The Princess Trap - by Talia Hibbert

 

A twist on the fake-girlfriend trope, this romance has Ruben, a Danish Prince, convincing Cherry, an English citizen, to pretend to be his fiancée for one year. He offers to pay her an exorbitant sum of money in exchange for this service. The amount is never disclosed to the reader, but it is enough to pay for the expensive medical bills, tuition, and living expenses of Cherry's younger sister who is attending Harvard. Although they arrange a fake engagement, the sex is real, and pretty explicit. The ending is as anyone would expect.

Although Ruben is royalty he prefers living in a small house, rather than his mansion. But of course this is a fairy tale and what kind of fairy tale would Cherry be living in if their were no library in the house? Ruben offers to let her redecorate it, but Cherry apparently doesn't take him up. She does however find a bodice-ripping romance to read there, which she assumes was originally procured by Ruben's grandmother (something Ruben would rather not think about). Of course a woman reading is a rather sexy sight, so when Ruben discovers Cherry in the library reading it doesn't take long for the real bodice ripping to begin, right there amongst the books.

Love in the Library - by Maggie Tokuda-Hall

In her Author's Note Tokuda-Hall tells the readers that this is the story of her maternal grandparents who met in Minidoka, a Japanese incarceration camp in Idaho. Tama (her grandmother) was the camp librarian, although "she didn't know how to be a librarian...In the camps people did the jobs that needed doing." Her grandmother had taken the job because "she liked books". George (Tokuda-Hall's grandfather) came every day to check out books. Tama questioned whether he could actually be reading all the long books he checked out. No, he wasn't reading them all. He was "only human". And the realization that she was the real reason he came every day dawned on her. Their love grew amidst their  whispers. 

George's "voice was so big it barely fit in the library..." Tama "held up her finger to remind him of the rules. They were in a library, after all."  

The Author's note also connects the story of Minidoka to current events. 

As much as I would hope this would be a story of a distant past, it is not. It's very much the story of America here and now. The racism the put my grandparents into Minidoka is the same hate that keeps children in cages on our border. It's the myth of white supremacy that brought slavery to our past and allows the police to murder Black people in our present. It's the same fear that brings Muslim bans. It's the same contempt that creates voter suppression, medical apartheid, and food deserts. The same cruelty that carved reservations out of stolen, sovereign land, that paved the Trail of Tears. Hate is not a virus; it is an American tradition.

Tokuda-Hall's author's note sparked controversy when Scholastic asked her to edit it in order to include the work in Scholastic's diversity-focused Rising Voices collection earlier this year. Tokuda-Hall refused and Scholastic ultimately issued an apology. More information about the request, Tokuda-Hall's response, and a link to the apology can be found in this article from Publisher's Weekly  

The Wishing Game - by Meg Shaffer

The description I read of this book before I listened to it was that it was like Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, but with books. That was pretty accurate. 

A gay hermit (Jack Masterson) who writes the wildly popular Clock Island series of children's books announces that he is writing another book after a very long hiatus. Furthermore, he announces that he is running a contest in which the contestants will be invited to his house on the real Clock Island and the winner will receive the only copy of the new book in existence to do with what they will. Lucy Hart is one of the lucky few invited to compete for the book. Her fervent wish is that she will be able to sell the book so she will have enough money to adopt Christopher, a boy in foster care. She gains more than she could have ever expected by the time the game is over.

My husband and I listened to this on audio. It was a good story, and of course featured some libraries. The story also alludes to the current wave of book banning, with Jack Masterson explaining why he has stayed in the closet. He doesn't want his identity as a gay man to prevent people from purchasing his books (or worse, removing them from library shelves).

This book is for everyone who is still waiting for their Hogwart's letter, or searching in the back of their closet for an opening to another world. 

Strange Arithmetic - by Kerrin Willis

In 1945 Maggie O'Callaghan discovers she's pregnant. The father of the baby is an Italian POW being held at Camp Myles Standish in Taunton, Massachusetts. The complications of this situation are many and the resolution is bad all around.

In 2016 Niahm Reilly really wants to be pregnant. The situation is complicated and the resolution turns out to be better than expected.

My husband and I heard this author speak earlier this year at An Unlikely Story Bookstore. We purchased both of the authors' books intending to read them together after we finished Margaret Atwood's recent book of Essays Old Babes in the Wood (which we had just started). Then we learned that Willis' book was our town's One Book One Community selection for this fall, so we moved it up to the top of the pile. We had not known that there was a POW camp nearby. We learned quite a bit of local history from reading this.

Niahm has a special place in her heart for libraries-her deceased mother was a librarian who'd bring her daughter to work with her. However, I cringed at the description of Niahm curled up under her mother's desk by her her "high-heeled feet". WTF?! What self-respecting librarian wears anything other than sensible shoes.

Book Lovers - by Emily Henry

I had high hopes for this book when I read the prologue. In it the narrator tells us that she is "the uptight, manicured literary agent, reading manuscripts from atop her Peloton", the jilted love interest in the rom com when the boyfriend gets sent to Small Town, USA and meets someone who is trying to save her family business. She's the one "you can tell [is] evil because her hair is an unnatural blond, slicked back à la Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct, and also she hates Christmas decorations." 

I must admit I often think about this character when watching Hallmark movies. Always such an unsympathetic character, but the audience never really knows her. I always try to think of her as a multi-dimensional person and wonder what becomes of her. And I bet she ends up having a great life.

I picked this out to read on August 9 because that was National Book Lovers Day, so really I had no choice. 

The story takes place in the fictitious town of Sunshine Falls, North Carolina ("just a little ways outside Asheville") which also the location of Once in a Lifetime, novelist Dusty Fielding's surprise hit. Literary agent Nora (who has "a beautiful Dewey-decimal organized brain"), and her sister Libby decide to take a vacation there, where, of course there is a lending library, just like the book says (although apparently Dusty has never visited Sunshine Falls herself). The library is set to get Wi-Fi in the fall. It is a "hulking" three story building "of pink brick and gabled peaks". 

Nora and Libby attend the local community theater production of Once in a Lifetime in which a thirteen year old boy plays "Old Man Whittaker" opposite a grandmother playing Mrs. Wilder - the owner of the lending library.

A surprise awaits Nora in Sunshine Falls. Her nemesis Charlie (an editor) happens to be there as well. Romance ensues.

Charlie and Nora agree to meet at the library to discuss Dusty's new book. He tells her he'll reserve a room for them. "At my expression, he laughs. At the library Stephens. A study room. Get your mind out of the gutter.

Apparently Nora has read The Seal's Rebel Librarian and therefore understands the true purpose of a study room. They end up making good use of the study room, but stop short of going all the way.

When we finally do this, Nora", [Charlie] says, straightening away from me, his hands slipping my buttons back into buttonholes as easily as he undid them, "it's not going to be on a library table, and it's not going to be on a time crunch."...."We're going to do this right. No shortcuts."

Nora is surprised to learn that Charlie was held back in school. She tells him that "you put off this... academic vibe. I would've expected you to be, like, a Rhodes scholar, with a tattoo of the Bodleian Library on your ass." He tells Nora that he "spent half of middle school in the library and the other half in the principal's office for getting into fights...the only two places [he] felt like [he] had any control...

In the end, this book was just another rom com. It just had the pieces put together differently. And, yes, a family business does get saved in Small Town, USA (a bookstore, no less).

Sighting: In the wonderfully enchanting Netflix series Heartstopper bookworm Isaac (Tobie Donovan) is seen reading this work.

Foul Play - the movie

 

When divorced librarian Gloria Mundy (Goldie Hawn) becomes unwittingly involved in a murder, Detective Tony Carlson (Chevy Chase) is assigned to protect her. Hilarity ensues.

Set in San Francisco this screwball comedy wouldn't be complete without a car chase scene involving steep hills. Also included at no extra charge: a domino-type collapse of bookshelves. I will say that the librarians in the film (all women) were serious about research, and I believe the film does actually pass the Bechdel test (albeit just barely).

I remember seeing this film in theaters back in 1978. I remembered virtually nothing about it except the opening scene featuring Hawn driving along the Pacific Coast Highway with the lilting tones of Barry Manilow singing "Ready to Take a Chance Again" as a soundtrack. 

The murder plot involves a group called The Tax the Churches league who plan to assassinate the Pope. While I would not advocate murder, I have to agree that it is past time to tax churches. As we see the Religious Right (and, frankly, left) trying to influence laws, and elections the IRS should seriously be looking into revoking some 501(c)(3) exemptions.

One of my husband's rowing friends mentioned that this film was what interested him in getting a houseboat (something he still dreams about).  Tony certainly has a nice one - a real '70s chick magnet with spiral staircase, dark paneling, and a bar. How could a young librarian resist?

When we decided to watch this we discovered it wasn't available on any of our streaming services (even for a fee). Our local public library to the rescue! Thanks to the Millicent Public Library in Fairhaven we were able to procure this on DVD - for free!

Summer Reading - by Jenn McKinlay

 

August is Read-a-Romance month! 

Romance is a genre I don't read a lot of, although I don't dislike it. There were no big surprises in this standard boy-meets-girl tale, except perhaps the simple twist that the librarian is Ben who is trying to woo Samantha (Sam). A quick perusal of my previous "Romance" posts indicate that in all other romances with a male librarian, the love interest was also male. In hetero romances the woman is the librarian. Of course since most librarians are women, it makes some sense. Male librarians are not quite as unusual as Samantha thinks - "Those had to be rare in the female-dominated library world, mythical even, like unicorns".

What Sam probably doesn't realize is that a man in a leadership role at a library is de riguer. Interestingly there is no real social commentary in this work about the fact that a woman did the work of the former (male) director without pay while he played on his computer. Likewise, when Ben takes off suddenly Em does his work (without additional compensation). In the end Ben returns, takes back his job, and (hooray!) all is well and right in libraryland with the man in his rightful leadership role.😏

Ben is in fact the interim director of the public library. He is able to take the job because he has the summer off from his "academic research library position at MIT". Really? if I had the summer off from my academic library position I sure as hell wouldn't step into a temporary position. I would simply enjoy my time off. 

Sam's best friend Emily (Em) is also a librarian. According to Sam she looks "very much the professional librarian" in 

a cute sleeveless sage green dress with a lightweight white cardigan over it...Her wavy red hair...tied at the nape of her neck...glasses...perched on the end of her nose as she peered...over the computer monitor.

One reason I don't read a lot of standard romance (or other chick lit) is I tire of the endless descriptions of what people are wearing, what their hair looks like, and other details such as how fabulous their kitchens are, that do nothing to move the narrative along. 

A dyslexic, Samantha has never enjoyed reading. She takes special joy in telling her bookish friends that "the movie was better than the book". Ben introduces her to the joy of audiobooks in the best way possible - he begins to read aloud to her. I must take this opportunity to say reading together is one of the things with which I credit my 36-year marriage. My husband (James) and I have been reading to each other since our earliest days together. It always gives us something to talk about, and sometimes gives us something to laugh about, too.

Our story takes place on Martha's Vineyard, a lovely place for a summer romance. Sam has been asked by her father and step-mother to stay with her half-brother Tyler (14 years her junior) while they (her parents) go on a tour of Europe. I am always excited to read a book about a library I've been to. James gave a coffee lecture there in February of 2020. Probably the last trip we took together before the pandemic shut down.

The library in our story is a busy place with programming that includes robotics camp and Samantha teaching a cooking class.

All in all, this was a fun summer read - standard plot points along with a lot of librarian stuff to critique

I Kissed Shara Wheeler - by Casey McQuiston

 

Being out and queer at Willowgrove Christian Academy is hard enough for Chloe Green without also having Shara Wheeler, the Principal's "perfect" daughter as her rival for class valedictorian. To complicate matters further, Shara disappears after she steals a kiss from Chole. That Shara had previously been presumed to be straight (the girlfriend of a star football player, no less) confounds everyone. Chole, Smith (Shara's boyfriend), and their friend Rory begin a search for Shara based on some rather complicated clues. 

No YA novel would be complete without some action taking place in the school library. Rory and Chloe sneak into the Principal's office after hours via the library air duct. They are able to get a key to the library from Chloe's friend Georgia who works as a library aide, although Georgia is unaware of what they were planning. While the ruse of traveling through air ducts is comically common in fiction, I don't know anyone IRL who has ever done it, although apparently it has been used with some success. Read about one case here.

Chloe and Shara have a unique library connection but only Chloe knows about it until close to the end of the book. Chloe witnesses Shara throwing away her bejeweled cross necklace in the library trashcan, which Chloe retrieves and then keeps. There are other mentions of studying and meeting in the library sprinkled throughout, but my favorite use of the library was this metaphor, written by Chloe's friend Georgia for a creative writing assignment

There's a girl with brown eyes who reminds me of the first book I ever loved. When I look at her, I feel like there might be another universe in her. I imagine her on a shelf too high for me to reach, or peeking out of someone else's backpack, or at the end of a long wait at the library. I know there are other books that are easier to get my hands on, but none are half as good as her. Every part of her seems to have a purpose, a specific meaning, an exact reason for being...

Another fun romp from the author of Red, White, and Royal Blue.

 

Deceived by the Gargoyles - by Lillian Lark

 

August is Read-a-Romance month. As a genre, I rarely read romances, but when I do they feature a librarian. Lucky for me this list of 10 Romances about Magical Librarian Love from Book Riot appeared on my Facebook feed in late June. I selected Deceived by the Gargoyles because the description indicated it was a polyamory romance, and not having read any such before, I was intrigued.

Grace is a witch who works in a library archive for both magical and non-magical artifacts. Grace's special magic allows her to "read" feelings and emotions via paper (especially books). She is also looking for love.

After some unsatisfactory dates she heads to a matchmaker (Rose) who suggests that Grace consider dating a "non-witch". Grace is open to this and answers that "the type of paranormal shouldn't matter." She is sent on a date to meet Elliott, who appears human (wearing a "glamour") when they meet, but who is actually a gargoyle. Elliott, is gracious and offers to get his car so Grace doesn't have to walk to the nearby restaurant in her "sexy" high-heeled shoes. As sensible-shoe-wearer myself I immediately questioned Grace's choice of footwear. What kind of librarian is she, anyway? In any case, however gracious, Elliott hadn't been completely honest with Rose when asking for a match. While Grace was expecting to be matched with someone single, Elliott, in fact, already had two (2!) other mates (Broderick and Alasdair), both male, and both gargoyles. They all lived together with the rest of their clan in Bramblewick Manor.

After a bit of getting to know each other, some confessions, a lot of sex, and a lot more sex, and the gifting of an entire library in their home to Grace - a la Beauty and the Beast(s) - they all fall in love and live happily ever after.

Broderick appeals to Grace's intellectual curiosity in order to entice her to try some new things with him

You're a librarian who has knowledge sitting before you. I'd think you'd...jump on the opportunity to explore.

Among the gargoyles Grace has the hardest time connecting with Alasdair, who had never been with a woman before. They initially find kinship through reading together. Alasdair suggests that Grace select a book that she would like for him to read to her on her Kindle. Together they discover a special intimacy through this otherwise chaste act. 

Reading together is one of the things that my husband and I have been doing consistently since we started dating 37 years ago. Sometimes we read books, other times magazine or newspaper articles (or Dear Abby). Deliberately making and spending this time together gives us a chance to slow down, and take a break from whatever else is happening. We often laugh together, or chance upon a new topic of conversation.

The crazy four-way sex in this work was more than I'd expected, even knowing that it was a polyamorous romance. Much as I'm all for life-long learning, I won't be reading the rest of the series.

Holly & Ivy (the movie)

Melody (Janel Parrish), a young, eager, recent library school graduate moves to Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin and starts haunting the Bridgewater Branch of the public library hoping to get a job. She keeps hopping around with ideas for the endlessly patient children's librarian (Anne Sward) even though it has been explained to her, repeatedly, that there is no funding for any new hires. Meanwhile, she befriends her neighbor Nina (Marisol Nichols) and Nina's daughters (Holly and Ivy). Of course, in true Hallmark Christmas movie fashion, there is also a dreamy new beau, Adam (Jeremy Jordan). As the movie takes place during the Christmas season all of the following take place over a few weeks: we learn that Nina is dying and has no family who will be able to care for her daughters when she is gone; Melody is a foster child who had only herself to rely on; Melody bought a fixer-upper house that needs serious renovation; Adam is both a building contractor (what his parents want) and a furniture builder (his true passion). There are a lot of deadlines that stretch credulity, and of course everything comes together just in time for the holidays. 

My father-in-law recommended this movie for its librarian-theme, its Wisconsin setting, as well as its Bridgewater connection. 

Anne of Manhattan - by Brina Starler

In this reimagined Anne of Green Gables for the twenty-first century, Anne is a graduate student in Manhattan, getting her Masters Degree in Education at the fictitious Redmond College. Diana is her roommate. Anne is a go-getter who somehow manages to work full time at a bookstore, go to school full time, serve as a teaching assistant in a Shakespeare class, and run an after-school program for aspiring middle school writers. And if that isn't enough she can suck a mean dick, too. She also knows how to use the term quid pro quo when oral sex is on the table.

While I appreciate a story of a woman who owns her sexuality, there was much about this one that I just couldn't wrap my head around. The kind of time a person needs to do the amount of work (and play) that Anne does frankly defies the laws of physics. I'm also not sure the author has a firm grasp on what a person needs in order to get an Associate Professorship. Anne manages to score one of these increasingly rare gems of a job after earning her Master's degree. She even has the luxury of turning one job down in order to hold out for the one she really wants. Ummm...no. To begin with one needs a PhD to get that sort of position, and no one turns down such a position simply in hopes of getting the exact job they want.

The library of the Redmond Writers House, located on the ground floor, is one in which we can picture Anne Shirley settling right in

Three original fireplaces had been bricked over decades before, and now contained arrangements of silk flowers or sinuously twisted clay sculptures. Bookcases lined the walls, and although the rooms were small and crowded, with intimate seating arrangements, tall arching windows let in plenty of natural light tinted by multiple verdant green plants spilling out of hanging baskets. The entire library had an airy, bohemian feel to it...  

The library is also a dandy place for Anne and Gil to meet to work on their combined thesis project (again, really, not a thing in academia). As it turns out the "middle ground between their two apartments was technically the school library."

Caveat Lector
This ultimately is a romance novel with a rather trite resolution, so Anne of Green Gables fans should take heed. While the protagonist is still a feisty feminist, there are some hard-to-take romance tropes. 

My husband and I listened to this on Audible during a road trip. 

Stacked - by Aviva Blakeman

Well, here we are once again in Read-a-Romance Month. As with last year's choice of romance this one was mostly about the sex. In this case wildly unashamed sex between bad-boy biker Oscar "Mags" Magellan and super sexy librarian Imogene (who prefers binding vintage clothing to the practical outfits most of my denizens elect to wear to work). As with every librarian-themed romance I've read the librarian in this one is not only sexy, but competent in their job as well. I do like that. 

A point is made in this work of the importance of  "cycling books out of the collection" (aka "weeding") to make room for new books, as well as to curate the collection. Removing damaged books and those with outdated information not only makes room for new books it provides library users with the best information. Imogene decides that "a complete set of Encyclopedia Britannica that was written when Russia was still part of the USSR" is "definitely getting donated". I do wonder, though who she thinks wants such books. While donating the books may make weeding more palatable to certain taxpayers, some things really just need to get recycled.

The SEAL's Rebel Librarian - by Anne Calhoun

 

August is Read-A-Romance Month, and while I don't read many romances, I do find them to be good escape. I also like to be thematic, so each August I do a bit of summer reading in the genre. Earlier this month I read some LGBTQ YA lit, What If It's Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera, which was a sweet story but, sadly, had no librarian. Therefore, I had no choice but find another romance novel to read, one worthy of this blog. And a funny thing happened when I started to Google "romance novels featuring librarians". The autofill completed my search string with "navy seals" before I could type the word "librarian". I laughed wondering why the algorithm would make such a suggestion for me while also thinking that there really is a reading fetish for everyone (and far be it for me to question someone else's choices). But then a really strange thing happened when I finished my search the way I intended. The list of recommendations included a novel featuring both a librarian and a navy SEAL. It seemed the bibliosphere was trying to tell me something, so I downloaded the book and started reading. 

This is a quick read (a novella) which wastes no time getting to the sex. Librarian Erin recognizes that her affair with student/veteran Jack Powell is not sanctioned by the university. "She was in a leadership role at the college, bound by the same rules governing relationships as a professor or administrator." Nevertheless, after initially rejecting his offer of a drink, she throws caution to the wind and invites him to her place (ostensibly for coffee), and then to one of the group study rooms in the library where Jack actually "shushes" Erin and is sure to tell her that they're "gonna have to be quiet". As if she didn't know.

The sex in this one comes early and often, as such just about every possible word choice is used to describe body parts, and articles of clothing. This was unfortunate for me as I really don't find the words "slacks" or "panties" sexy at all, and each was used quite a few times. Final tally: Panties-9; Slacks-6. 

A little better editing would have been in order, especially since the audience was sure to include some anal-retentive librarians. It was unfortunate for me that I noticed the following inconsistency: prior to Jack and Erin's first sexual encounter, when they met by happenstance at the motorcycle dealer where Erin is about to put down a deposit, she is described as wearing a green turtleneck. However, somehow when they got back to her place and undress he's fumbling with the buttons on her blouse. So which is she wearing a turtleneck or a button-down blouse? So distracting.

The most off-putting thing for me though was the use of the word "pussies" to describe those who ride certain models of motorcycles that are not perceived to be as macho as other models. I frankly almost stopped reading when I got to that part. Anyone who is so uncomfortable in his own masculinity that he would resort to this kind of name calling will never find himself between the stacks with this librarian.

Straight Up (the movie)

When gay OCD Todd (James Sweeney) begins straightening out some mis-ordered books in the college library Rory (Katie Findlay) understandably assumes he works there. The two strike up a conversation and begin dating as Todd explores his hetero side. Well matched intellectually, neither is particularly interested in having sex.  

 An unexpectedly sweet love story. 

Red, White & Royal Blue - by Casey McQuiston

The Buck(ingham) Stops Here!

James and I read about this book on some listicle back in February while we were on our way to Martha's Vineyard. I remember the description said something about this being covered all over the place during the summer of 2019 and if you didn't know about this love story between the Prince of Wales and the First Son of the United States you weren't paying attention. I really don't know how I missed it. I see the book trade magazines regularly come across my desk, and this is exactly the kind of book that would have caught my eye. But here we are.

Anyway, since the trip to the "Vineyard" was pre-pandemic the local bookstore (Bunch of Grapes) was still open. We went in and purchased it with the intent that we would read it together.  The story takes place in the present day in a parallel universe in which there is no pandemic, and the country isn't being run by a completely incompetent president.

What starts as a bro-mance orchestrated for the press turns into a full on love affair when the biracial, bisexual son of the first woman president of the United States falls for Henry, the gay Prince of Wales. Not prepared to come out to their families, much less the rest of the world, the two manage their long-distance romance by making up reasons to hop across the Big Pond, as well as via chat messages and e-mail. When their steamy electronic messages get leaked to the press the two find themselves in a true diplomatic nightmare for the White House and the Crown. Can these two millennials make history with an international sex scandal?

The real nail biter for me, though, was wondering if these two would ever use a library. James and I very much enjoyed reading this, and I was truly worried that it would not find a place on this blog, as the first time a library is even mentioned is not until page 386 (of 418) and that was simply as a place that was nixed as venue for the official royal "courtship photos".

Alex has to admit, the royal photographer is being exceedingly patient about the whole thing, especially considering that they waffled through three different locations-Kensington Gardens, a stuffy Buckingham Palace Library, the courtyard of Hampton Court Palace-before they decided to screw it all for a bench in a locked-down Hyde Park.

There is a nod to the intellect of these two by way of "a pile of books" stacked up next to the bench in the photos.  The use of the indefinite article in front of "stuffy Buckingham Palace" caused James to wonder aloud just exactly how many libraries there are in the palace, and for me to follow up with, "and just how many of those are stuffy?"

Interestingly, after making me wait until the book was almost done to satisfy my frustration, the author manages to sneak in one more mention of a library - the Library of Congress of course - on page 415.

This is truly a fun romance about a well-matched pair. Equal in good looks, intellect, and political power there's no trite story about a prince pretending to be just a regular guy, or a poor admirer hoping the prince will notice them. Only the use of a library could have formed a more-perfect union between these two.

We started reading this just about the time that our governor issued the stay-at-home order for Massachusetts, and we read a bit each day. It was the perfect antidote to our work-at-home days - a little daily vacation when we could forget about what was going on in the rest of the world and simply have a laugh together.

Sexy, smart satire. Read it with someone you love.

American Dreamer - by Adriana Herrera

The most important criterion I have when I make my selection for Read-A-Romance-Month is that the book have a librarian as one of the main characters. Of course many books fill the bill, but since I only read 1-2 books of the genre per year any book I select has to be extra. Herrera's book made the final cut for this gringa bilingual librarian because Jude Fuller.

When blond librarian Jude surprises the swarthy Ernesto (Nesto) Vasquez (owner of the Afro-Caribbean food truck parked outside the library) by flirting with him in Spanish Nesto falls hard. The two waste no time in beginning a hot and steamy relationship. So lucky that it turns out they are neighbors, too!

This one follows the expected three point romance plot with a "boy meets boy" twist. I also liked that in lieu of the "sassy gay friend" we so often see in boy-girl romances Herrera gives that role to the meddling Carmen, smart-aleck straight friend to Jude. And, of course, I loved that Herrera recognizes that not only do librarians have sex, it can actually be intense.

I have to admit though that the millennial main characters in this book stressed this baby boomer out a bit. They worked 12-14 hour days and then came home and seemed to have energy for acrobatic sex at 11:00 at night. I was always worried that they would oversleep the next day, or simply burn themselves out.

Find out more about the author and her works at https://adrianaherreraromance.com/

To All the Boys I've Loved Before - by Jenny Han

What could have been a trite YA comedy of errors about a teenager who wants to die of embarrassment was, in fact, a much more thoughtful story.

High School junior Lara Jean has a complicated love life, but at least she knows that the library is a good place to study with the boys she's dating/wants to date/pretends to date. She also considers the library a good place to volunteer (although as far as I can tell she never actually follows through on that plan). And the only library book she mentions is one she bought at the Friends book sale. At least it was cheap (75¢) if not free. The only appearance a librarian makes is, of course, to shush.

I picked up this book at the Little Free Library at Borderland State Park. A fun, quick read.

The Undateable - by Sarah Title

August is Read-A-Romance month, and since I can't resist a good aptonym I chose Sarah Title's book about a young librarian who gains her 15-minutes of fame (or infamy) by becoming a meme - the Disapproving Librarian for this genre challenge.

When her sour puss goes viral Melissa "Bernie" Bernard reluctantly agrees to be part of a makeover project for the online magazine Glaze.com, and to prove that she isn't "undateable" by being set up on 30 dates in 30 days.

With all the requisite allusions to calico, sensible shoes, and cardigan sweaters it is also made clear that Bernie is no shrinking violet. Even as she submits to spending hours trying on "foundation garments" (things I previously only knew as bras and underpants) as well as additional time having her hair and makeup done, we see a person with plenty of agency. And, like any good librarian, she is also an advocate of free speech.

Few of Bernie's dates go well, and any reader will guess early on who she will end up with. Furthermore, it wasn't surprising to this librarian that it wasn't her new fancy duds that ultimately landed her a lover, but rather her brains. Bernie's very first date is an early fail when she discovers that not only does Pete (her date) not read, he's proud of it. I expect Bernie takes seriously John Waters' admonition that “If you go home with somebody, and they don't have books, don't fuck 'em!”
In this case she was able to most efficiently dispatch with the advice by discovering the disinterest in books over dinner. No need to waste time by going home with the guy.

I must admit that I did enjoy reading this. Nevertheless, it is unlikely that I will be reading any more romance novels before next August. So many books, so little time.

A Time to Fall - by Jess Vonn

The last time I wrote a post about a romance novel (A Knight to Remember), I prefaced it with this statement "I don't always read romances, but when I do they are about librarians". So now I must make an amendment: I will also read romances authored by those on whose tenure committee I served. And, as Vonn's book also clears my low bar (of mentioning a library at least one time) for inclusion on this blog, it gets a review here, too.

Fleeing from a bad break up,  Winnie Briggs leaves Chicago and moves to Bloomsburo to take a job as editor of the local newspaper The Bloom. After literally running into her landlady's most dapper son, Cal Spencer, Winnie attempts to keep her distance from him so she can focus on herself. Cal, likewise, had no interest in falling for his mother's quirky new tenant. Sexual hijinx ensue.

Winnie is intelligent and dedicated to her work. So much so that on a Sunday night at 11:00, she was writing a tedious story about a county planning and zoning commission meeting even though "her brain hurt and she wanted to curl up in bed and read the latest Julia Quinn novel she just picked up from the library."

For those of us who pay attention to such things as how libraries are presented in works of fiction, this one actually packs some punch. After all, this wasn't just any Sunday night: this was the Sunday just one week after Winnie Briggs arrived in town. So what we learn from this is that Winnie Briggs is not simply "kind and smart and funny and lovable as hell" as well as "sexy...and competent". Winnie Briggs is also a person who knows that one of the first things a person does when they move to a new place is to get a library card. And really, there is nothing hotter than that.

Flipped - the movie

This sweet pre-teen rom-com, set in the 1960s and directed by Rob Reiner features Madeline Carroll is Juli, and Callan McAuliffe as Bryce. Growing up across the street from each other means Juli and Bryce know the good and the bad about each other. The film gives the audience insight into how each experienced the same events, "flipping" the narrative back and forth between the two.

Although not library-centric, there is a pivotal scene which takes place in the school library. A conversation between Bryce and his friends, and overheard by Juli (who was actually eavesdropping) precipitates one of their many rifts. No actual librarians in this one - just books and shelves.