I could not get into this book. I found the storyline slow and the narrator boring. Thank you for the free copy to review.

A well-written character study, this novel is a good fit for those who enjoyed A Man Called Ove.

The story starts with Bob Comet, retired librarian, volunteering at a home for geriatric patients and reflecting on his life. The second section follows him as a young adult when he finds his career, develops a significant friendship, and forms his relationship with his wife (all of which are clearly related to themes and issues presented in opening section). The third section, which tells the story of Bob as a boy, was the weak point for me. Though full of interesting characters, this section went on for too long and in too much detail given that nothing from it seemed to tie significantly to the other sections of the book. It could have been left out or might have worked better if it had come before the second section. The final section returns to Bob's older years and comes to a satisfying conclusion.

The audiobook version of The Librarianist is well worth a listen. Narrator Jim Meskimen skillfully uses the right voice inflections and characterizations to infuse energy into Bob's stillness and to bring secondary characters like Ida & June, Lester, Mr. More and The Sheriff to life, which adds a whole new dimension to The Librarianist.

I highly recommend The Librarianist, especially for bibliophiles, introverts, library book clubs and all librarians (and their admirers). This is a three olive martini with a twist!

I thought The Librarianist was going to be something else, so I was disappointed. Based on the blurbs & the title, I expected a story more about books and how books shape lives. There is very little in this book about Bob’s life as a librarian or how books have affected his life. Instead, the reader finds a collection of the main character’s recollections that are disconnected from the present action—which is very interesting; a man who volunteers at a senior center discovers a life-altering past connection with a catatonic resident. But once that relationship is revealed, the story turns away from that inciting incident and dives deeper and deeper for 50 years until we are rapidly returned to the present a few pages from the end. The many characters from Bob’s youth are interesting and quirky, eminently likable, but would be better served if they were featured in linked short stories or novellas. As is, I don’t think The Librarianist works as a novel. I found it slow and meandering and only pushed through because I was hoping for more development about Bob’s present relationship to Chip—which never comes.

I wasn't sure how this story was going to proceed when I first started it. PTSD from a grandparent lost from a nursing home, I wasn't sure I was going to be able to continue. I did continue and ended up enjoying it. The backstory helped to bring the characters a more rounded feel and we learn how they became who they are/were.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperAudio for an ARC in return of an honest review.

It was fine (3.5 stars)! It was interesting enough where I never zoned out, but it was also not so interesting that I was itching to finish it and see what was to become of Bob.

I love books about nothing and books about the extraordinary in the ordinary of people’s everyday life, but I just didn’t connect to Bob’s life.

His past of an unhappy child who runs away felt like a whole other book to me. The middle parts of his life where his wife left him was the story that interested me the most and I would have loved to read more about it. The final part of his life where he is surrounded with friends and gets to reflect on the life he lived didn’t go as deep as I hoped for.

Overall, it was a calm book about a quiet man and his life. It was fine!

Well written novel laced with humor and much compassion. His portrayal of Bob Comet’s life is written from the heart. Bob could be our neighbor, a friend or a family member. His loneliness is felt by every reader. Bob outwardly lives a simple life but under the layers of just a retired librarian is a life of service..of giving to others.
The senior center community is comprised of a very eclectic group of “elders”. You can’t help but chuckle at some of the antics. This is a great book for high school students… to portray what service to your country and service to your community is all about.
It will definitely be my bookclub choice this month.

A life told in reverse order, the life of an introvert with a deep quiet love of bearing witness to the world and a keen appreciation of human quirks and foibles. Maybe there are a few too many wacky characters for one novel, but the world IS full of wacky characters, and I found this moving and funny and tragic and lovely even when it was punching me in the gut. “Maria understood that part of aging, for many of us, was to see how misshapen and imperfect our stories had to be. The passage of time bends us, it folds us up, and eventually, it tucks us right into the ground.” MIC DROP, NO FURTHER NOTES.

Great audiobook reader who invests each character with so much personality, I forgot sometimes I wasn’t listening to a full-cast recording.

This book was a delight. It reminds us that in even the most ordinary \ of lives, the extraordinary can occur. I am still thinking about it. It has left something with me which is the best kind of book.

A quiet book about a quiet man. We first meet Bob when he returns a vacant looking, silent woman to the senior center. He will soon be a volunteer at the center, where he and in turn the reader, meet other who make the center their home. There are some humorous episodes experienced at the center, including some with the people at the home.

Bob had been a librarian for over forty years and though he was married in his twenties, it was short lived. We learn about the incidents in Bobs life that made him the person he as become. These are the kind of quiet books i usually adore and i did enjoy parts. i did not, however, enjoy much of his backstory, which i felt went on too long and made the story somewhat choppy. Or so I thought, which others may not. So a so, so reading experience for me.

narration was fine and fir the book and the character the book was about.

ARC from Netgalley.

Quite enjoyable story of a retired Librarian's life. when Bob starts volunteering at a Senior Center after his retirement, he encounters a cast of characters, including Chip, a wandering female senior who can no longer speak. After she goes missing from the center, Bob encounters her son, who seems somehow familiar. Later realizing the son bears a striking resemblance to then man Bob's wife left with, Bob's former best friend, he realizes that Chip is Connie, his wife briefly decades before. As Bob reminisces on his childhood, his life before Connie and after, we gain a picture of his solitary existance. Sweetly told and delightfully wrapped up between Bob and his long lost friends' son Sam, a satisfying read.

A story of books, introverts, and Portland, written by a Portland-based author…how perfect!
Bob Comet is a retired librarian and after a chance encounter at a senior living center, we’re taken back through time to some of his most poignant memories, from a childhood during World War II to an early marriage and a life spent in the library.
The Librarianist was a refreshing journey through one man’s life and everyone who shaped him along the way.
Thank you to Ecco Books & Harper Audio for the ARC. You can check this one out starting July 4th!