My Life with Bob by Pamela Paul

I really loved MY LIFE WITH BOB by Pamela Paul, editor of The New York Times Book Review. Paul has written an entertaining memoir about her reading experiences, chronicled in “Bob,” her Book Of Books.  Since high school, she has kept track of the titles she reads and shares related vignettes, including travels in Europe and Asia and generally coping with life.  She says, “I went from escaping into books to extracting things from them, from being inspired by books to trying to do things that inspired me – many of which I first encountered in stories. I went from wishing I were like a character in books to being a character in my books. I went from reading books to wrestling with them, all the while still learning from what I read.”  Our work as librarians and educators is so important because we try to inspire and encourage that same lifelong experience for our students.    

I think anyone who considers himself or herself a reader would really enjoy and relate to this tale.  They, too, might smile when reading another favorite comment: “Rainy days were a godsend because you could curl up on a sofa without being banished into the outdoors with an ominous ‘Go play outside.’” MY LIFE WITH BOB is truly a tribute to books and their power to impact our lives, sometimes in unexpected ways. Paul’s work received a starred review from Library Journal and Publishers Weekly.