REVIEW: The World's Strongest Librarian by Josh Hanagarne

What do books, weight lifting, and Tourette's Syndrome 

have in common?

I've been spending a lot of time at our local library lately, in part due to increased tutoring requests and the ease of meeting students there and in part due to a re-commitment to frugality and voluntary simplicity in an effort to pay down debt and increase savings. 

As I was wandering the stacks recently, I came across an intriguing title: The World's Strongest Librarian. 

I actually read the title on the spine, thought, "Huh, interesting...." and kept walking. I came back and looked at it two or three more times before finally taking the book off the shelf. 

I'm glad I went back. While I didn't LOVE every part of this book, I loved enough of it to recommend it. The subtitle pretty much sums up the book -- "A memoir of Tourette's, faith, strength, and the power of family." 

While the book is all of those things, and at times can feel a bit sappy, it is also quirky, fun, and enlightening. 

I'm slightly familiar with Tourette's and have known many Mormons, but this book gave good insight into both while also telling a charming, heart warming story of a young man coming to terms with having an, at times, debilitating condition, and the unique ways (they have to do with weight lifting!) he found to deal with it. 

The author, Josh Hanagarne, is also honest in a refreshing way about his struggles with his faith over the years -- something I think many people can relate to regardless of their religion. And, although I've known many Mormons, I realized in reading this memoir that I know very little about how Mormons practice their religion. It was interesting to read both Hanagarne's descriptions of his religion as well as how he began to stray from his faith and the unexpected way he seems to have reconnected with it.

Hanagarne is an actual librarian and what probably got me to bring this book home is his absolute love of books and reading. It is evident throughout the entire memoir and gave me an immediate connection to Hanagarne.

I love books about books or about people who love books. 

Hanagarne tells some sweet, interesting, and at times downright weird stories from his experiences with books and in particular from his experiences as a librarian. Having spent time in New York City libraries and also through working in emergency medicine, I frequently found myself not only smiling and/or sympathizing, but also nodding my head and thinking, "Oh, yes! I know exactly what you are talking about, Josh!"

I probably won't buy this memoir or reread it, but I did enjoy it and think you might too. 

You can find The World's Strongest Librarian by Josh Hanagarne
at Amazon.com.

Or, try your local library. 

Did you enjoy this post? You might also enjoy:

• My favorite memoirs
• Let's Be Enemies by Janice May Udry with illustrations by Maurice Sendak
• The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

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in a small commission for me. However, any such commissions are greatly appreciated. 

All opinions expressed here and anywhere else on my blog are 100% my own.

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My favorite memoirs

When it comes to reading, 

memoirs are among my favorite of all genres. 

I absolutely love them. 

Of the ones above, I can't choose a single favorite, although I do most identify with Joan Didion and Abigail Thomas in part because we are living in the same time, although they are both quite a bit older. I also identify with Temple Grandin as, although I don't have autism, I do often think visually. It's automatic and from talking to others, apparently it isn't normal...? Elie Wiesel ~ how does one become so eloquent in the face of such experiences? Anne Frank ~ her sweetness, compassion, love for others mixed with her normal, everyday girlness are wonderful despite what ultimately happened to her. And, as for Julia Child and Alex Prod'homme, well, I love to cook and I would love to try life in another country. My Life in France is just plain interesting and at times fun.

Check out my other favorites:

• My top five chick-lit novels
• My favorite historical fiction novels
• My favorite dog-related books 
• My favorite mystery novels and series (coming soon)

Need to relax and unwind, but not in the mood for a good book? Consider coloring . Psychoanalyst Carl Jung prescribed coloring to many of his patients to overcome stress, anxiety, and issues with focus. Check out my coloring pages and more on Etsy HERE.

Please note, Amazon links may be affiliate links. Making a purchase through them may result 

in a small commission for me. However, any such commissions are greatly appreciated. 

All opinions expressed here and anywhere else on my blog are 100% my own.

The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion is by far one of my favorite memoirs. Didion explores her own grief after the death of her husband, writer John Gregory Dunne, all while her daughter is battling severe, life threatening illness.

This book can be depressing.

But, it is one of the best books I have ever read. Didion shares her pain, her grief, her questioning with the reader in a way that allows us to examine our own relationships and inner beliefs about grief and loss.

Didion's memoir ranges from Manhattan to Los Angeles and Santa Monica to Honolulu and back. She builds a relationship with us, her readers, through examining her relationship with her husband. She pushes us to examine mortality as well.

Didion is much like myself in that in the face of a problem she does research (not to imply that the death of her husband or illness of her daughter are less serious than other issues). She seeks out poetry, medical literature and research, memoirs of others, etiquette guides, and more. As one that loves to read books in which other books are discussed, this aspect of The Year of Magical Thinking alone adds to this being one of my favorite books.

The memoir also made me think of my own loved ones -- in particular those loved ones I am closest to and would be lost without. I can't imagine losing my parents or my son. My sister, my brother, my best friend. Losing any of them would be devastating and there is no way to predict how I will or would react in the face of any of their deaths. And, that's the thing, right? So often we are cavalier and think or say, "Well, when the time comes I will do x and y and z." We think we already know the experience, but we don't. Until it happens we don't know. Years after the deaths of my grandparents and great grandparents, I still grieve them all. The nature of the grief when it strikes is unpredictable. The way it changes over time is also unpredictable.

I'm sure that Didion left out quite a bit of her grief from her memoir, but what she did include is moving and thought provoking.

I highly urge you to pick up The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion or Blue Nights, another memoir by Didion, this one about the death of her daughter, Quintana Roo.

Didion reading from The Year of Magical Thinking:


Vanessa Redgrave discussing portraying Joan Didion in a theater production of the memoir (the first half of the video):


Interview between Joan Didion and Katie Couric discussing the memoir, dealing with the grief of her husband's death, and also her daughter's illness and eventual death as well (terrible quality though):


Did you enjoy this post? Or, have you read this book? Please leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Some of my other favorite reading blog posts:

• The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
• The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
• Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

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