Frequently Asked Questions: An Unshelved Collection
The Unshelved series, Book 6
Gene Ambaum and Bill Barnes
Overdue Media
Fiction, Comic Strips/Humor
Themes: Libraries
****+
Description
The staff at the Malville Public Libary deals with all manner of peculiar patrons and their perplexing problems. In a special section at the back, a variety of books - from true-life stories to mind-bending sci-fi - are plugged in comic-strip format.
Review
I actually got this book for free through work. (I work for a library system that somehow scored donated copies - something to do with technically being the highest circulating library system in the nation, as I understood it. I stopped listening after "free book.") The authors/artists are librarians, and I suspect that more of these strips are based loosely on life than one might suspect. (I wouldn't know; my job is blissfully free of interaction with the general public.) You don't need to work at a library to laugh at these, though; a passing acquaintance with humanity should be enough. This is not the first Unshelved collection printed, but there are no major story arcs to catch up on. If you're worried about coming in on the middle, a one-page primer at the front of the book explains the characters. I've always liked their weekly book strips, and though some of the summaries are too vague for my tastes, I respect the spoiler-free format. The artwork is simple, but it does the job. In any event, after a not-good week, I enjoyed a chance to laugh, and that's about all I ask out of a comic collection. (Being free usually doesn't hurt a book's rating, either.)