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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
I heard about this book while listening to a story on the National Book Festival this year where Patterson talked about this book. As a former bookseller and a current archivist, who received her Masters’ in Library and Information Science recently, I was pretty interested.
Disclaimer: this is the first James Patterson book I’ve read even though I shelved too many of his books while working in the bookstore. I know he’s a big writer who “wrote” hundreds of books, but ever since I found out that it is mostly ghost writers that he takes credit for, I’ve lost interest in ever reading his novels. People write them and he just stamps his photo and bio on it, but I digress.
This seemed to me a perfect introduction to the Patterson universe as this is more of an anthology of oral or written history/commentary than something he wrote.
I really related to a lot of the booksellers and librarians alike in this book. A lot of the experiences I encountered as a bookseller and a lot of the morals or aspirations the librarians talk to I learned in school and agree with.
The thing that brought this book to a four was the lack of diversity in the people and businesses they talked to. They mostly highlighted public and school librarians. Don’t get me wrong, they are VERY important when bringing young readers into the world of books, but there are so many other librarians: academic librarians, reference librarians, special collections/reading room librarians, librarians who work at dental, law, arts libraries, etc.
The booksellers weren’t always that diverse either. No hate to chain bookstores like B&N and Books-A-Million, not everyone has a local or indie bookstore nearby, but they could have spotlighted so many more indie bookstores if they cut down on the mainstream bookstores a bit. Like other people had said, once you get an hour into the book, most stories sound the same. They should have included bookstores like Politics & Prose in the DC region or Giovanni’s Room in Philadelphia. Maybe that would have been too radical for some listeners but those are big names in the indie bookstore world who bring in a lot of famous authors, actors, politicians and influencers for interviews or book signings at their stores.
Disclaimer: this is the first James Patterson book I’ve read even though I shelved too many of his books while working in the bookstore. I know he’s a big writer who “wrote” hundreds of books, but ever since I found out that it is mostly ghost writers that he takes credit for, I’ve lost interest in ever reading his novels. People write them and he just stamps his photo and bio on it, but I digress.
This seemed to me a perfect introduction to the Patterson universe as this is more of an anthology of oral or written history/commentary than something he wrote.
I really related to a lot of the booksellers and librarians alike in this book. A lot of the experiences I encountered as a bookseller and a lot of the morals or aspirations the librarians talk to I learned in school and agree with.
The thing that brought this book to a four was the lack of diversity in the people and businesses they talked to. They mostly highlighted public and school librarians. Don’t get me wrong, they are VERY important when bringing young readers into the world of books, but there are so many other librarians: academic librarians, reference librarians, special collections/reading room librarians, librarians who work at dental, law, arts libraries, etc.
The booksellers weren’t always that diverse either. No hate to chain bookstores like B&N and Books-A-Million, not everyone has a local or indie bookstore nearby, but they could have spotlighted so many more indie bookstores if they cut down on the mainstream bookstores a bit. Like other people had said, once you get an hour into the book, most stories sound the same. They should have included bookstores like Politics & Prose in the DC region or Giovanni’s Room in Philadelphia. Maybe that would have been too radical for some listeners but those are big names in the indie bookstore world who bring in a lot of famous authors, actors, politicians and influencers for interviews or book signings at their stores.
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Chicken soup for the book lover's soul❤️ I laughed, I teared up (which I never do while reading), I smiled along with the many books and situations I recognized. SO good!
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
inspiring
reflective
Of course, as a fellow life-long reader myself, the title is what drew me in. It was interesting to see the different titles that are included in the bookish world of employment and how many ways librarians and booksellers engage the community to promote literacy.
I have no complaints about the content of the stories themselves. I think anyone who is a lifelong reader will have a very similar story, starting young because a family member was themselves a reader and continuing throughout their life.
However, I do have complaints about the editing and formatting of the book itself. For starters, there are five parts with titles (Part One: To be a bookseller, you have to play detective), which I thought was super cute, except that the stories contained typically had nothing to do with the title. For example, for part one I was excited to read about helping customers find books with "a blue cover" or whatever other example. While there were several stories throughout the book of sellers and librarians conducting their reference interviews to gather information about the titles, they were spread throughout and not focused into the section hinting at such content. I would have preferred no titles to the sections over this.
Another complaint is the focus on having so many voices that the editing went too far. Each story was boiled down to the same facts, with some stories containing more substance than others. Nearly every story included how the individual was a lifelong reader who "devoured" (used so many times) books and loved to help others find their own books. The reference stories were boiled down to giving a recommendation and those individuals coming back to get more because they loved the recommendations. At that point, it was so many filler words. I would have loved to have longer stories that focus on unique and creative ways that these professions give back to their communities, like the juvenile justice system library or the prison library support or special libraries. There was a medical librarian, but no other special libraries were mentioned, and even though the title was dropped once in the book, there was no other information offered. It's not a secret that many people who work with books love books and recommend to their patrons and help find books. The editors could have really worked to showcase just how much these establishments do for their communities. They were cute but ultimately fluff pieces for the most part.
Another complaint is the use of present tense chosen for this book. Even when the individuals were talking about the past, it was written as if it was happening in the present, and that doesn't seem natural even if we're thinking from a storytelling standpoint. If I was talking about my reading journey, I would use past for what happened in my younger years and transition into present as my story travels the years to join me where I am in life now. It was definitely a choice and I don't think it came across very well.
Why did James Patterson's name need to be in so many stories? We all know he's an author, and his name is already on the cover in a larger font that his co-writer. It was awkward and felt clunky, like those awkward advertisements or product placement in movies/tv shows, and unfortunately, I cared a little less about those stories as a result.
Overall, this book is filled with sweet, heartfelt, meaningful stories of what it means to live and work in the book world, taking into account how it used to be and what reading has become today, complete with shoutouts to BookTok and book banning. These stories are best taken in chunks, otherwise they might start to seem a little too repetitive. Fun read and cool to see all the positions open for book lovers out there.
I have no complaints about the content of the stories themselves. I think anyone who is a lifelong reader will have a very similar story, starting young because a family member was themselves a reader and continuing throughout their life.
However, I do have complaints about the editing and formatting of the book itself. For starters, there are five parts with titles (Part One: To be a bookseller, you have to play detective), which I thought was super cute, except that the stories contained typically had nothing to do with the title. For example, for part one I was excited to read about helping customers find books with "a blue cover" or whatever other example. While there were several stories throughout the book of sellers and librarians conducting their reference interviews to gather information about the titles, they were spread throughout and not focused into the section hinting at such content. I would have preferred no titles to the sections over this.
Another complaint is the focus on having so many voices that the editing went too far. Each story was boiled down to the same facts, with some stories containing more substance than others. Nearly every story included how the individual was a lifelong reader who "devoured" (used so many times) books and loved to help others find their own books. The reference stories were boiled down to giving a recommendation and those individuals coming back to get more because they loved the recommendations. At that point, it was so many filler words. I would have loved to have longer stories that focus on unique and creative ways that these professions give back to their communities, like the juvenile justice system library or the prison library support or special libraries. There was a medical librarian, but no other special libraries were mentioned, and even though the title was dropped once in the book, there was no other information offered. It's not a secret that many people who work with books love books and recommend to their patrons and help find books. The editors could have really worked to showcase just how much these establishments do for their communities. They were cute but ultimately fluff pieces for the most part.
Another complaint is the use of present tense chosen for this book. Even when the individuals were talking about the past, it was written as if it was happening in the present, and that doesn't seem natural even if we're thinking from a storytelling standpoint. If I was talking about my reading journey, I would use past for what happened in my younger years and transition into present as my story travels the years to join me where I am in life now. It was definitely a choice and I don't think it came across very well.
Why did James Patterson's name need to be in so many stories? We all know he's an author, and his name is already on the cover in a larger font that his co-writer. It was awkward and felt clunky, like those awkward advertisements or product placement in movies/tv shows, and unfortunately, I cared a little less about those stories as a result.
Overall, this book is filled with sweet, heartfelt, meaningful stories of what it means to live and work in the book world, taking into account how it used to be and what reading has become today, complete with shoutouts to BookTok and book banning. These stories are best taken in chunks, otherwise they might start to seem a little too repetitive. Fun read and cool to see all the positions open for book lovers out there.
This book would have been much better if librarians wrote about people who had a hand giving them a love of reading. This book is about librarians and book store owners who think they are wonderful. Pretty boring after the first third of the book. Boring.
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
A different 5 star read (or listen in this case). It wasn't like I was grabbed by every single chapter, but as a book lover and avid reader, this was a feel good read/listen to hear from so many different people and their stories who also love books. I enjoyed that there were different types of roles in different locations and different types of libraries. There was a common thread around the love of reading and books, and the staunch defence of access to books and information without censorship.
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
This book was absolutely magical! As someone who has always loved books and reading, this collection of stories about librarians and bookstore owners really brings to life the wonder and power of books and the community it creates. I’m not typically a nonfiction reader but this absolutely caught my attention and I couldn’t stop reading.
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced