One of the books I have been most eager to read this year is a work of nonfiction entitled, Running the Books: The Adventures of an Accidental Prison Librarian by Avi Steinberg. I had seen a review of it in late 2010 and was interested, but I knew I was hooked when I found it at my local Borders and started reading the first page: "Pimps make the best librarians. Psycho killers, the worst. Ditto con men. Gangsters, gunrunners, bank robbers - adept at crowd control, at collaborating with a small staff, at planning with deliberation and executing with contained fury - all possess the librarian's basic skill set. Scalpers and loan sharks certainly have a role to play. But even they lack that something, the je ne sais quoi, the elusive it. What would a pimp call it? Yes: the love."
About the author (from his web site): Avi Steinberg is stumped. After defecting from yeshiva to Harvard, he has only a senior thesis essay on Bugs Bunny to show for his effort. While his friends and classmates advance in the world, he remains stuck at a crossroads, unable to meet the lofty expectations of his Orthodox Jewish upbringing. And his romantic existence as a freelance obituary writer just isn’t cutting it. Seeking direction—and dental insurance—Steinberg takes a job as a librarian in a tough Boston prison.
I loved this book and hope Hollywood comes calling. Since Mark Wahlberg and Ben Affleck love to tell gritty stories from their Beantown roots, I hope this book falls into their hands. Anyone out there know how to get it to them?
xoxo,
bex
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