Who else loves reading books about people who love books?

One of my favourite authors when I was growing up was LM Montgomery who wrote the Anne of Green Gablesseries. As a redhead, I totally identified with Anne and her imaginative flights of fancy and love of words and books. Over the years I’ve grown to appreciate other classic authors like Jane Austen, Agatha Christie, Georgette Heyer – even Shakespeare! So it was a lot of fun to write about someone who loves her books in my book Plays by the Book.

In this we see Britta, a Saint Paul Minnesota librarian, in her element, helping people find the books they need, from kids chasing dinosaur books to elderly ladies wanting classic British crime, right down to a hockey player who wants a romance book to woo his long distance girlfriend.

It was SO fun to blend some of my personal faves into the kinds of books that Britta recommends, and to explore some of the goings on in libraries. I remember many a Saturday morning visiting the library both as a child and then later, taking my own kids there too. Now with the proliferation of e-books and online reading material it feels like libraries are perhaps a little less patronised than they were back in the day, but they still serve many useful purposes. In the course of my research, I found that the Saint Paul library I based my book on actually employs a social worker to help those who might otherwise ask a librarian for help. What a great idea!

Britta, my lead character, is also involved with the library’s Bookmobile, and there are several fun (& otherwise!) scenes that involve this. I love the fact that libraries take the initiative to meet people where they’re at, that they go out of their way to remove barriers, like distance or accessibility – even removing fines so people feel like they can return books, which also gets the books back into circulation again.

If you enjoy books about books, then I hope you’ll enjoy reading Plays by the Book with its references to Pride and Prejudice wars, and The Princess Bride,  and discover all the fun of what happens when a single and secure librarian meets a hockey player and gives romance tips from fiction. Nothing can go wrong, right?

How about you? Do you enjoy visiting the library? Got some classic books you’d love to see recommended more? Do you enjoy seeing classic books mentioned in fiction?

Do you have strong opinions on classic literature? Check out the latest Pages of My Life with @CarolynMAuthor Share on X

The amazing Carolyn Miller lives in the highlands of New South Wales, Australia. She’s been a pastor and a teacher and now writes full time. A gifted author known for rapidly releasing books in a series, she’s able to write contemporary, historical and regency romances. Learn more on Carolyn’s BRRC Author page or her website.