. This book makes references to some works being genius and others mediocre, but it doesn’t go into much detail about why these assessments were made, or even when. (Was the work unappreciated in its time but valued now? Or was it popular then but dismissed later on?) There is very little context for some of the art analyses.
I was also puzzled by some of the historical comments. I think that this book has faced the formidable task of covering a VERY broad history, and for the most part it does it well, but there are some places where the information is a bit muddled. These authors are fond of making extreme statements that are also vague, and which are not supported by any cited source material. For example, books played a huge part in the Reformation, and these authors wrote, “Luther himself approved . . . only of [books] connected to Scripture” (p. 92). They don’t give any context for this, and since they don’t refer the reader to any other work, it’s tough to know just what they’re talking about. Martin Luther lived in a time of censorship and widespread Christianity; when the printers of the day refused to print the Qur’an, Luther fought them on it. Although he was Christian, he believed that people had the right to access books like the Qur’an, and that the printers had an obligation to make those works available. (The Qur’an was printed, because of him, and that particular translation was even printed with a preface by Luther.) So I honestly have no idea what these authors are talking about, since their extreme statement seems to run contrary to the history I’ve studied, and since they aren’t mentioning any other facts, histories, or anecdotes that might support their claim.
The authors also claim, “In the 18th century, reading for pleasure was first discovered by the social elite” (161). Again, I need a little more to go on here, especially from a book that addresses the history of books. I know that the rise of the novel hadn’t yet happened, but I can’t imagine that no one read for pleasure before this. Educational books, particularly for children, were often pleasurable as well, and that doesn’t even take into account the sheer volume of poetry that had been written, much of which recounted dramatic stories. What do they mean? I don’t know. After casually lobbing that bombshell, the authors change the subject and never bring it up again.
This is a very nice book, and it covers a lot of ground. The paintings are reproduced clearly, and each image has a caption, which helps a lot. The entire work is also a celebration of books, and that can be powerful and uplifting. But I would advise people to look carefully at which statements cite sources and which ones don’t. As long as you can take the text with a grain of salt and focus on the artwork, you might enjoy these visual depictions of several centuries’ worth of reading....more
A book about books, this celebration of the reading lifestyle is part memoir and part guide to understanding ourselves as readers. Chock-full of down-A book about books, this celebration of the reading lifestyle is part memoir and part guide to understanding ourselves as readers. Chock-full of down-to-earth wisdom, it’s a love letter to the bibliophile in all of us. An absolute must-read for any reader....more
Charming and optimistic, this feel-good book is full of pearls of wisdom, cute illustrations, and quotes about the beauty of the seashore. If your dayCharming and optimistic, this feel-good book is full of pearls of wisdom, cute illustrations, and quotes about the beauty of the seashore. If your day feels too busy and too rushed, this book is a perfect way to connect to a calm, restful mood. You may not be able to take an expensive vacation, but you can always remember that life’s a beach. Highly recommended....more
The wisdom of Cookie Monster. This feel-good book is delightful and charming; parts of it made me laugh, and parts of it (like a good cookie) were uneThe wisdom of Cookie Monster. This feel-good book is delightful and charming; parts of it made me laugh, and parts of it (like a good cookie) were unexpectedly sweet. Cookie Monster's naive positivity and unbridled joy are palpable here, and they lift this book above other inspirational collections. This book feels like more than just a gimmick, or a one-off joke stretched to book length. This feels warm and genuine somehow. And adapting famous quotes to make them cookie-centric is just brilliant. Cookie recipes—including one with no dairy, eggs, nuts, or gluten—are a pleasant bonus. I can't wait to go home and try them....more
A charming collection of poems and prayers. I was delighted at the scope of this collection, which features poetry by Emerson, Blake, and Hugo (among A charming collection of poems and prayers. I was delighted at the scope of this collection, which features poetry by Emerson, Blake, and Hugo (among others), as well as lyrics both to famous hymns and to children’s songs. There are also many prayers, inspirational quotes from different saints, and Bible verses. Illustrations of children and animals are bright and cheery, and very, very cute. The book is divided into chapters that are relevant to a child (e.g., one for nature, one for animals, one for being thankful). It is easy to find a prayer or poem for a particular aspect of life, and when read from start to finish, is presents a beautiful journey from the morning chapter to the evening chapter. This version has a padded cover and gold edging on the pages. All in all, it’s a lovely book....more
This book is amazing! It's a celebration of books, and it shares many of the ups and downs of a booklover's experience. It's told through several brieThis book is amazing! It's a celebration of books, and it shares many of the ups and downs of a booklover's experience. It's told through several brief comic-book style vignettes, and it follows the adventures of one young lady as she visits libraries and bookstores; she reads all the time, and she surrounds herself with books. The agony of lending books out, the joy of smelling the pages, the obsession that leads her to skip sleep in order to finish—this is all easy for bibliophiles to understand. I feel as though I know her. We have a lot in common. A cute, sweet book, with some laugh-out-loud moments. I'll definitely be recommending this one....more
I was intrigued by the premise but disappointed by the execution. This could and should have been better. My first impression after reading it was thaI was intrigued by the premise but disappointed by the execution. This could and should have been better. My first impression after reading it was that she didn’t have enough information about the library fire to write a whole book about it, and I suspected that she broadened her scope accordingly. However, the end result jumps around a lot and is part history, part conjecture, and part memoir. At the very least, this should have been better organized. It lacks the structure that I would expect from work of nonfiction.
Okay, so here are my thoughts: You know how when you read novels, very often they’ll cover two timelines? And so the story will jump back and forth between them? Well, this was like that, but with five storylines going. And unlike some novels where each chapter has a specific timeline, and it’s clear what happens when, the times here can jump back and forth from paragraph to paragraph, so it’s tough to know when things are happening. She had one storyline describing the events of the day of the fire. I would have expected this to be the main plot of the book, but it’s not as much front and center as I’d have thought. This thread gets lost under all the others. Orlean also describes the history of the library, discussing different people who have run the library through the years. This is interesting, but she doesn’t go into much depth for any of it, so it feels like summary. Another thread touches on the investigation into the fire, but since nothing definitive was ever found, there isn’t much to say. She uses plenty of words to say it, though. She describes someone suspected of starting the fire, but again, no one even knows if it was an accidental fire or a deliberate one. All of this goes nowhere, and it’s crammed in between the segments about the other stuff.
And speaking of other stuff, the last two narrative threads are pure memoirs. She describes her childhood visits to a different library, and she describes her research experiences. It’s a little confusing, too, because the connections for these threads aren’t clear. The library from her childhood is a different one—it’s not relelvent to the fire in the Los Angeles Central Library—it’s only relevelent to her, personally. She’s tracing libraries’ influence on her life generally. Similarly, much of her research into the library fire has been simply trying to be aware of what libraries are and how they operate. She was an outsider, and she shares her misconceptions that she had had prior to the start of her research on libraries. And a big portion of THAT research has been just sitting inside the library and people-watching. So there are sections of the book where you can read about everybody that she observed during a given time: how many people, what they looked like, what clothes they wore, and what they said. At least, what little snippets of conversation Orlean overheard. None of this is relevant to the fire, and it feels invasive. At first, I thought she was piecing together what happened the morning of the disaster, trying to pinpoint who was where, and when. But no—these are all people from years afterward. People who were library users, who were simply minding their own business in an institution that tries to serve their needs and respect their privacy. Orlean doesn’t reveal anything too personal, and I think that the whole point of this section was to give readers a sense of what it’s like to be in a library, so that they could picture what she could see and hear. So I understand it, I think. But even so, it’s clear that libraries are so foreign to Orlean that she feels compelled to study them, and to study their patrons in their natural habitat. It’s well-intended, but it’s a little creepy, and it doesn’t have anything to do with the fire.
I wanted to like this book. It’s an elegy, and it’s a history, and it celebrates books and libraries and community. But it’s all over the place; it tries to do a lot, but it doesn’t do any of it well. Perhaps if the book had been divided into sections, each one tackling a different angle, it might have worked. I sympathize with Orlean because she’s obviously using this book to work through her personal feelings, and those feelings are valid. Her mother has dementia, and so Orlean is now feeling far more sentimental about those early shared memories in libraries. I think there’s also a compelling parallel between her mother losing her memory and the LA Library, the collective memory of the community, losing its archives. But for a book described as historical research into a single event, this one misses the mark....more
This one is all kinds of fun. If you're a fan of choose-your-own-adventure novels, or if you like RPG gaming in general, you can have a lot of fun witThis one is all kinds of fun. If you're a fan of choose-your-own-adventure novels, or if you like RPG gaming in general, you can have a lot of fun with this. If you love romance novels and can't get enough of them, then you're sure to enjoy this book: it's multiple love tales all at once. It has passion, romance, intrigue, murder, action, secrets, deception, and goodness-knows-what-else. On the other hand, if you are NOT a romance reader, if love-sick sighing makes you want to roll your eyes, then you may enjoy this lighthearted parody of romance novels. It's got some soppy dialogue (it's soppy on purpose), there will be a literal ripped bodice, and pretty much every male character from the lord of the manor to the postman is going to have rippling muscles. Oh, and, it's a lot of fun. Kitty Curran has written a parody that's still true to the form; it isn't condescending or cruel, and it can be enjoyed both by romance lovers and romance haters. It's a choose-your-own-adventure for the greatest adventure of them all—love!...more
A fun story about the impact a single person can have. A story about books and readers, travelers and homebodies, pen pals and lovers—this book has itA fun story about the impact a single person can have. A story about books and readers, travelers and homebodies, pen pals and lovers—this book has it all. This light and fluffy novel was surprisingly moving in places, and its story of a Swedish woman setting in small-town America left me feeling warm and hopeful. Bonus: this book is also a celebration of books and reading. Who could ask for more?...more
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