I'm in the book

A week ago I finally finished The Phone Book: The Curious History of the Book That Everyone Uses But No One Reads, by Ammon Shea. This is one of those books that I read the title and description and was intrigued, and found a copy on the cheap. I picked it up and actually got pretty far into it, but then got sidetracked by other books. It was looking pretty silly to have it on my "currently reading" list on goodreads.com for so long, so I decided enough was enough and finished it.

I know it sounds like a super geeky book, but it was actually really good. Mostly because Shea has a very readable style, so that something that could become tedious is pretty interesting. And you would be surprised at how much there is to know about the history of the phone book. But Shea doesn't just retell the history. He tells about how people have used it and for what, people who collect them, people who tear them in half, and what the future is looking like for the poor phone book. The book is chock full of information (and by the book, I was thinking of Shea's, but the phone book is, too, really). Shea does a great job covering a topic no one would usually think to explore because most people don't care, and while you read, you find you do care. I don't think I will ever look at a phone book the same way again.

Anyway, if you are looking for a good non-fiction read about a random topic, this one fits the bill. Seriously, it was a good book, and I'm glad I read it. And, in honor of this fine piece of work, check out this link: http://ur.umich.edu/9899/Jun21_99/3.htm

Lo, the power of the phone book.