The Librarianist

 I just finished listening to a delightful book called The Librarianist by Patrick deWitt. The librarian is Bob Comet and his story is told bouncing back and forth between his boyhood years, his middle ages, and the autumn of his life. The story starts out after he retired. One day in a 711 store near his home in Portland, Oregon, he finds a confused older woman standing in front of the soda refrigerators silently. He tries to help her. Eventually he finds a tag on a lanyard around her neck that indicates she wanders from an assisted living home. He decides to bring her back. Once there he gets a tour of the place from a female administrator. After going home and thinking about it he decides to volunteer at the assisted living center. That decision changes his life for the better.  I liked Bob. He had some melancholy in his life but he also had joy and fulfillment.