Nicole recommended this book as a light book! A librarian writing about books! And she was RIGHT. Dear Fahrenheit 451 is Annie Spence writing about her favorite books and who doesn't want to read that? I mean, that's all I want to read, if you want to know the truth. I enjoyed Spence's humor, her takes on books (even when I don't agree), and have a huge list of books I want to read now.
I don't actually have a great review here. We have a librarian who grew up in small town Michigan (!) and writes about books. She never mentions A Tree Grows in Brooklyn or Black Beauty, so there are some real failings in this book, but I appreciated the insider's view of the workings of a public library - she seems to really love libraries and understand the important role libraries play in American society - and enjoyed all of the time I spent with Annie. 4/5 stars
Lines of notes:
My husband buys series in mass-market paperbacks. And our books don't really "go" together. If someone were to judge who lives in our house based on our bookshefl, they would probably guess we were socialist botanists, equally obsessed with the Beatles and the best clothes for our body types, a couple who collects classic novels from Dumpsters and owns a dog that occasionally gnaws the corners of our already-shabby collection. And that's simply not true. We have a cat. (page 37)
This felt too real.
Pages 66-67 about The Hobbit. I agree so much with this assessment. More hobbits! Less wandering!
The rest of you will be going in a box in the breezeway with a TAKE ME HOME! sign on you. I'm not going to lie. It's no picnic in there either. You'll be rifled through and thrown into haphazard piles by folks who can remember each of the eight hundred Harlequin titles they've read but forget every Friday that we close at 5:00. EVERY Friday, dammit. (page 107)
Ha ha ha!!! You know these women, right? The Harlequin women are legion and wonderful. So can one of those women tell me the title of the Harlequin romance novel I read when I was twelve with two twin women named Mary Margaret and Margaret Mary that was set in Boston? There was a scene in that book where the hero did a meditation exercise with one of the women (lololol) and I literally used that strategy for going to sleep for years. I'd love to reread it.
This John Waters quote (page 205) reminded me of a conversation Stephany and I had in the comments section of her AMA in which I said a non-reader would be a dealbreaker for me in a relationship.
Things I looked up:
American Libraries "Read" posters (page 168) - School librarians across this land are upset that I didn't know these are STILL IN PRODUCTION. I might have gone down a big rabbit hole here and I'm not afraid to share. I start with new ones, but then things get vintage.
ergodic literature (page 214) - a term coined by Espen J. Aarseth in his 1997 book Cybertext—Perspectives on Ergodic Literature to describe literature in which nontrivial effort is required for the reader to traverse the text.
Hat mentions (why hats?):
Sinister hats. (page 169) - You guys, that's the full sentence. Imagine my joy.
Here at the beach, I look like the unassuming reader in the one-piece, cloaked in multiple layers of SPF 70 a big brimmed hat. (page 123)
Books I want to read now:
Big Stone Gap series by Adriana Trigiani
Love Poems by Nikki Giovanni
The Dog Stars by Peter Heller
The Dud Avocado by Elaine Dundy
The Turner House by Angela Flournoy
Flow: The Cultural History of Menstruation by Elissa Stein and Susan Kim
The Happy Marriage by Tahar Ben Jelloun
Was She Pretty? by Leanne Shapton
In the Stacks: Short Stories about Libraries and Librarians edited by Michael Cart
The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler
Stories from Jonestown by Leigh Fondakowski
Amy Falls Down (Amy Gallup #2) by Jincy Willett - Would I have to read the first book in the series?
Random Family: Love, Drugs, Trouble, and Coming of Age in the Bronx by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc
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Do you remember the READ posters? If you were able to get one, which one would you want?
I'm glad you liked it! It was a fun little read!
ReplyDeleteIt was! And I have a Pop Sugar Reading Prompt that is to read a book that was referenced in another book, so this was really helpful for that.
DeleteI've never seen a READ poster in my life. I wonder if they were in Canada, too?
ReplyDeleteI doubt they were in Canada because the posters are an American Library Association collection. I mean, I'm sure *some* snuck across the border, but probably weren't as ubiquitous as they were here.
DeleteI don't remember the READ posters, but that could be because I'm really unobservant. They could have been plastered all over the place and I never noticed them.
ReplyDeleteI've seen this book in the bookstore! Maybe I'll have to get it from the library- it does sound funny.
It's funny and I read the whole thing in two hours. It made me feel very accomplished.
DeleteI remember the READ posters. I taught for 30 years, so they were in our school libraries. I remember specifically the Miss Piggy and Kermit one, and I think there was a C3PO and R2D2 one, too. I can't remember others, however.
ReplyDeleteThe Harlequin ladies are so real! There used to be a huge, HUGE used bookstore and paperback exchange near me. I'd go in there once in a while, and there'd be big paper grocery bags of paperback romance novels right by the checkout. Ladies would come in, root through the top layer, drop off their bag, and pick one up. The cashiers knew them all!
I think even we had READ posters in my tiny town's library. Yay for the monoculture. We were all looking at them.
DeleteThe Harlequin ladies are LEGION and POWERFUL!
What a clever idea for a book. Fun fact, AdrianaTrigiani went to the same college as me. Saint Mary's at Notre Dame. I've not read the Big Stone Gap books, but I've read some of her other books and they are always great. I met her once and she and I replied to an email I sent her once.
ReplyDeleteI have not read the Hobbit books, but I read the page that you posted from this book and it made me laugh so much. Having to catch up with the nephew. Ha. I absolutely love the John Waters quote. So hilarious. I don't really remember the 'read' posters. They were probably in the library, but I don't remember them. I did see a Kermit the Frog poster in a school in '21 when we met the boys we were attempting to adopt. I took a photo of it. 'Eats flies. Dates a pig. Hollywood star. Live Your Dreams.' That made me smile.
The Hobbit was kind of a boring book, imo. I agree with her completely about it. It's fun in the Hobbit world and then boring as they wander around in order to STEAL something. I just...cant. Also, there are no women in the book. It's like Tolkien didn't know women existed.
DeleteThose READ posters were everywhere in the 80s! And I lived in rural Ohio. I didn't know they are still in production!
ReplyDeleteYES! I saw them a lot in rural Michigan and they're still making them. I sort of want a couple for my work office now that I know they exist.
DeleteOh, I read The Dud Avocado! I nominate it for the next CBBC! I haven't heard of any of the other books you listed. This book sounds charming.
ReplyDeleteHere's my review if you're interested:
https://jellyjules.com/the-dud-avocado/
I added it to the list of potential CBBC books. I love how someone called your review a "book report" in your comments. I sort of get all hepped up when people call my reviews book reports and I'm not sure why. I guess that's what it is? It just makes it sound like I'm ten and going to turn it in for a grade.
DeleteI've never heard of this book nor any of the ones you list to read later. This is all news to me. I do remember those READ posters, though. I liked them just because they were so direct and I thought were a perfect way to encourage people.
ReplyDeleteI love the READ posters SO MUCH. I can't stop myself from being excited about them and wanting to own them.
DeleteHaving just recently re-read The Hobbit, I can say that the character/author nailed it.
ReplyDeleteI 100% agree. Too much wandering around and thieving. I wanted more creatures.
DeleteThis book sounds delightful. I am loving your list of books to read -- The Dud Avocado?!?! What a title!
ReplyDeleteIt was a charming book. If you want to spend a couple of carefree hours, this is a good way to do it.
DeleteOoh, I want to read The Dog Stars though Goodreads tells me that it has an idiosyncratic style. I do know READ posters, but I feel like I maybe know them more at this point from uses in other media than from seeing them on walls in libraries? That makes me feel old :-).
ReplyDeleteI'm currently reading a book with an idiosyncratic style and I have to admit that it's stressing me out a bit. I'm not here for experimental fiction, I guess.
DeleteWell, as a former librarian, I MUST read this one! Yes, I remember the READ posters - very fun!
ReplyDeleteIt's a fun little book and I loved it when I also had read the books! It made me feel like I was part of the club.
DeleteOh, I love the format of writing letters to books! I read The Hobbit when I was like ten and loved it, but I only remember the big events so maybe i was annoyed by the wandering too and just don't remember that.
ReplyDeleteIn retrospect, I should have made the structure of my blog be just me writing letters to people and books. That would have been a fun way to go. Alas, I was not clever enough to think that way when I started this.
DeleteI didn't grow up with READ posters, but I've been loving the Mychal Threets ones...
ReplyDeleteOh, wow. I'd never heard of Mychal Threets, but now I'm following on Instagram!
DeleteI'm guessing Annie isn't much of a Lord of the Rings fan either, considering that particularly trilogy is pretty much nonstop adventuring!
ReplyDeleteI don't recall the READ posters, but give me Kermit and Miss Piggy every day, all day long. (Hopefully you ended up with a snow day and are doing a whole lot of reading yourself.)
I think Annie and I are on the same page about LOTR - such a snoozefest.
DeleteThe READ posters are so much fun. They're worth a gander.
Ha...I'm not even a big fantasy guy, but LOTR is probably my favorite read ever. It really shaped me as a child, but I know it's not for everyone.
DeleteI love the Read posters! I have a poster that's clearly influenced by the idea, with Kermit; I'll have to put that up on the blog.
ReplyDeleteOh, I can't wait to see it! They're so much fun.
Delete