4 Books Featuring Awesome Librarians

Librarians are awesome.  Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to be one.  And even before that, I idolized them.  They were smart, had a huge knowledge of their collections, could give great suggestions, and just seemed like all-around badasses (not that I knew that word as a kid).  Even now, while I might not be a full-fledged librarian, I still love the profession and I love the work that I do.  And it appears that there are others who also agree that librarians are pretty much the coolest.  Check out this list of awesome books featuring even more awesome librarians!  In no particular order, less us begin!

1.) Library Wars: Love & War (Kiiro Yumi)  In the future, censorship has started to

take over, and books that are deemed unsuitable are banned or destroyed completely.  In order to fight back against government sanctioned censorship, the local libraries have created their own military: the Library Defense Force.  Among the ranks of soldiers is Iku Kasahara, who joined the Library Defense Force when a soldier saved her favorite book at a bookstore.  Moved by his bravery and act of kindness, she vows to protect the rights of everyone to read and express their thoughts without being silenced by the government.

This is simply an amazing manga series tallying up at so far 13 books.  Part drama, part love story, these books have the distinction for making super-unromantic Emmy go weak at the knees.  I love the characters and the plot line.  Plus, as I mentioned before, the romances are super, super cute (without being lovey-dovey).  This might be one for the girls, but if any guys read it, please tell me what you think!

2.) I Work at a Public Library (Gina Sheridan)  This book is perfect for librarians and library patrons alike.  No lie: librarians always have the best stories.  All kinds of crap goes down at the library ALL THE TIME.  Seriously!  So, read this to learn about some of the crazy things that patrons put us through, or see if your library stories really are the craziest ones out there!  Either way, it's a lot of fun for everyone.

3.) Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made (Stephen Pastis) For those of you not familiar with this hilarious children's series by Stephen Pastis (the guy who writes Pearls Before Swine), the Timmy Failure series follows the world's most inept child detective.  The stories are terribly funny, and Timmy certainly believes himself to be a genius, solving crimes with his lazy, unreliable polar bear friend Total (they call their detective agency Total Failure).  Best of all, the books are even enjoyable for adults.  They are well-written, clever, and as I have already said, terribly funny and full of Pastis's distinctive illustrations.  I always crack up!  So, why is this on my list?  Well, in book 1, we are introduced to Timmy's librarian friend, Flo.  I won't say anything more, so you'll have to read the books to find out.  But, Flo is probably one of my favorite characters in the series!

4.) Unshelved (Gene Ambaum and Bill Barnes)  Okay, so this is sort of a cheat.   See, the entire Unshelved series is originally posted online as a webcomic.  However, they have also started publishing them in book form, so you should totally check them out at your local library!  The series follows the misadventures of a group of librarians at a tiny public library.  And while many of the situations might seem ridiculous, believe me, many of them are actually sort of legit!  I know, I know, it sounds crazy.  But, trust me.  You ain't seen nothing until you've worked at the Reference desk during a peak time!  But, check out the comic.  It's funny.  I think you'll all enjoy it :)

Let me know what you think of my book selections.  I'm curious to get everyone's opinions.  Is there another list you'd like me to do?  I'll see if I can whip something up!  Also, with summer approaching, I should be coming up with a topic for summer reading.  Thoughts?  Thanks, guys!