Status
Available
Publication
New York : Abrams ComicArts, 2010.
Description
"The Night Bookmobile tells the story of a wistful woman who one night encounters a mysterious disappearing library on wheels that contains every book she has ever read. Seeing her history and most intimate self in this library, she embarks on a search for the bookmobile. But her search turns into an obsession, as she longs to be reunited with her own collection and memories."--Publisher's website.
User reviews
LibraryThing member msf59
A young woman is walking the streets of her neighborhood, late one night. She stumbles upon a Bookmobile. A kind elderly man invites her in. As she scans the shelves, she soon realizes all these books are familiar and after further examination, she discovers these are all the books she has ever
This is from the author's After Words: "It became a vision of the afterlife as a library, of heaven as a funky old camper filled with everything you've ever read. What is this heaven? What is it we desire from the hours, weeks, lifetimes we devote to books? What would you sacrifice to sit in that comfy chair with perfect light for an afternoon in eternity, reading the perfect book, forever?"
Great question!
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read. This is a graphic short story, told in loving detail, which all book-lovers should adore.This is from the author's After Words: "It became a vision of the afterlife as a library, of heaven as a funky old camper filled with everything you've ever read. What is this heaven? What is it we desire from the hours, weeks, lifetimes we devote to books? What would you sacrifice to sit in that comfy chair with perfect light for an afternoon in eternity, reading the perfect book, forever?"
Great question!
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LibraryThing member Jargoneer
I read this to fill in 15 minutes at work as the whole book (all 33 pages) is available on the Guardian website. My reaction to The Time Traveller's Wife should have warned me to stay away but I just couldn't help myself.
This story is relatively simple - a young girl wandering through the streets
Crucially Niffenegger misses the point of libraries: the night bookmobile contains all the books that an individual has read but surely a magical library would contain all the books an individual wants to read and books they could not obtain elsewhere, i.e., more novels by Austen or Dickens. That would be a library worth being obsessed about; a library of everything you have ever read could just be your bookshelves.
Likewise Niffenegger says that the book is "a cautionary tale of the seductions of the written word" but it goes further than that - it could be subtitled "why you shouldn't waste your time with books". Loving books will make you obsessed, lonely, and capable of only living vicariously. Also, the young woman, is only seen reading in order to fill more shelves in the bookmobile; we never see the joy and wonder of reading another great book.
As in The Time Traveller's Wife Niffenegger has created a concept-based work but failed to think through the ramifications of the original idea - it is ironic that Niffenegger is seen as being a clever writer when the final books are so dumb. While her artwork is perfectly acceptable her prose is as mediocre as before. If the night bookmobile ever tracks me down I will be throwing Niffenegger's books out when the librarian isn't looking.
This story is relatively simple - a young girl wandering through the streets
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at night comes across an old winnebago driven by a distinguished old man, she accepts his invitation and inside finds a library comprising of everything that she has ever read. The rest of story follows her attempts, over years, to find the night bookmobile again and become a librarian therein. Crucially Niffenegger misses the point of libraries: the night bookmobile contains all the books that an individual has read but surely a magical library would contain all the books an individual wants to read and books they could not obtain elsewhere, i.e., more novels by Austen or Dickens. That would be a library worth being obsessed about; a library of everything you have ever read could just be your bookshelves.
Likewise Niffenegger says that the book is "a cautionary tale of the seductions of the written word" but it goes further than that - it could be subtitled "why you shouldn't waste your time with books". Loving books will make you obsessed, lonely, and capable of only living vicariously. Also, the young woman, is only seen reading in order to fill more shelves in the bookmobile; we never see the joy and wonder of reading another great book.
As in The Time Traveller's Wife Niffenegger has created a concept-based work but failed to think through the ramifications of the original idea - it is ironic that Niffenegger is seen as being a clever writer when the final books are so dumb. While her artwork is perfectly acceptable her prose is as mediocre as before. If the night bookmobile ever tracks me down I will be throwing Niffenegger's books out when the librarian isn't looking.
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LibraryThing member BookAngel_a
This book is thought provoking, especially for avid readers. What do we give up when we spend our lives absorbed in books? What do we gain? Are the gains worth any sacrifice we must make?
In this short graphic novel, a woman stumbles upon a bookmobile filled with every book she's ever read in her
It's hard to say if I liked this book or not, since I did not approve of the choices that the main character made. However, I think this book provides a lot of food for thought. It's a fast read and it would be interesting to discuss this book with others. If you're addicted to books and reading...read this and see what you think!
In this short graphic novel, a woman stumbles upon a bookmobile filled with every book she's ever read in her
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life. I would like to say more but I don't want to spoil it for other readers.It's hard to say if I liked this book or not, since I did not approve of the choices that the main character made. However, I think this book provides a lot of food for thought. It's a fast read and it would be interesting to discuss this book with others. If you're addicted to books and reading...read this and see what you think!
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LibraryThing member madhatter22
"What is it we desire from the hours, weeks, lifetimes we devote to books?"
This is a graphic novel (the first part of a larger work to come called "The Library") about a young woman who goes for a walk one night and comes across an RV fitted up a as a bookmobile. She goes inside and starts browsing
This was a haunting, lovely book. I couldn't stop thinking about it after I read it and had to read it again the next day. The drawings are simple, but evoke a dark, dreamy sort of mood, and are beautifully done. I especially loved a close-up of a shelf of children's books where the color, artwork and font of each spine was faithfully reproduced.
In the afterword, Niffenegger said she wanted to explore "the claims that books place on their readers" and called the story "a cautionary tale of the seduction of the written word". I'd definitely recommend this to anyone who would spend hours online cataloguing, reviewing and discussing their books.
This is a graphic novel (the first part of a larger work to come called "The Library") about a young woman who goes for a walk one night and comes across an RV fitted up a as a bookmobile. She goes inside and starts browsing
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the shelves, and soon makes a startling discovery - the library comprises everything she's ever read in her life.This was a haunting, lovely book. I couldn't stop thinking about it after I read it and had to read it again the next day. The drawings are simple, but evoke a dark, dreamy sort of mood, and are beautifully done. I especially loved a close-up of a shelf of children's books where the color, artwork and font of each spine was faithfully reproduced.
In the afterword, Niffenegger said she wanted to explore "the claims that books place on their readers" and called the story "a cautionary tale of the seduction of the written word". I'd definitely recommend this to anyone who would spend hours online cataloguing, reviewing and discussing their books.
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LibraryThing member Copperskye
A cautionary tale that just takes a few minutes to read; some might find the story intriguing but it just didn’t come together for me. It’s a book about the love of reading, balance, and the search to find one’s own self.
Uniquely odd, but also kind of depressing and headshakingly ‘meh’.
Uniquely odd, but also kind of depressing and headshakingly ‘meh’.
LibraryThing member BeguileThySorrow
I picked this one up because it's about a library and I saw the nice blurb by Neil Gaiman on back. Unfortunately I didn't find it at all to be a story "perfectly told". The Night Bookmobile is the first of a larger work being titled The Library, as explained by the author in the "after words".
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Because of this I feel it's possible that my understanding of the story is in fact out of context until I read the completed book. But since it is published here as a single book, I also find it fair to review it based on itself alone. About the length of a child's picture book, the story follows a woman named Alexandra from a random night in her early adult life when she comes across a mysterious and almost magical-seeming bookmobile. She becomes obsessed with it's existence, its strange librarian Mr. Openshaw, and with finding it again when she realizes its visits are inconsistent. However the story never really makes sense. We never find out why Alexandra gives up so much of her daily life to pursue this bookmobile, or share enough time with her to fully connect. Even so, I could have accepted all of that vague plot and thought the book strange but intriguing had the ending not included her choice at the end to commit suicide just to become a night bookmobile librarian herself. The w.t.f moment of that was just too insane for me. It seemed like a weak attempt to be deep without sufficient storyline and as if it glorified books over life itself at that point. On the flip side I did like the idea of everyone's life being quietly documented through the books they've read, all by librarians on the other side so to speak. Exploring the concept of books as also having the ability to become a channel for checking out of present life and losing oneself in fantasy also made sense as the darker side of loneliness and using reading to live vicariously instead. But overall I still felt this book went dark without any logic or relatable context. Show Less
LibraryThing member labfs39
The only graphic novels which I had read before this were the [Maus] books. Therefore I have little with which to compare The Night Bookmobile as a respresentation of the genre. As a story, however, I confess I was more intrigued by the author's "After Words", than I was by the actual story. In
When I began writing The Night Bookmobile, it was a story about a woman's secret life as a reader. As I worked it also became a story about the claims that books place on their readers, the imbalance between our inner and outer lives, a cautionary tale of the seductions of the written word. It became a vision of the afterlife as a library, of heaven as a funky old camper filled with everything you've ever read. What is this heaven? What is it we desire from the hours, weeks, lifetimes we devote to books? What would you sacrifice to sit in that comfy chair with perfect light for an afternoon in eternity, reading the perfect book, forever?
I wish Niffenegger could join us for a discussion about the answers to those questions.
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particular, by the following paragraph:When I began writing The Night Bookmobile, it was a story about a woman's secret life as a reader. As I worked it also became a story about the claims that books place on their readers, the imbalance between our inner and outer lives, a cautionary tale of the seductions of the written word. It became a vision of the afterlife as a library, of heaven as a funky old camper filled with everything you've ever read. What is this heaven? What is it we desire from the hours, weeks, lifetimes we devote to books? What would you sacrifice to sit in that comfy chair with perfect light for an afternoon in eternity, reading the perfect book, forever?
I wish Niffenegger could join us for a discussion about the answers to those questions.
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LibraryThing member bfister
What a strange book. Like to read? Your boyfriend will leave you, you'll find yourself wandering Chicago in the middle of the night hooking up with a man in a Winnebago full of your books, and just like that horrible alternative life awaiting Jimmy Stewart's wife in It's a Wonderful Life, you will
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find yourself alone, clutching books, and ... a librarian! Noooooo! Show Less
LibraryThing member laytonwoman3rd
Strange and unsatisfactory in the extreme. A graphic book (can't call it a novel) originally published as a short story. Wandering around the streets of Chicago in the wee hours of the morning, Alexandra comes across a Winnebago with loud music emanating from it. Against all sense (as she admits)
Review written April, 2011
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she approaches, and accepts an invitation to "see the collection" from the man sitting inside. It turns out to be a bookmobile filled with everything she has ever read---not just books, but ephemera including letters and cereal boxes. As the sun rises, the man tells her she must leave, as the hours for the bookmobile are "dusk to dawn" only. Alexandra tries to revisit the van on subsequent nights, but doesn't find it again for several years. During her lifetime, she finds the bookmobile a total of three times, and each time asks to be allowed to stay in it, or work in it, but she is told this is not possible...not allowed. The story, such as it is, takes an abrupt disturbing turn, and the point of it all is quite elusive. The author tells us it's a cautionary tale about what we give up in order to read books. I don't think the story itself conveys that message at all. The writing isn't special and the artwork is crude. I was quite underwhelmed.Review written April, 2011
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LibraryThing member pocketmermaid
I couldn't get this creepy little book out of my head for days after reading it. What reader wouldn't be fascinated with this story? A bookmobile that contains everything you've ever read and the woman who spends her life preoccupied with its existence.
There's an adage from the Bible that sums up
If an addiction is driving you, it is dangerous. It doesn't matter if that addiction is drugs, sky-diving, fishing, bottle-cap collecting, or reading every book you can get your hands on. All addictions are ultimately dangerous. And obsessions are a type of addiction. Lexi is obsessed with the mysterious night bookmobile she encounters one night, and she spends her life preoccupied with chasing it down again.
She lets the elusive bookmobile dominate her entire existence. Lexi devotes herself to books at the expense of meaningful relationships and living a full life. It's a cautionary tale of how dangerous it is to give something the power to destroy your life. Lexi's passion is self-destructive, to say the least, and her obsession blocks her from attaining anything remotely satisfying. To me, this story was less about books and being a reader - they are just a stand in for anything you might love a little too much - and more about the horrors of allowing yourself to be truly unhinged from reality.
There's an adage from the Bible that sums up
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this story: Those who live by the sword, die by the sword. Well, there's no violence in this story, but the tragedy is all the same.If an addiction is driving you, it is dangerous. It doesn't matter if that addiction is drugs, sky-diving, fishing, bottle-cap collecting, or reading every book you can get your hands on. All addictions are ultimately dangerous. And obsessions are a type of addiction. Lexi is obsessed with the mysterious night bookmobile she encounters one night, and she spends her life preoccupied with chasing it down again.
She lets the elusive bookmobile dominate her entire existence. Lexi devotes herself to books at the expense of meaningful relationships and living a full life. It's a cautionary tale of how dangerous it is to give something the power to destroy your life. Lexi's passion is self-destructive, to say the least, and her obsession blocks her from attaining anything remotely satisfying. To me, this story was less about books and being a reader - they are just a stand in for anything you might love a little too much - and more about the horrors of allowing yourself to be truly unhinged from reality.
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LibraryThing member BookConcierge
A lonely young woman stumbles upon a Winnebago on a street one night when out walking. It’s the Night Bookmobile, and what she discovers within is magical and inspiring … and disturbing.
Niffenegger is perhaps best known for The Time Traveler’s Wife. Here she turns to the graphic novelhaving Alexandra kill herself in order to work in the Night Bookmobile, when she already had an apparently “dream” job in a real library. Is the point of this supposed to be Mr Openshaw’s statement that “only living people can be Readers.”? Is she saying that librarians are lonely and depressed people who can only relate to books? Or that loving books will lead to a life spent alone? Clearly, I just don’t get it.
Although I am not a great fan of graphic novels (In the four I’ve tried previously, I found the text difficult to read, and the art mostly dark.), I do admire the illustrations here. They are wonderfully detailed and the characters lifelike. Too bad the story is so bad. 1* for the art.
Niffenegger is perhaps best known for The Time Traveler’s Wife. Here she turns to the graphic novel
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format. The illustrations are wonderfully drawn, and I found there was a good ratio of text to art. But I did not like this story at all. I can’t say much without spoiling it, but I am left wondering what Niffenegger was trying to say by Although I am not a great fan of graphic novels (In the four I’ve tried previously, I found the text difficult to read, and the art mostly dark.), I do admire the illustrations here. They are wonderfully detailed and the characters lifelike. Too bad the story is so bad. 1* for the art.
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LibraryThing member enewt823
This graphic novel is AWESOME! Of course, I both work in a library and am an avid reader, so I may be biased.
Niffenegger's main character, Alexandra runs across the title bookmobile during a late night/early morning walk. When she enters the bookmobile, its shelves are crammed with books she has
She is ushered out of the bookmobile as dawn approaches. She spends time looking for the bookmobile and does not see it for another nine years. It has grown with her reading and this time she asks if she can stay. The answer is no, but it spurs her to become a "regular librarian." She continues working and reading and twelve years later, she is Director of her library. She also runs into the Night Bookmobile one last time. Her desire to work there has not changed.
The story is beautifully laid out, touching on the passion for books that many who work in the field have, the obsession of gaining our desires and the sacrifice that being a Reader is.
The pictures aren't great but they do add a lovely visual to the story. I recommend this to all Readers and ask you:
What's in your Night Bookmobile?
Niffenegger's main character, Alexandra runs across the title bookmobile during a late night/early morning walk. When she enters the bookmobile, its shelves are crammed with books she has
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read. The librarian, Mr. Openshaw, then tells her that it is "her" bookmobile, and it carries only what she has read. Very cool!She is ushered out of the bookmobile as dawn approaches. She spends time looking for the bookmobile and does not see it for another nine years. It has grown with her reading and this time she asks if she can stay. The answer is no, but it spurs her to become a "regular librarian." She continues working and reading and twelve years later, she is Director of her library. She also runs into the Night Bookmobile one last time. Her desire to work there has not changed.
The story is beautifully laid out, touching on the passion for books that many who work in the field have, the obsession of gaining our desires and the sacrifice that being a Reader is.
The pictures aren't great but they do add a lovely visual to the story. I recommend this to all Readers and ask you:
What's in your Night Bookmobile?
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LibraryThing member RullsenbergLisa
I can't praise 'The Night Bookmobile' highly enough. It's painfully astute in recognising the thin line readers negotiate when losing themselves in and to books. And as a meditation on life it is utterly heartbreaking.
Read it, weep, read it again, weep some more: and try looking at your own shelves
Read it, weep, read it again, weep some more: and try looking at your own shelves
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in the same way afterwards. It simply cannot be done. Show Less
LibraryThing member iubookgirl
Audrey Niffenegger is best known for her novels, The Time Traveler's Wife and Her Fearful Symmetry, but she has also published two illustrated novels, The Three Incestuous Sisters and The Adventuress. The Night Bookmobile is her first graphic novel.
I don't normally read graphic novels but the
Despite the short format, Niffenegger hits on a number of important ideas - the state of libraries, the role of reading in our lives, having a love of reading, and burying oneself in books. She nails the passion for reading but conveys the important message of not letting books take over your life. This message really struck me because the very afternoon I read this I was reluctant to go out because I wanted to read. Needless to say, after reading The Night Bookmobile, I left the house.
Niffenegger first wrote The Night Bookmobile as a short story, which she then adapted into a serial graphic novel for the London Guardian. According to the "After Words," The Night Bookmobile is the first installment in a larger work called The Library. This first installment packed such a big punch in so few pages that I can't wait for the next installment to appear.
I don't normally read graphic novels but the
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author and the story of this one were a combination I couldn't resist.The Night Bookmobile quickly follows Alexandra through years of her life focusing on her encounters with the night bookmobile. Alexandra stumbles upon the bookmobile and it's librarian, Mr. Openshaw, late one night and finds that it contains all the books she's ever read, children's books, novels, textbooks, and even her girlhood diary. I was just thinking about whether books you didn't finish would be on the night bookmobile - would there be partial books sitting on the shelves? - when that question was answered. (You'll have to read it yourself to find out what the answer was...sorry.) Alexandra becomes obsessed with finding the bookmobile again and eventually goes to library school to become a real librarian. That's as much as I want to say about the story.Despite the short format, Niffenegger hits on a number of important ideas - the state of libraries, the role of reading in our lives, having a love of reading, and burying oneself in books. She nails the passion for reading but conveys the important message of not letting books take over your life. This message really struck me because the very afternoon I read this I was reluctant to go out because I wanted to read. Needless to say, after reading The Night Bookmobile, I left the house.
Niffenegger first wrote The Night Bookmobile as a short story, which she then adapted into a serial graphic novel for the London Guardian. According to the "After Words," The Night Bookmobile is the first installment in a larger work called The Library. This first installment packed such a big punch in so few pages that I can't wait for the next installment to appear.
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LibraryThing member sylliu
Although bound and presented like a children’s picture book, this is not one for the kids. Alexandra is a book-lover who encounters the Night Bookmobile, which turns out to be a magical, personalized library of every book she has ever read. She encounters this Airstream camper only a few times in
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her life, but it captivates and causes her to pay an increasingly high price to keep it a part of her world. I didn’t love the drawings, except for the kind, gentlemanly librarian whose expressions are perfectly rendered. Show Less
LibraryThing member vpfluke
This is a poingatn reminsence on a life of books and book readin told in a comic strip method (actually, managa is a better term). It happens at night, so it seems to delve into the secret unconscious, almost a dream-world. It's yet another novel in which book appear prominently but have a
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disappearing ending. It's a short read, but I felt transported to this other night world in Chicago, and the young girl's longing. Show Less
LibraryThing member kristenn
I'm probably the only librarian in the U.S. who hasn't read The Time Traveler's Wife so this is my first experience with Niffenegger and libraries. And I did enjoy it. Hadn't realized prior to purchase that she was also the artist, and it's fairly unpolished zine-type art. But it doesn't usually
I love the premise. And it's the sort that many readers will find themselves daydreaming about for years afterwards. Without giving away much (especially for a $20 short story; you need some idea), the bookmobile contains every book the main character (Alexandra, missing a vowel) has ever read. But she has no control over when she encounters it, with years passing between visits.
I didn't figure out the ending in advance but it made perfect sense. And it was also a spread where the visuals were particularly well laid-out. While still on the lefthand page, you caught just enough of a glimpse of the bottom corner of the opposite page to build anticipation.
Alexandra has no real inner life but that doesn't work against the story or her fate. Her career moves unrealistically quickly once she begins it, but that's probably only apparent to librarians. The book also moves quickly for what it costs, but it will be a fun one to regularly loan out.
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distract from the story. The speech bubbles, on the other hand, could have been handled better, and I went back and forth on whether there should have been actual lettering rather than print font. Then again, that ties it back into the prose theme.I love the premise. And it's the sort that many readers will find themselves daydreaming about for years afterwards. Without giving away much (especially for a $20 short story; you need some idea), the bookmobile contains every book the main character (Alexandra, missing a vowel) has ever read. But she has no control over when she encounters it, with years passing between visits.
I didn't figure out the ending in advance but it made perfect sense. And it was also a spread where the visuals were particularly well laid-out. While still on the lefthand page, you caught just enough of a glimpse of the bottom corner of the opposite page to build anticipation.
Alexandra has no real inner life but that doesn't work against the story or her fate. Her career moves unrealistically quickly once she begins it, but that's probably only apparent to librarians. The book also moves quickly for what it costs, but it will be a fun one to regularly loan out.
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LibraryThing member jasonlf
This is a 33 page "graphic novel" (really more of a short story) that is about a woman who discovers a mobile library filled with all of the books she's read. If she's only read the first few pages, then the rest would be blank. After her first encounter she keeps searching for the bookmobile but
The story is self-contained, although it promises to be the first installment in a longer work. I'm looking forward to the rest.
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only finds it when she is least looking for it every few years. And she keeps reading books so that they'll show up in the bookmobile and receive the approval of the librarian that runs it. She becomes a librarian and aspires to become a librarian for a night bookmobile, something she eventually achieves in a chilling manner.The story is self-contained, although it promises to be the first installment in a longer work. I'm looking forward to the rest.
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LibraryThing member Kyniska
Short, sweet, and somewhat tragic. The art is nothing spectacular, but it does its job well enough. I understand the pursuit of the main character, but don't see the reason behind the eventual conclusion. I don't often demand an explanation for things when I'm reading, because it usually serves the
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story, but in this case I feel it would have helped. Also, the central conceit of this story is actually somewhat defeated by the existence of LibraryThing, which I find very amusing. Show Less
LibraryThing member jbetzzall
Bookworm Alexandra, after a lovers' spat, happens across a mysterious bookmobile, with speakers playing one of her favorite songs. She discovers that it contains every book she's ever read, but it's only available from dark until dawn. After many years of frustrated searching she encounters it
An odd, fascinating idea brought very effectively to life by Audrey Niffenegger's graphics, this seemingly-sad story portrays the subtle, almost masochistic pleasures of serving readers that librarians secretly enjoy.
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again, and asks to join the staff, only to be frustrated again. Not until she becomes a librarian in a public library does she discover the bookmobile's deadly secret that finally allows her to work there. An odd, fascinating idea brought very effectively to life by Audrey Niffenegger's graphics, this seemingly-sad story portrays the subtle, almost masochistic pleasures of serving readers that librarians secretly enjoy.
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LibraryThing member bragan
A short graphic novel about a woman who, wandering the streets of Chicago at night, encounters a battered Winnebago inside which is a library containing everything she's ever read. I find this idea utterly irresistible, largely because for many, many years I've repeatedly imagined just such a
Unfortunately, while seeing that dream brought to life on pages in front of me was wonderful, the main character's unhealthy obsession with her own Night Bookmobile library was less so, and the ending rather put me off. Ah, well, at least I can dream of my own Bookmobile in the full confidence that I'd handle the experience much more sensibly. And if the moral Niffenegger is trying to convey here is that too much love of books is unhealthy, she can bite me.
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library of my own, with all the books of my life shelved in order, and wistfully longed to be able to visit it and see my life's reading spread out in front of me: the well-remembered classics and the forgotten volumes, the picture books giving way to kids' books to the books that shaped me in my teenage years and on through the slow progression of my changing adult tastes... Unfortunately, while seeing that dream brought to life on pages in front of me was wonderful, the main character's unhealthy obsession with her own Night Bookmobile library was less so, and the ending rather put me off. Ah, well, at least I can dream of my own Bookmobile in the full confidence that I'd handle the experience much more sensibly. And if the moral Niffenegger is trying to convey here is that too much love of books is unhealthy, she can bite me.
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LibraryThing member pussreboots
The Night Bookmobile by Audrey Niffenegger was first serialized in The Guardian. I came across it through a number of book blogs that seem taken with the cover of Alexandra hugging the book she's reading. As I had so enjoyed Three Incestuous Sisters, I knew I wanted to read this graphic
Alexandra, angry after a fight with her boyfriend, wanders the streets one night. In her perambulations she discovers a night bookmobile, driven and maintained by Mr. Openshaw. His library on wheels oddly has every book she remembers reading, including the odds and ends she used as book marks. These aren't just books she remembers reading, these are the books she read — many long lost and forgotten.
Rather than be completely grossed out by such an eerie thing, Alexandra finds a new obsession to fill the void in her life. She desperately wants to be a bookmobile librarian. She wants to apprentice under Mr. Openshaw. She does everything she can, including going to library school. Though she finds a new career as a librarian, it isn't the one she dreams of.
Alexandra does ultimately reach her goal, but through extra-ordinary means. Her blinding obsession with books and a particular book mobile plays into a recurring theme I've seen in books or films where a librarian is the main character — loneliness and depression — the librarian who hides in her (almost always her) books. Niffenegger just takes it one doozy of a step further.
Like Alexandra I've had an on again, off again affair with books and libraries. My first library encounter was also with a bookmobile — though we didn't actually get to into the vehicle — they were brought to us in a rented storefront. I don't see reading as a solitary, lonely or depressing thing. It's not a substitute for human interaction — it enhances those interactions. A librarian's primary function is to connect people and books. There's more human interaction than reading involved in the job.
Also like Alexandra, I do sometimes dream about driving a bookmobile. In California that would require going back to driving school and getting a class C license. At the moment, I'm ready to be done with school, but maybe in a year or two, I'll revisit that dream.
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novel.Alexandra, angry after a fight with her boyfriend, wanders the streets one night. In her perambulations she discovers a night bookmobile, driven and maintained by Mr. Openshaw. His library on wheels oddly has every book she remembers reading, including the odds and ends she used as book marks. These aren't just books she remembers reading, these are the books she read — many long lost and forgotten.
Rather than be completely grossed out by such an eerie thing, Alexandra finds a new obsession to fill the void in her life. She desperately wants to be a bookmobile librarian. She wants to apprentice under Mr. Openshaw. She does everything she can, including going to library school. Though she finds a new career as a librarian, it isn't the one she dreams of.
Alexandra does ultimately reach her goal, but through extra-ordinary means. Her blinding obsession with books and a particular book mobile plays into a recurring theme I've seen in books or films where a librarian is the main character — loneliness and depression — the librarian who hides in her (almost always her) books. Niffenegger just takes it one doozy of a step further.
Like Alexandra I've had an on again, off again affair with books and libraries. My first library encounter was also with a bookmobile — though we didn't actually get to into the vehicle — they were brought to us in a rented storefront. I don't see reading as a solitary, lonely or depressing thing. It's not a substitute for human interaction — it enhances those interactions. A librarian's primary function is to connect people and books. There's more human interaction than reading involved in the job.
Also like Alexandra, I do sometimes dream about driving a bookmobile. In California that would require going back to driving school and getting a class C license. At the moment, I'm ready to be done with school, but maybe in a year or two, I'll revisit that dream.
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LibraryThing member dissed1
The Night Bookmobile, by Audrey Niffenegger, is a beautiful graphpic novella, published in hardcover storybook form--a picture book for grown-ups! As the story proves, we're never too old to appreciate our favorite books.
The Night Bookmobile tells the tale of Alexandra, a lonely woman who
I thought this book was wonderful. The colorful illustrations are richly drawn, with with a measured, realistic eye. A graphic novel cannot be true to the form without illustrations, but these go well beyond the expected.
The story is melancholy, yet uplifting at the same time. I love the idea that we are all tied unconditionally to what we read. I was a little bemused about how Alexandra came to her extreme acts near the end of the story . . . but I didn't find them a stretch. On the whole, I felt the novella was just what every storybook should be: a window into a secret, fascinating world, unique, complete and self-contained between two covers. Well done, Ms. Niffenegger. Kudos for having the courage to go where others have not tread before.
The Night Bookmobile tells the tale of Alexandra, a lonely woman who
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rediscovers her avid love of reading through the mystical appearance of a book-filled Winnebago, open only from dusk to dawn. Every time Alexandra finds the bookmobile and peruses its shelves, she finds all the books she's ever read--and no others. It's the sole collection of Alexandra's literacy and the emotional bond tied to it. Leisurely browsing through books familiar and forgotten, Alexandra finds herself pulled to the Winnebago, wanting to stay and help tend the volumes. Mr. Openshaw, the librarian, won't allow it; it's not possible. The allure of the bookmobile eventually leads Alexandra to become a librarian, though her job can never quite measure up to the soulful experience of reliving her reading past. One day, she unlocks the key to permanent admittance to the bookmobile. And in so doing, fulfills the longing to immerse herself in her own private reading revelry, and deliver the gift of emotional reading to another.I thought this book was wonderful. The colorful illustrations are richly drawn, with with a measured, realistic eye. A graphic novel cannot be true to the form without illustrations, but these go well beyond the expected.
The story is melancholy, yet uplifting at the same time. I love the idea that we are all tied unconditionally to what we read. I was a little bemused about how Alexandra came to her extreme acts near the end of the story . . . but I didn't find them a stretch. On the whole, I felt the novella was just what every storybook should be: a window into a secret, fascinating world, unique, complete and self-contained between two covers. Well done, Ms. Niffenegger. Kudos for having the courage to go where others have not tread before.
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LibraryThing member maggie1944
A very interesting concept of a bookmobile encountered while wandering about in the very early morning hours, and discovering that it contains all the books ever read. Unfortunately, that very promising beginning does not deliver much more. The illustrations are OK, a bit stark, and certainly make
I'm glad to have it. It will look good on my shelf next to The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore - a much superior and happier book about loving books. It I was to make a recommendation I'd say read the latter, not the former.
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the book look as if it were suitable for children but it is not a children's book.I'm glad to have it. It will look good on my shelf next to The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore - a much superior and happier book about loving books. It I was to make a recommendation I'd say read the latter, not the former.
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LibraryThing member DebbieMcCauley
Alexandria is walking the streets of Chicago after a fight with her boyfriend. She comes across a ratty old Winnebago which she discovers is a bookmobile that holds, along with her diary, every book she has ever read. Mr. Openshaw is the librarian who greets her, but later tells her she must leave
This graphic novel is wonderfully illustrated by the author with some lovely handwritten passages. It is a haunting book about the compulsive isolation of reading and being a reader and leads one to question themselves about what would appear in their own bookmobile. I felt it was written for adults only and was slightly disappointed and disturbed about Alexandria’s suicide.
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as its hours are ‘dusk to dawn’ only. Over the years Alexandria obsessively looks for the bookmobile once more, but it only appears when she least expects it, updated with the books she had read since her last visit. Alexandria’s life changes as the years pass and she immerses herself in reading. She is inspired to train as a reference librarian and eventually becomes the director of her local library, but the job she really desires is to be a librarian for the bookmobile. The dark side of her fixation starts to take over her life, because ultimately the only way to become a librarian on the bookmobile is to check yourself out.This graphic novel is wonderfully illustrated by the author with some lovely handwritten passages. It is a haunting book about the compulsive isolation of reading and being a reader and leads one to question themselves about what would appear in their own bookmobile. I felt it was written for adults only and was slightly disappointed and disturbed about Alexandria’s suicide.
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Language
Original publication date
2010
Physical description
30 cm
ISBN
9780810996175
Local notes
graphic novels