What's not to like about the library?

A quick shout out to Martha Baillie and her wonderful book, The Incident Report, which I finished this evening. (I should also probably apologize to her: I should have read this book in one sitting, considering its diminutive size, but it took me three days to read because of other commitments. It hasn't been a great stretch of personal reading since I went back to work this week. But I'm slowly getting back up to speed.) Perhaps the best praise I can provide this work is that I want to meet Miriam Gordon, the seemingly whimsical employee of the Toronto Public Library who "narrates" the book. I use quotation marks since there's no real narrative, but a wonderful series of vignettes - some running several pages (but rarely more than two), others a few sentences, most a few paragraphs - that eventually cohere into a story. The technique is ideal - it captures the often disparate nature, sometimes chaotic and confusing world, of the public service librarian. Yet, there's enough there to give shape to the characters: the various patrons (including the "regulars"), her co-worker Nila, her lover Janko. It's also made me think about making a trip to to Allan Gardens - but not until the spring when I can cycle there (although it's probably quite lovely in the winter).

And hey, what's not to like about a book that makes heroes out of librarians and library workers? (This copy of the book belongs to the TPL's Malvern branch. Might as well give a shout out to it.)

Let's face facts: I like whimsey.