The World's Strongest Librarian

As a school librarian I am destined to be attracted to any book that deals with my profession. The World's Strongest Librarian by Josh Hanagarne, is a memoir full of library anecdotes from his job at the Salt Lake City Public Library, and his struggle with his Mormon faith and Tourette Syndrome.

It wasn't hard for me to fall in love with Josh.  As a child his mother caught him kissing a picture of Fern from Charlotte's Web while he was reading.  Oh, a boy after my own heart! Josh includes memories about his reading experiences as a child- his mom's reaction to her son, a good young Mormon boy, reading Stephen King, and his junior high crush on Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield from the Sweet Valley High series. I nodded along with Josh at these memories that mirrored some of my own.

While there is humor in this memoir, Josh does struggle with two bigger issues- his faith and his Tourette Syndrome.  Both are well developed and explained in this memoir, and my heart broke a little for Josh as he endured some extreme challenges with his TS.  

Despite the challenges Josh has faced, I appreciated the closeness he has with his family, and the wonderful parents who raised him. Josh is a person I would like to know, and librarians everywhere (as well as people who aren't librarians) will read and enjoy this fun memoir.

Follow Josh at his website World's Strongest Librarian