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A review by nssutton
The World's Strongest Librarian: A Memoir of Tourette's, Faith, Strength, and the Power of Family by Josh Hanagarne
3.0
It should come as no surprise that I have a soft spot for librarian origin stories. Hanagarne’s story covers such a wide range of topics, from growing up Mormon to the unorthodox methods he used to fight Tourette’s, as taught by an autistic strongman. I was a little resistant to finishing this at first, as other books kept giving me the eye, but I’m glad I saw it. It’s well-written, engaging, and easily accessible.
I appreciated the tales from the public library peppered throughout the story, but it got me to thinking the disproportionate number of library memoirs penned by men in this female-dominated field. Here’s the short list that I came up – let me know if I missed any:
Quiet, Please: Dispatches from a Public Librarian – Scott Douglas
Running the Books: The Adventures of an Accidental Prison Librarian – Avi Steinberg
Free for All: Oddballs, Geeks, and Gangsters in the Public Library – Don Borchert
So what are you waiting for, publishers? You know how to reach me. I’d love to tell the story of the time a patron paid us with cash from her underwear, how devastating a $2.5 million budget cut could be on an urban library system, and that time I embarrassed myself in front of a popular children’s author.
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I appreciated the tales from the public library peppered throughout the story, but it got me to thinking the disproportionate number of library memoirs penned by men in this female-dominated field. Here’s the short list that I came up – let me know if I missed any:
Quiet, Please: Dispatches from a Public Librarian – Scott Douglas
Running the Books: The Adventures of an Accidental Prison Librarian – Avi Steinberg
Free for All: Oddballs, Geeks, and Gangsters in the Public Library – Don Borchert
So what are you waiting for, publishers? You know how to reach me. I’d love to tell the story of the time a patron paid us with cash from her underwear, how devastating a $2.5 million budget cut could be on an urban library system, and that time I embarrassed myself in front of a popular children’s author.
Share this: