On the new shelf  (J081) and in the children’s department (SNI) this is a book to amuse all ages.  Even the title is funny—Read Something Else.  The subtitle reveals what to expect—Collected and Dubious Wisdom of Lemony Snicket.  Sample sayings: “In my experience, well-read people are less likely to be evil.”  And “Villainy can win against one library, but not against an organization of readers.”

If you have dipped into YouTube one too many times and/or watched all the podcasts you can stand, reboot yourself by visiting americanbookreview.org.  There you will find such debatable topics as the 100 best first lines from novels, the 100 best last lines from novels, and the top 40 bad books.

Here are some wise words, author(s) unknown.  “Books don’t crash, they don’t get viruses, and they don’t need screen savers.“  “People who say that I’m hard to shop for must not know where to buy books.”  “I want to check out that book that has every trick in it.”  “Book lovers never go to bed alone.”  “A synonym is a word used in place of the one you can’t spell.”

I’ve made fun of James Patterson in the past, so to be fair, I have to share the following news item from an April Publisher’s Weekly:  “James Patterson is pledging to donate $2.5 million in partnership with Scholastic Book Clubs to help teachers build their classroom libraries.  This is the sixth year that Patterson has supported school libraries with grants.”

Corinne B., a friend of mine and a Friend of Longmont Library, recommends  the following:  The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe is the true account of Dita Kraus, who was 14 when she and her parents were imprisoned by the Nazis.  She was entrusted with the eight precious books that had been smuggled past the guards.  Her story is available by book and in audio at our laudable library.  Also in both formats is Ms. Kraus’s autobiography,  A Delayed Life: the True Story of the Librarian of Auschwitz.  Either version makes masks and social distancing seem shamefully easy.

Keep your distance.  Read!