What do you think?
Rate this book
Unshelved #5
Read Responsibly
Read Responsibly is the biggest, funniest, and most colorful Unshelved collection yet! The fifth year of strips includes the famous "Pimp My Bookcart" sequence and a year's worth of full-color full-page "Unshelved Book Clubs" featuring the greatest books every written. Plus, never-before published strips and more!
144 pages, Paperback
First published July 25, 2007
2 people are currently reading
137 people want to read
About the author
Gene Ambaum
18 books29 followersI write Unshelved with Bill Barnes. I've worked as a paper boy, auto mechanic, courier, English teacher, operations manager, teen services librarian, and staff development coordinator. I enjoy a wide range of graphic novels and am currently obsessed with the work of Lewis Trondheim, Emmanuel Guibert, Hope Larson, and Kazu Kibuishi. My favorite book without words is Owly The Way Home & The Bittersweet Summer by Andy Runton. My favorite book without pictures is Ursula LeGuin's A Wizard of Earthsea.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 29 of 47 reviews
![Profile Image for Amanda [Novel Addiction].](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.gr-assets.com%2Fimages%2FS%2Fcompressed.photo.goodreads.com%2Fusers%2F1415744673i%2F4886503._UX200_CR0%2C36%2C200%2C200_.jpg&w=128&q=75)
June 4, 2015
I don't know which I like more, the earlier Unshelved comics or the later ones? Maybe I like them equally, don't know.
July 13, 2017
One of the best things about this volume is the addition of Randy, the "Lady's Librarian."
July 5, 2018
The book talks at the end are amazing.
September 14, 2020
I loved the book recommendations at the end! Great way to wrap up the book. And there were so many of them! It was great!
April 24, 2023
Not quite as funny as other issues have been.
November 9, 2019
A series of comic strips that take place in a public library. A fun read with quirky characters.
August 25, 2007
After enjoying the Unshelved comics for the last two years, it was great to see a bound collection of the hilarious adventures of Dewey and friends. All the episodes take place at an unspecified library, and outline the lives of librarians- gently mocking stereotypical staff (someone who is anti-technology), absurd rules, and patrons. The authors also throw a good dose of pop culture (see Pimp My Cart), and other current titles. This is great for fans of comics, libraries, and humor in general.
May 20, 2008
Unshelved is a really funny webcomic about a public library. This collection has some of my favorite comics, including "Pimp my bookcart." Antother favorite is the one about the homeless guy giving a workshop to improve the marketing finesse of homeless people asking for money at freeway offramps -- one of the attendees has a sign which says "will mork for foot". By happy coincidence, both of those comics are together on p.53. To check out the comic, visit http://www.unshelved.com/. Highly recommended.
January 29, 2014
*Attention WCPL coworkers: I have this on ILL until March 3, let me know if you'd like to borrow it before then.*
What librarian doesn't love a funny & topical comic strip about life in a library?! The one workplace that TV has never tackled (Buffy doesn't count). I've subscribed to this comic in my email for years and it almost always makes me smile, and gives at least one or two good laughs each week. Their "book club" color strips on Fridays do a great job of briefly summarizing books and of making me want to read many of them.
What librarian doesn't love a funny & topical comic strip about life in a library?! The one workplace that TV has never tackled (Buffy doesn't count). I've subscribed to this comic in my email for years and it almost always makes me smile, and gives at least one or two good laughs each week. Their "book club" color strips on Fridays do a great job of briefly summarizing books and of making me want to read many of them.
October 30, 2013
The Mallville Public Library craziness continues in this collection of comic strips from Bill Barnes and Gene Ambaum. I'm continuously impressed by these two authors. My favorite strips are the "Unshelved Book Club" ones, but I'm positive no one will want to miss "Pimp Out My Bookcart" or the summer reading program problem-solving of the librarians (clue: every kid gets a cardboard computer). These collections are some of my favorites right now, and the Mallville librarians are a continuously unique bunch of characters.
September 29, 2011
More fun times. More laughter. This one has more of the Book Club book talks. I'll admit that I get the strip emailed to me daily, and I always skip the book talk ones on the weekend. Mostly because about 1 out of 10 have I read or would be interested in reading. But I figured I'd read them in the collections. Yep. I still am not very interested by them--and some even turn me off of the books even more! But I'm impressed with how wide a variety the Mallville staff (aka the comic creators) read.
October 23, 2007
At last! It's our turn to borrow the fifth and most recent Unshelved collection from the library. Reading through the volume, I have to admit that the strip really has improved over the years. I think the best part of this book was the Sunday Book Club reviews, but the whole thing is amusing. I definitely want some Unshelved for my shelf.
June 24, 2008
Despite having a daily feed to this online comic strip, I must say that I prefer to read an entire collection of the antics of the Mallville library branch in one sitting. One of the highlights of this latest collection is the "Pimp your Bookcart" nonsense. Check out www.overduemedia.com for some great pimped-out bookcart photo entries that readers sent in. You'll be glad that you did.
March 20, 2009
Although this Unshelved Collection touched on various subjects that come up at the Circulation Desk, this book seemed a little mundane and ordinary. The only sequence of skit-cartoons I really liked were the ones with the elderly lady who is AMAZED BY EVERYTHING she is shown in the library to the point of annoying Dewey, who sometimes just doesn't understand patron-logic. :0)
April 27, 2009
I loved the cartoons about what happens in libraries on a daily basis. The author and illustrator seemed to hit the nail on the head. However, the one-page illustrated book reports didn't move me as much. However, it is still worth the laughs from the first half of this book to give it a whirl or to share it with any library employees you might know.
January 16, 2014
Another fantastic Unshelved. The real question is, why is this volume out of print? I had to buy it used on the internet! Anyhow, I really like that each book has things in it that aren't included in my daily email from Unshelved. I know I'd enjoy the books anyway, but it's really cool to read things that I haven't seen before.
May 24, 2015
The Book Club reviews are hilarious, even if you haven't read the book they are about. I haven't had this much post retail thearapy (that's therapy after having to deal with customers, not therapy from buying crap I don't need) since I found the Acts of Gord blog (www.actsofgord.com it's a great read for anyone who's worked retail).
December 1, 2016
I stumbled across this book at my library, and had never heard of Unshelved before. I enjoy library/book humor. This is the fifth (I think) volume. I liked it, but I was a little confused on some things (What's the deal with the beaver). I think if I started at the beginning it would fix that problem.
December 15, 2009
It's a comic book strip about working in a library. Add 2 stars if you actually work in a library, or 1 star if you love someone who does. You can see this scripts online at http://www.unshelved.com
July 9, 2015
I think this one's my favorite. Mostly for the book references. Some I heard of, read or might want to read. And the way the librarians pitch what the book is about for potential readers was fun and interesting to read. Really good volume.
April 7, 2016
The Mallville Library gang is back, with a visit from FBI men enlivening Dewey 's day. He also gets to pay a visit to a prison librarian. A large number of full-page, full-color book reviews are also included. Fun as usual.
January 3, 2015
What can I say? I love getting this strip every day in my RSS feed and then when the yearly "review" comes out as a book, it's just as funny the second time around!
June 24, 2008
I met the authors at Timberland Regional Library's All Staff Day 2008. They autographed this book.
September 26, 2008
I love the recommendation section at the end...colorful, fun and inspiring. I'll have to add some titles to my to read shelf!
January 27, 2009
This is definetly the best in the series that I've read so far. Filled with library humor, this book will appeal to librarians mostly.
August 12, 2009
My second favorite cartoon of all time is in this collection, as well as a bunch more excellent Unshelved Book Club recommendations.
October 6, 2009
If anyone has ever wondered what it is like to work in a library, this is the book for you. Hilarious!
March 4, 2019
Pre-weed re-read.
August 21, 2014
I first read this in 2010 when I was getting the books in reverse order from the most recent at the time. I'm now reading all the books in order, since I have them all. I love Unshelved!
Displaying 1 - 29 of 47 reviews