True Believer

If you want to read a "sweetly sentimental" story about a writer for Scientific American and a beautiful librarian with violet eyes then Nicholas Sparks' latest work of fiction (if for no other reason than Elizabeth Taylor seems to be the only real person with violet eyes), True Believer might be your hammock book of choice.

It is a "search inside the book" title so I searched for a bunch of words: Dewey, catalog, web, classification, librarian, violet, love books, internet. Nothing for Dewey, catalog (except for publishers catalogs) and the web and the internet exist but not in the library. My quick scan suggests this book fits into the genre (I just made it up) of "library nostalgiaphilia": the library is a sanctuary--and definitely not for the homeless--for the big city guy who falls for the small town librarian. There is a plot...ghosts and strange lights and of course the violet-eyed librarian is instrumental in helping Our Hero figure things out--including that he's in love with the smart, somewhat distant librarian.

Several of the reviewers at Amazon really really liked it, so you might too. Me, I am waiting for Karen the Free Range Librarian's new approach to her blog. I think the plot will be better.


Added bonus: a digression into Six Degrees of Separation Or Name Dropping Once Removed. My first husband lived in Rome for a while when he was a little kid. His dad worked for a US multinational, and First went to a school for what must have been well-heeled English speakers.

In his class was Liza Todd, born the same year he was, and daughter of Elizabeth Taylor and Mike Todd (her third husband--her first was Nicky Hilton. Yep, those Hiltons). For some reason, First once punched Liza in the stomach--he doesn't remember why. Perhaps because this was not his most memorable moment with a member of the Taylor/Burton household (she was married to Richard Burton at this time). He was invited to Liza Todd's birthday party--at the Taylor/Burton residence.

He remembers two things: the button that held his trousers up (I'll bet they were short ones) popped off, and Elizabeth of the Violet Eyes knelt down and sewed that button back on, while he was wearing those pants. Not too many men can say this.

And when it was time to go home, Liza's parents said he could wait at the house until his mother arrived...oh, that's all right, I'll walk out and wait at the gate, he says. His mother was furious because she had told First to wait at the house so she could meet these very famous people. What did First know...they were just Liza's mum and dad. Mind you, First did say that Liza's mum was very beautiful and he should know...those violet eyes would have been inches from his green ones. Not many men can say this.