"Private frustration is converted into collective satisfaction"
June 11, 2017 6:09 AM Subscribe
Stump the Bookseller is a blog run by Cleveland's Loganberry Books, in which the community helps people identify books they only vaguely remember, AskMe-style. Found thanks to Alice Gregory, in NYT Mag's Letter of Recommendation column.
Previously on MeFi but it was 10 years ago.
Previously on MeFi but it was 10 years ago.
Oh man, I need this service. One of the few times that Askme failed me.
posted by RolandOfEld at 7:04 AM on June 11, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by RolandOfEld at 7:04 AM on June 11, 2017 [1 favorite]
Oooh, Loganberry is one of the places I go when I try to answer a "What was that book...?" question on the Green.
I liked this passage from the NYT piece: "Some posts read like dream-journal entries, others like desperate postings on medical message boards. They are descriptive, urgent, mystifying. A boy befriends a floating ball from outer space. A Portuguese brooch is lost in a Cape Cod cranberry bog. A girl — “strange and a little disgusting” — cleans her toenails with a borrowed barrette. There is a dwarf who wears a gold ring as a belt; a newt who may or may not be named Reddy; a girl in tap shoes who bakes a chicken."
posted by MonkeyToes at 7:18 AM on June 11, 2017 [3 favorites]
I liked this passage from the NYT piece: "Some posts read like dream-journal entries, others like desperate postings on medical message boards. They are descriptive, urgent, mystifying. A boy befriends a floating ball from outer space. A Portuguese brooch is lost in a Cape Cod cranberry bog. A girl — “strange and a little disgusting” — cleans her toenails with a borrowed barrette. There is a dwarf who wears a gold ring as a belt; a newt who may or may not be named Reddy; a girl in tap shoes who bakes a chicken."
posted by MonkeyToes at 7:18 AM on June 11, 2017 [3 favorites]
AskMe failed me too. I also posted the same request on Stump the Bookseller's previous, Web 1.0-esque site. Didn't find my answer there either, but I enjoyed reading the other requests.
posted by audi alteram partem at 7:22 AM on June 11, 2017
posted by audi alteram partem at 7:22 AM on June 11, 2017
Fifty years ago, when I loved every children's book in our town's tiny public library, it never occurred to me that I'd ever need to remember titles. But I grew up, read different books, those children's books were worn out and tossed, and my memory only has bits and pieces of so many that I'd love to see again. I would bet most are out of print.
posted by Miss Cellania at 7:32 AM on June 11, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by Miss Cellania at 7:32 AM on June 11, 2017 [2 favorites]
Yeah, the Letter of Recommendation is a beautifully written piece. In addition to the part MonkeyToes quotes, the last four paragraphs are terrific and thought-provoking.
posted by Miko at 7:39 AM on June 11, 2017
posted by Miko at 7:39 AM on June 11, 2017
This is one of my local bookstores and it is GLORIOUS. Highly recommended if you ever find yourself in Cleveland. (Also, Otis is Best Shop Cat).
posted by bitter-girl.com at 8:17 AM on June 11, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by bitter-girl.com at 8:17 AM on June 11, 2017 [3 favorites]
I used to be a bookseller and these guys are setting a high standard.
posted by theora55 at 9:13 AM on June 11, 2017
posted by theora55 at 9:13 AM on June 11, 2017
Oh, this triggered waves of nostalgia for me.
For a decade I worked in an Ann Arbor, Michigan used bookshop, and these kinds of questions came in every other day. The longer I worked (and the more I read) the better I got at answering them.
posted by doctornemo at 9:42 AM on June 11, 2017
For a decade I worked in an Ann Arbor, Michigan used bookshop, and these kinds of questions came in every other day. The longer I worked (and the more I read) the better I got at answering them.
posted by doctornemo at 9:42 AM on June 11, 2017
I second bitter-girl's comment. About the bookshop, and the cat. (Although I can't approve of the spines-in stunt, referenced by oceano. Two wrongs don't make a right.)
posted by Modest House at 2:30 PM on June 11, 2017
posted by Modest House at 2:30 PM on June 11, 2017
Add me to the list of people whose ask for a particular book stumped the MeFi hivemind.
posted by kandinski at 6:10 PM on June 11, 2017
posted by kandinski at 6:10 PM on June 11, 2017
I used this site to try to try and find a woodworking book when I was a teenager. Unfortunately the name was generic and after so much searching, I only knew what books it wasn't. My search has so far been unsuccessful.
I enjoyed contributing to What Was That Book on LJ, which the maintainers decided to shut down recently. It's strange how people would remember details (or misremember them) that made it difficult. Others were so familiar but on the tip of my tongue that I remember either. I solved about a dozen case's over the last couple of years and it really convinced me to blog about books more or at least get back in the habit of using LibraryThing again.
posted by Calzephyr at 5:32 AM on June 12, 2017
I enjoyed contributing to What Was That Book on LJ, which the maintainers decided to shut down recently. It's strange how people would remember details (or misremember them) that made it difficult. Others were so familiar but on the tip of my tongue that I remember either. I solved about a dozen case's over the last couple of years and it really convinced me to blog about books more or at least get back in the habit of using LibraryThing again.
posted by Calzephyr at 5:32 AM on June 12, 2017
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