When I read the synopsis of the book,The Libraianist, I thought what a great idea. A retired librarian who uses his skills to become a volunteer at an assisted living home. I was enjoying this slow paced novel until the story went off into several chapters of the main character childhood. I felt like this could have been 2 separate novels. The novel is slow paced, but it became so slow that I had a difficult time staying involved with the plot. Thanks to #Netgalley for the advance ebook.

Picked up The Librarianist a few times but couldn’t connect with it. May have been a case of it’s me, not you.

As a librarian, this is a book that I knew I was destined to love. However, Bob Comet, a retired librarian, who is at the heart of this story, never found his way into my heart. I thought the middle of the story, exploring Bob's earlier life, slowed the pacing of the book enough that it was distracting, and that uneven pacing may be why I can say I am glad I finished the book - but I do not love it and would have to find the perfect patron to recommend it to.

Bob Comet is kind of a pain. He's a very rigid, regimented creature of habit. You wonder how he ever had friends or a wife. Until, of course, you start to know him better. You see past the mantle he uses to hide himself. You see that Bob is in pain. I loved the cast of characters in this one. I loved how they came together and became a village. Great story!

One day Bob asked, “How did you become a librarian?” Sandy went back in his mind. “It seems to me I went to school for it, but that might just be a nightmare I once had.”

Patrick DeWitt is a talented writer, and his way with words delights me. This book was worth reading but it was also slow and strange. Definitely character driven, and a bit meandering.

There’s a flashback in the last third of the book that was fascinating but almost felt like a different book. But isn’t life like that? We have chapters that are incongruous with the rest of our lives, and we may never find meaning or reconnection with those chapters.

Ultimately this is a story of a man with a fairly small life, how he experiences heartbreak and loneliness, and how he finds connection in small ways. Small isn’t insignificant though, and I was touched by the beauty in the simplicity of every human life.

Thank you to the publisher for the complimentary advance ebook.

I liked this book okay, I think it was very strong in the first part - very quirky, fun, endearing. Reminded me of Fredrik Backman, tone-wise, and a little bit of Shelby Van Pelt. The first bit in the present is great. The first flashback is also great - it's giving us a lot of answers to questions the first one rose!

And then it just... lost the plot?? A huge section of this drags and doesn't seem to go... anywhere. I found it really hard to want to pick it up again. The ending should have started sooner and lingered longer - the hotel section could have been cut out entirely. It served no purpose.

If you like a really slow, slice-of-life, you might enjoy this - and I did enjoy parts of it, but overall found it not the most engaging plot.

Several library staff have read this book and it's left us all scratching our heads. It reads like two different books blended together with some overlapping characters. I think what the author was trying to portray, that we are all librarians of the stories that make up our lives, gets lost. Bob is an interesting character, and the current timeline story has some real magic there, but it gets muddled by the addition of a very long flashback. Shorten that one, add a couple of other glimpses into Bob's life, and you would have had a much better book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ecco for the eGalley to review!

This was not what I expected when I picked up this title, though I'm not entirely disappointed. It was a bit boring to read at times, but I was interested in the story and invested enough in at least Bob's character that I read through to the end. deWitt has a habit of run-on sentences and paragraphs, which make for a difficult, winded read sometimes, but I do like the turns of phrase, the diction, and the way people and scenes are described in such a matter-of-fact/straightforward way.

The story is really nothing more than a recounting of Bob's life, starting and ending with the seniority of it at a senior living center and detailing the events of his running away at age eleven, and later in his life of his troubled relationships with Connie and Ethan, in the middle (though not in that order). The ending doesn't culminate in much, with only the inference of Bob coming to terms with where his life ended up. I personally found this ending abrupt and a tad dissatisfying.

My favorite part of the entire book, and the most interesting in my opinion, is Bob's running away from home. The characters in this section were the most entertaining to read and it was this entire section I practically read in one sitting because of how much more I enjoyed it compared to the section about Bob's triangular relationship with Ethan and Connie (who I didn't hate, but was sad and frustrated with when I read about them).

It's obvious that Bob may very well be autistic (I cannot recall if it's mentioned anywhere, though). He prefers routine, doesn't do socializing well, and his special interests are definitely librarianship and reading. I can relate, and I never once felt that he was boring even though he may come off that way to other people. I don't think I truly disliked any one particular character's, well, character, though some were definitely more developed than others I could certainly leave or take.

Overall, I'm not regretful I read this book. I did enjoy many parts of it and it is indeed the most general of fiction. If it had been solely about Bob's childhood and then transitioned into his librarianship, that wouldn't have been bad either.

This book was an enjoyable read for me, up until the end. It follows Bobs life and changes time periods many times from now to his early adult life to him being a child and back to now. I didn’t mind it switching, but I did find parts of the story more boring (mainly during the childhood time, I feel like this part dragged on a little too long). The writing of this book is wonderful though and you get to know Bob very well. Again, I will say I did not enjoy the way this book abruptly ended and I was hoping for more, but that’s just my personal opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ebook of this ARC to read and rate honestly!

For some reason, this book, despite the great title and cover, just did not appeal to me enough to get past 30%. I would pick it up, read a bit, then put it down. Repeat for weeks. Not the author's fault. I'll keep trying even though this one has been archived.

I'll be honest, I got a few chapters into this book and lost interest. It simply didn't hold my attention. That said, I can see how it would be enjoyable for someone who is more interested in the writing style and the subject matter of a retiree going about his life after leaving his job of 30 years.

Requested this for editorial background for review on BookBrowse. See:

https://www.bookbrowse.com/mag/reviews/index.cfm/ref/ma297664/the-librarianist#reviews
https://www.bookbrowse.com/mag/btb/index.cfm/ref/ma297664/the-librarianist#btb

I enjoyed the first two sections of the book (and the coda), but found the third section with Bob Comet as an 11-year-old runaway interminable. I am not sure what the point was other than Bob needs a community, which he did not have for most of his adult life. There was a very funny line about library school in the second section.

Thank you to Ecco Press and Net Galley for this free ARC

If you love you stories to go full circle, then this is the book for you. I totally pictured Steve Martin being Bob the whole time while I was reading it.

The Librarianist follows Bob's daily life as a retired Librarian in Oregon. Bob begins volunteering at a retirement home after returning a resident to the home after a morning walk. The story jumps back to Bob's childhood, friendships, and marriage.

I ended up listening to this as an audiobook after struggling to read my ebook copy. This book is slow-paced. While a lot is happening in this book, not much is going on at all. While I enjoyed the stories about Bob's life I felt that the overall story was quite jumbled and random.

The section following Bob's friendship and marriage was the strongest part of the book. I loved learning about Connie and Ethan. I found the section about Bob running away strangely placed and wondered why it was included as a full act.

Overall I enjoyed this book, but it was just average. 3/5 stars.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Ecco Press for gifting me a digital ARC of the new book by Patrick deWitt - 4 stars!

This is the story of Bob Comet. Now in his 70s and retired from his job at the library, he begins volunteering at a home for seniors. The book goes back in time and covers Bob's life from childhood when he ran away from home, to meeting his friend Ethan, and getting married to Connie. The book eventually comes back full circle.

This was just a quiet, character study of one man's life and the wonder in the ordinary. It's sometimes humorous, sometimes poignant, sometimes charming. There were some parts that dragged a bit in the middle, as we meet characters in Bob's past, but those times shaped Bob and who he would become. For a book named The Librarianist, I would have liked to have more book references, but I enjoyed the story and Bob's journey.

This was such a charming novel, about an older gentleman who (I may be wrong, but my guess is this was the metaphor deWitt was going for) collects a library of interesting characters throughout his life. I fell in love with Bob Comet, and this was really a joy to read. I will say that one section, set at a hotel Bob briefly stayed at as a child, felt quite out of place, I'm imagining the idea just entered deWitt's mind and he ran with it without pre=plotting. And there was one huge coincidence that just felt too coincidental, but maybe that was purposeful, as the book feels very Dickensian to me (which I don't typically enjoy, but here it was just such a sweet read that I didn't care.) deWitt just seems like such a kind author, who loves his characters, and so he helps us love them too.

I absolutely loved deWitt’s The Sisters Brothers and I greatly enjoyed the first half of this book as well. It’s quirky and heartfelt without being sentimental. But then The Librarianist takes a turn and loses its verve. The electricity falters somehow.

View post at the link below.

I picked up this book for the title, as I work in a public library. I liked this book but didn't love it. It confused me sometimes the way it jumped around from present to past, especially the storyline of Bob running away and meeting the 2 ladies. I did love the chapters with the interesting characters at the living facility. Thanks for providing a copy to me.

Patrick deWitt blew me away with his debut, The Sisters brothers and I keep hoping each of his subsequent books will get back to that same level of outstanding. Unfortunately I also keep being disappointed and sadly The librarianist also just didn't do it for me and as a librarian I wanted to love it SO MUCH!

I found the story really all over the place and hard to follow. I had to re-read several parts after drifting off while listening to the audiobook. The librarian parts were definitely the highlight for me but overall it won't be a memorable read for me this year. :( Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review.