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megan531's review
4.0
As a connoisseur of books-about-books, I'm pretty stingy with how I rate them.
With just the text, it would be a two or three star read. There are lists of book recommendations in alphabetical order by topic (because of the phone book theme). So there will 5-10 books under Missouri, 5-10 books under friendship and so on. Most of these recs won't be particularly new to the more avid reader and I didn't even read all the lists. There are also little "ads" (again, phonebook) for different literary themed things, like authors' homes or famous libraries. My favorites were the personal essays from readers about why they love a certain book rather than just a list of books. I don't like just lists of books; I want some "why" behind it. So, the actual writing was fun, but nothing really new for the books-about-books genre.
But I just have to push it into four stars for the sheer effort and creativity for how he made the book into more than a book. On every single page, there are multiple extensions you can call at the phone number they set up for the book. On these extensions you can listen to: strangers explaining why they love their favorite book, interviews with booksellers in a certain state, stories about famous authors and much more. To get through all the extensions would take days, maybe even weeks depending on how much time per day you devoted to it. They also have an instagram page where you can do more of the same, except it's not audio, of course. The only other book I can think of (I'm sure there are more, so feel free to tell me if you know of any) that uses other mediums and becomes kind of it's own project/force is [b:Textbook Amy Krouse Rosenthal|27833861|Textbook Amy Krouse Rosenthal|Amy Krouse Rosenthal|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1460910709l/27833861._SY75_.jpg|47815800] which is SO criminally underrated and fascinating. It's so interesting how this book (and [b:Textbook Amy Krouse Rosenthal|27833861|Textbook Amy Krouse Rosenthal|Amy Krouse Rosenthal|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1460910709l/27833861._SY75_.jpg|47815800]) is a jumping off point that can continue to grow with more phone calls and audience interaction.
With just the text, it would be a two or three star read. There are lists of book recommendations in alphabetical order by topic (because of the phone book theme). So there will 5-10 books under Missouri, 5-10 books under friendship and so on. Most of these recs won't be particularly new to the more avid reader and I didn't even read all the lists. There are also little "ads" (again, phonebook) for different literary themed things, like authors' homes or famous libraries. My favorites were the personal essays from readers about why they love a certain book rather than just a list of books. I don't like just lists of books; I want some "why" behind it. So, the actual writing was fun, but nothing really new for the books-about-books genre.
But I just have to push it into four stars for the sheer effort and creativity for how he made the book into more than a book. On every single page, there are multiple extensions you can call at the phone number they set up for the book. On these extensions you can listen to: strangers explaining why they love their favorite book, interviews with booksellers in a certain state, stories about famous authors and much more. To get through all the extensions would take days, maybe even weeks depending on how much time per day you devoted to it. They also have an instagram page where you can do more of the same, except it's not audio, of course. The only other book I can think of (I'm sure there are more, so feel free to tell me if you know of any) that uses other mediums and becomes kind of it's own project/force is [b:Textbook Amy Krouse Rosenthal|27833861|Textbook Amy Krouse Rosenthal|Amy Krouse Rosenthal|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1460910709l/27833861._SY75_.jpg|47815800] which is SO criminally underrated and fascinating. It's so interesting how this book (and [b:Textbook Amy Krouse Rosenthal|27833861|Textbook Amy Krouse Rosenthal|Amy Krouse Rosenthal|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1460910709l/27833861._SY75_.jpg|47815800]) is a jumping off point that can continue to grow with more phone calls and audience interaction.
julieb's review
5.0
Oh my goodness, that was so much fun!
Call Ishmael 774-325-0503
A couple of my favorites:
6026 Captain Underpants
3709 Cannery Row
8934 Central Library
7861 Vonnegut Museum
Love, love, love this!
Call Ishmael 774-325-0503
A couple of my favorites:
6026 Captain Underpants
3709 Cannery Row
8934 Central Library
7861 Vonnegut Museum
Love, love, love this!
fudgeelizabeth9's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
5.0
janp's review against another edition
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
5.0
rebelstorm's review against another edition
4.0
This is a pretty fun idea. I don't remember when was the last time I saw an actual phone book.
[b:The Call Me Ishmael Phone Book: An Interactive Guide to Life-Changing Books|50862038|The Call Me Ishmael Phone Book An Interactive Guide to Life-Changing Books|Logan Smalley|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1596974658l/50862038._SX50_.jpg|71318203] is built like, you guessed it, a phone book. And you can actually call the number provided in the book and leave a message about your favorite book or listen to other people's messages. I didn't try to call the number tho. Mostly because I'm from Europe and I have no idea if it would have worked. Still - the idea is pretty neat.
Review copy provided by the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
[b:The Call Me Ishmael Phone Book: An Interactive Guide to Life-Changing Books|50862038|The Call Me Ishmael Phone Book An Interactive Guide to Life-Changing Books|Logan Smalley|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1596974658l/50862038._SX50_.jpg|71318203] is built like, you guessed it, a phone book. And you can actually call the number provided in the book and leave a message about your favorite book or listen to other people's messages. I didn't try to call the number tho. Mostly because I'm from Europe and I have no idea if it would have worked. Still - the idea is pretty neat.
Review copy provided by the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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