The Librarianist: A Novel | 
pickI'm gonna make a hash of this review. The equation goes: the better the writing, the more incoherent my praise becomes! I think I'm intimidated by the sheer craftsmanship. 😅
I am cast giddily back to my experience of reading North Woods: the episodic nature of the storytelling, more historical than I anticipated, potentially not the kind of tale I'd usually like, but thanks to the INCREDIBLE writing, I LOVED IT. 1/?
New word and new knowledge!
A glasspack is a type of automobile muffler in which the exhaust gas passes straight through the center of the muffler. The basic design consists of one smaller tube centered inside a larger outer tube that is enlarged or swollen in the middle. The gap between the enlarged part of the outer tube and the center tube is packed with fiberglass, hence the name.
pickThis was such a simple story, of a quiet man‘s simple life, but it was also deeply moving and powerfully told. DeWitt has a way of drawing everyday life events in rich colours and textures to make them feel more extraordinary and special — much as they would be to those experiencing those moments. I loved this book, with its love and celebration of words, and its simple, beautiful story.
Oh, hello, it's me, your Saturday librarian! While I'm at work, I hope you all are at home reading. Or at a coffee shop, reading. Or enjoying a spring day in the park, reading. Or at the pub, reading. You get my drift! Send me your reference questions through 6:00PM Alaska DST today. :-) Silly reference questions and your run-of-the-mill reference questions are all welcome. #SaturdayLibrarian
#LitsyTOB
I get the real TOB emails and decided to see what happened in today‘s round with my morning coffee. I have to say I don‘t know anything about the judge Rufi Thorpe but her breakdown to choosing her favorite of the three was a hoot. And now I‘m off to check out her books. Even if you aren‘t into the TOB I think you‘ll get a kick out of this review. Here‘s the link:
https://www.tournamentofbooks.com/2024/play-in-match
so-soI‘m a bit flummoxed by this one. I enjoyed it immensely but I also feel like it really doesn‘t hold together as a whole. Almost a third of the book is dedicated to a childhood story of the main character, Bob, and it‘s completely enchanting, but it doesn‘t fit into the rest of the book and even carry a consistent characterization of Bob. So I can‘t quite give it a pick. But it would be a great book club book and I want a whole book about Linus.
pickI‘m not entirely sure how I feel about this book, but I did enjoy it. It went off on a tangent like no other very early on, which threw me off, but it came together with remarkable clarity at the end. This story of an aging man who begins to volunteer at the senior living center nearby is endearing and sweet without being saccharine. Not as grumpy as Backman, not as sweet as The Storied Life if A.J.Fikry. Enjoyable!
I loved this book, but I don‘t understand the running away from home story and it‘s significance. Other than that, another success from Patrick Dewitt.
pickFinished this a few days ago and the experience reminds me why ebooks are NOT for favorite. I got all settled in and snuggled to enjoy and WHAT?!?!!! It ended. I had no idea I was on the second to last page 🤣🤷🏻♀️😳🤦🏻♀️
Book ends abruptly. I was not expecting it.
And I was finally getting into it and liking all the characters!! Oh well. If I had read the physical book, I think I would have liked it even more. Maybe.
Pic: Homemade eggnog
pickI enjoyed this novel about Bob, a retired librarian who meets a new group of friends. The beginning section had me laughing out loud - I love deWitt‘s deadpan humour. The middle about Bob‘s marriage is affecting & characters are true to life. I find deWitt‘s matter of fact style comforting. His wit & mastery of character keep it interesting but it‘s understated & calm at the same time. It didn‘t sustain the energy of the beginning but a fun read.
My eLibby Loans & Holds have me SO confused! But I think I have this one for a few days and am trying to git-er-done before POOF! It‘s gone💥
And it‘s 3AM 🕒 wide awake 🛌
pickThere are just some books I‘m going to read based on the title/cover alone, as a librarian and this fits into that category. I actually listened to the audiobook which I found engaging at the beginning but slowly petered out for me. Readers get to know Bob, a now retired librarian whose wife is out of the picture, and we spend much of the book focusing on that relationship. It lost me a bit during the runaway flashback. Overall, fine. #tob24
I‘m going to keep listening to this bc of the Litsy love, but I just about bailed when the MC asks his love interest‘s father whether he should have sex with her. Though it is phrased such that the father doesn‘t know who the girlfriend is……who does that? Totally catapulted me out of the flow of the story. 🫤
Gratuitous cat pic. 😸
pickYay, finished a book! DeWitts characters are always quirky, & Bob Comet , humble librarian is no exception. When @merelybookish noted Wes Anderson like , I agree . Soft pick for me, soft chuckles through most of it. I liked French Exit better.
pickA soft pick. A novel about a librarianist named Bob Comet. Story starts when he's retired and inadvertently gets a gig volunteering at a seniors home. It feels a bit like DeWitt wanted to create a character study of an unexciting man (who still has a somewhat eventful life.). Between a soft pick and a so-so. Dewitt is like the Wes Anderson of fiction. (I can't be the first to make that comparison.)
Pic of my little garden bounty. 🧅🌱🥔🥒
pickI'll call this a Pick because it's Patrick deWitt, but relative to the other novels of his I've read, it's 3 stars. I liked Bob Comet and his story, but I found the flashback element of the novel rather long and I was occasionally restless about reading it.
Loved French Exit but was leaning toward borrow don‘t buy. Signed edition oops! Nacho approves of staying inside and reading since it‘s 110 outside! Phoenix in for a few more days of 115. We are worn out with it! #CatsofLitsy
pickBetween a pick and a so so for me. I really liked the second part of the novel with Connie and Ethan, but wasn‘t keen on the first or third part. The Junie and Ida bit I kinda sped read because it didn‘t seem to fit with the rest of Bob‘s character.
pickI enjoyed the first half of this book, but man, the second half catapulted me to loving it. DeWitt has such a gift for bringing his characters to life (I want June & Ida to have a spin-off novel!) and his storytelling is second to none. When I had 20 pages left I wasn‘t sure how everything was going to come together but it did, and perfectly. I‘d put this on par with his earlier book, “French Exit” which I‘d highly recommend also. Five stars!!
My preorder arrived! My first post book depository online order - I went with Blackwell‘s as they offered free shipping to Australia.
As is my preferred way when it comes to Patrick deWitt, I know nothing about this book other than it‘s got an excellent cover… KEEN TO READ, I‘ve just got a couple of bookish commitments to attend to first 🧐
Driving home with a new book. For once I packed a correct amount 😂
bailed
The characters are not necessarily always charming, but they are charmingly drawn, there's a sense of effortlessly breathing life into people we may not spend a great deal of time with, and yet still have a great sense of. 4mo
⚠️ Dementia, suicide 4mo