The Last Chance Library

 I hope you enjoy this first review here on the blog. You will also find this review (and more as time goes by) on my Book Review Page. 

The Last Chance Library by
Freya Sampson

Title:  The Last Chance Library 

Author:  Freya Sampson

Released:  August 2021

Series or Standalone:  Standalone 

Awards/Honors:  A Good Morning America Buzz Pick/A Library Reads Pick

Summary:  June Jones, a shy library assistant at Chalcot Library in  the  UK, discovers that her library may be closing due to budget cuts. June, and "a band of eccentric yet dedicated locals" (inside front flap of book), will have to figure out a way to keep the doors of their beloved library open. 

My Thoughts:  For a debut author, Freya  Sampson has hit it out of the park!  As a librarian myself,  I felt right at home in The Last Chance Library. Always having to worry about budget cuts, discussing books, and the community  members made me feel right at home! The library patrons of Chalcot Library are introduced as your stereotypical community members. However, throughout the course of the book, we learn the backstory of most and discover that they are anything but stereotypical. Each one has a very real reason to try to save the library.

Although the action is not coming at you at breakneck speed,  it moves along with something always happening.  June has some surprising moments that might make you question if it is the same person,  but I assure you that it most definitely is!

Freya Sampson,  you have found yourself a new reader! In fact, I am eyeballing your newest book, Nosy People, sitting on the New Books library shelf right now! Can't wait to see if this one is just as good as The Last Chance Library!

My Rating:  I give this one a 4 books rating ~~ 📕📗📘📙

Have you read this book yet? What did you think? Let me know in the comments below! 

Diane 😎

To Dewey or not to Dewey Decimal?

If you were starting a blog with a books and libraries theme, what would be a good way to organize the posts?  🤔

The librarian in me is screaming Dewey Decimal system...and you can't ignore the librarian.

Many libraries still use this numbering system for organizing their nonfiction section, so I'm sure most of you are familiar with it. For those of you who are not, it is a system that starts with general categories,  and then breaks it down to smaller categories, as needed. 

Here is a general Dewey Decimal system chart:

Dewey Decimal system
(Wikimedia Commons)

And here are two examples of the good old-fashioned library card pockets with the Dewey Decimal number circled on them in red. You'll notice they can be quite short to a little too long sometimes.

 

828.91209 (English Literature
English 1900-1945, Individual authors)

92 (Biography)

Today's post falls under the number of 025.43 (library & information science, admin., systems), according to my favorite website, LibraryThing. Check it out sometime! 

And so, as I write my posts, I will always try to add the Dewey number to help organize the posts. Down the road as I eventually have several, a page of its own might be interesting. 

Boring or interesting, who knows?! It's all in the eye of the beholder. For now, I am off to start working on my first book review.  Stay tuned!

What Does Your TBR List Look Like?

Are there certain books that just capture your attention? 📚

You know, the ones that you find yourself snapping a photo 📸 to remember to buy or check out? 

Well, I am no different, although many of those pictures are taken at work as they come across my desk. That will explain some of the stickers you may see.

Do you happen to see a theme? I don't know why, but if it has any of the following words (book, library, bookstore, etc.), I am immediately interested in learning more!   

These eight books are just a few that you will find on my TBR list. They have captured my attention, and will most likely be read before the year is up. 

The first one, The Finders Keepers Library by Annie Rains was one that I grabbed out of my coworker's mailbox to take the photo. Before you judge me on that, she was sitting nearby & gave me permission.  😊

The Finders Keepers Library 

Vanity Fare

The Summer Book Club

Summer Reading

The Bookbinder

A Novel Proposal 

The Lonely Hearts Book Club 

The Messy Lives of Book People 

 These last two books have already made it past the TBR list, and have already forced me into reading them immediately.  

The Last Chance Library by Freya Sampson was absolutely wonderful. It was the author's debut  novel,  and I think I found a new author to follow!

The Last Chance Library 

The Bookshop of Secrets 

Have you read any of these books? 📚  What did you think?  🤔 Do you have a passion, or theme, that seems to appear in your TBR list? 

Let me know in the comments. I would love to know your thoughts! 

Welcome to my new blog!

A portion of my TBR shelf

Welcome! Come on in and sit for a while. Let me introduce myself and tell you my plans for my new blog. 

My name is Diane and I have always been a bookworm, bookaholic, voracious reader...you name it! My childhood and adult life both are filled with memories of libraries and books, of being read to by my parents, teachers and librarians, of reading to my son and preschool classes.

So, as you can see, books and libraries have always been very important to me. So much so, that I eventually got my MLS and have worked in public libraries for over fifteen years. I have worked on the circulation desk helping patrons, led programs, ordered and catalogued items into the computer and so much more over the years.

Ever since I watched the mini-series, "Roots", on TV in 1977, I have had a fascination with family history, too. Little did I know that this interest would take me much further than working on my own family tree. Within the last ten years, helping patrons with their genealogy has been a part of my librarian duties. I have been selected to be the County Genealogist by the IGS.

I have always been a big believer in following your dreams & passions in life. As you can see above, I did that in my professional life. I also had always wanted to write, too. Even though I was nervous about putting my writing in front of the public, I started my first blog in 2012, and wrote for 9 years. I loved it!

I enjoyed writing so much, that I also branched out into writing a genealogy/family history blog, also. If you would be interested in reading either of these two blogs, you can find them on my profile on the homepage. Just click my name, and it will lead you right to them.

So, all of this introduction leads you to why I created "Chapters of My Bookish Life". Since books & libraries are my passion & my happy place, I wanted a place to be able to share & review books, converse about topics involving public libraries and just talk about life in general.

I hope you enjoy my new blog and will join me on this new chapter in my life! (See what I did there! LOL) Enjoy, discuss, and I hope you find your happy place here among us bookaholics and library lovers!