The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians edited by Jamers Patterson, et. al. (2024 non-fiction)

This is a collection of many anecdotes (from 3 to maybe 10 pages each) written by booksellers and librarians across the U.S. and Canada. Inspiring and enlightening, funny and wise, each selection describes a part of the writer’s life – how their career began, an especially wonderful event that happened, how their particular job helped someone, or how someone helped them. Topics include banned books, a library’s or bookstore’s place in the community, encouraging children to read, researching and finding information, and other tasks encountered in the course of a day or a year. This was the perfect book for a volunteer in a library bookstore. Perhaps it would also be the perfect book for you! Even if you’re not in one of these professions, you will appreciate them all the more.

Reviewed by Ginger Russell