Book Club

Unshelved #4

by Gene Ambaum, Bill Barnes

What happens in the library stays in the library. But oh, what happens in the library! Dewey has a book club, and you do not talk about Book Club. Colleen has a blog, but she doesn't know everyone can read it. Someone gave vegan Tamara a membership to the ham-of-the-month-club. And Merv reserved every copy of the new Harry Potter for purposes nefarious. This fourth Unshelved collection also features dozens of full-page full-color comic-format book talks, plus a very special storytime zombie nursery rhyme.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Humor, Fiction, Books About Books, Adult, Graphic Novels Comics

120 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

I 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.

Reviews

[nidah05 (SleepDreamWrite) · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I like about the series so far, is the characters and art style. Oh and the setting especially. Another good volume.

[angelofmine1974 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I literally never seen any of these comics before and found this book. As a book lover and librarian, this book is freaking hilarious. The book is filled with comic strips varying from dating, librarian life to book suggestions. The "beaver" is my favorite character and it bugs me because is he really a beaver or dressed up like one? Hmmmm...
Great book.

[Tamara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strange and eerie that there is a character in this comic strip collection who is a vegetarian librarian named Tamara who doesn't like to take days off. Who's the informant?

Kristin, they've been spying on you, too. There's a strip about answering reference questions in the bathroom.

Favorite Quotes:

Patron: Where...
The Shusher: Shhhhh!
Patron: But I...
The Shusher: This is a library! Quiet!!
Patron: How am I supposed to ask for help?
The Shusher: American Sign Language. Learn it. Use it.

Librarian: That won't help. Neither will this note from your mother sllowing you to deduct the cost of Cheezits.
Patron: But I can't work without 'em!

Patron: I'm having trouble accessing the Internet.
Dewey: Our connection is down.
Patron: I just need to access one little website.
Dewey: Just a tiny teeny-weeny little website?
Patron: The itty-bittiest website ever!
Dewey: Our connection is down.

[Jake Kilroy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was totally unaware of the 'Unshelved' web comic until I purchased this collection at a used book store, solely because the cover had an old school style and it read, 'Book Club.' I was pleasantly surprised with its settings, characters, and sincere attitude. I spend a good portion of time in libraries and seeing the other side, no matter how exaggerated, was a warm delight with heart. It's silly, easy, and for book lovers.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dewey, Mel, and all the gang of the Mallville Public Library is back again to create mayhem in the stacks. Dewey combines fight club with his book club while getting more involved with the local school teacher. And the book reviews done as comic strips is really fun!

[Jerry Yoakum · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this too quickly. I'm starting to think that when reading comic books I should adapt a pattern of reading once a day and stopping when something makes me laugh out loud. That way I can spread the joy out over a longer period. Lots of laugh out loud moments in this book.

[Jeanine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quirky characters demonstrate everyday life in the library, which is eerily similar to daily life in a book store. I love reading the Unshelved series when I can. Thanks to a friend for loaning me her copy of Book Club.

[ari · Rating 3 out of 5]

The humor wasn't quite right for me. Not what I expected.

Some of the book reviews were funny. I really thought a comic about librarians would be my thing. But it didn't really have a lot going for it. Guess there's a reason that it's not well-known.

Not a hidden gem.

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book Club includes several panels with synopses of various real books. Clever idea for young adult librarians like Dewey.

[Rex Libris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun book about the foibles of life in a library. Makes me glad I don't work in one.

[Karrie Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

These just keep getting better and better! I loved the full color book talks towards the end.

[Mads · Rating 5 out of 5]

My family made fun of me for laughing out loud while reading this book. Highly recommend!

[Emmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great collection! Honestly, my favorite part was the section in the middle with the reader's advisory. I actually added a few titles to my HUGE to-read list :D

[Katy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reread.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny & enjoyable even for those of us who don't work in a library, but just like to visit

[E. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a cute collection of webcomics and totally relatable as someone who works in a library. Will definitely be reading more

[Kristen Harvey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this one even more than the first volume I read. All the characters are growing on me and I think I need to add the rest of these to my wishlist. :)

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Libraries are centers where great learning is encouraged, nurtured and stored. The people that work there are generally dedicated to their craft and helping patrons in their search for the references they need. With the advent of computers and since for some of the public their only access to the internet is through libraries, librarians now find it necessary to be a bit of a technocrat as well.
This collection of comics features the employees of a public library, how they interact with each other as well as the public. Librarians need to have quality social skills and exhibit an unusual level of patience, for some of the patron requests are unreasonable. There are six main characters with Dewey being the central one. He is of course named after the Dewey Decimal System, the primary cataloguing system used in public libraries.
While he is extremely knowledgeable in the area of pop culture, Dewey is also somewhat lazy and a bit of a social klutz when it comes to females. There are a couple of unusual characters, including the naked man and the “person” dressed as the reading club mascot. The subjects are amusing because for the most part the actions are plausible, reflecting life in a public library, albeit exaggerated. There is little that is very profound in what takes place or in the dialog, just people doing a priceless and often underappreciated job while trying to live their lives.

[YoSafBridg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bill Barnes and Gene Ambaum have come out with their fourth collection of the Unshelved webcomic Book Club (which covers February 16, 2005 through February 19, 2006 for those of you keeping track). If you are not familiar with this series, it is absolutely required reading for any public libraries, recommended reading for anyone in public service, but i believe everyone should be able to appreciate the humor of the situation--a surprisingly accurate depiction of life in a public library.
This issue has the added fun of "Book Club" (of course--given the title) which offers--short illustrated recommendations/summaries/whatever of a number of different titles. And this Whedon fan would be remiss if she did not mention the scattered references to Serenity and even an obscure one to Vampire Willow as well as Drucilla which makes me love the authors all the more and convinces me i AM in the RIGHT profession (tee hee.)
http://talesofarampaginglibrarian.blo...

[Amanda [Novel Addiction] · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am reading these out of order partly because it doesn't matter, but mostly because that is how they are arriving via interlibrary loan.

Once again, the Unshelved creators have hit close to home on almost all aspects of my work life. In fact, I had a patron just yesterday yell at me for technology the library uses. When I got home and read certain panels in this book, I laughed twice as hard because I had just experienced the same situation myself. I can't wait for the rest of the volumes!

Also, special shout out to the full color book talk pages. I wish I had written down more of the titles, because they convinced me to read quite a few of them. Also - can I just give those pages to interested patrons instead of having to do book talks myself?

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars-- Like other "workplace humor" books, Unshelved is perhaps best enjoyed by those of us who work in public libraries. How else can we enjoy the public internet obsessions, the dirty old patrons, the hobos who find new and ever more unusual places to snooze? I've you've ever worked in a public library, you can, no doubt, come up with countless Unshelved strips of your own.

Dampening my enthusiasm for the material is the poor quality of the illustrations. There's no consistency in character design, and everything has the flat, doodle-y look of a middle school student's art notebook.

[Westcoast_girl · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I first saw this book I couldn't believe someone could write an entire book just on a library, not to mention a series of books.

After, reading this, the answer seems clear: libraries are a place that illustrate all of life's funny and quirky people, strange happenings, interesting musings, and funny idiosyncrasies.

Every character is unique and interesting. Every strip is hilarious and relateable. I found myself repeatedly groaning and giggling at situations Dewey has to face that I have seen before in libraries or other places.

Reading Unshelved has made me fall in love with books and libraries all over again.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This "Unshelved" collection I can't relate to as much, (other then being a children's librarian/clerk) since I am usually working during most times when our local book clubs meet. But, I love to read, so if I could I would definatly join one. I love Dewey's ideas to get teens interrested in joining their own Book Club, comparing it to the movie titled "Fight Club" so surly teens think it's secretive, exclusive, and forbidden, which in their mind means cool. Pure genius! Great funny stuff! :0)

[Heidi-Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adventures and laughs continue! I'm finding references to other comics (some I know and some I don't) rather interesting. Older brother from FoxTrot showed up a book or two ago, as did Dilbert. I suppose the comic world is one I am not a part of, but I'm glad they have a world as we librarians have one. And that Unshelved brings the two together! :-) Loved the part of Dewey starting a book club, since I started 2 this month. We'll see how they go.

[Clodjee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume includes the usual strips, plus some Library conference tips, but the most interesting feature is the dozens of full-color “Unshelved Book Club” book talks where the library staff introduce on each page a new book. A kind of weekly book review, in color and often hilarious!

For more please check what I wrote for volume 1: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/84...

Or read my full comment on: http://clodjee.blogspot.ca/2008/11/un...

[thebaronessofbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this volume of Unshelved, the pop culture references, though dated by a decade, were still just as funny. But what I really liked and thought was clever were how the artist and writer started to put in full page book recommendations in comic form.
Several were books I'd already read and enjoyed, and others one's that have really piqued my interest. I'm glad they kept the book recommendations every Friday on their webcomic site.

[Ryan Werner · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is pretty much Dilbert for people who work at a library. It was surprisingly funny for such a niche concept. Not the funniest thing I'd ever read, and I certainly wouldn't recommend it to you if you get most of your humor from something like MMA compilations on YouTube or old VHS dubs of Black Adder or something, but for a light, silly read in the vein of newspaper strips, this was worth reading in chunks when I was bored of the windier parts of Jimmy Corrigan.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my favorite collection of strips so far. Dewey creates a book club unsurprisingly similar to "Fight Club," and all of the librarians give their synopses and recommendations of books to patrons of the Mallville library. This is a great way to highlight the personalities of each librarian based on their reading preferences and comments on the books.

[Jessa Franco · Rating 4 out of 5]

A continuation of the usual content, Book Club has more stories from Mallville Public Library. Barnes and Ambaum added something new with this novel: multinpanel and color comics that book talk other works. The characters are trying to pitch the book to their patrons or each other. It was a great way to discover new books, but much of the humor only made sense if you had already read it.