Rating: 
Summary: A favorite for 2003
Review: I looked at this book several times in stores and didn't buy it because of the vapid summary on the back cover. Finally, I happened to see it at the library and checked it out -- what a surprise! This book is one of the best I read all year, probably the best fun-chick-read since Bridget Jones' Diary. I started my career as a librarian and was not at all offended by the portrayal of the main character as sexual in private but reserved in public -- in fact, Josephine Carr cleverly turns this stereotype on its head by giving the character a veneer of repression and then exploiting it to reveal, instead, a robustly sexual woman grappling to balance some very human fears and needs. The Dewey Decimal System of Love is a poignant and touching exploration of fear of commitment from a woman's point of view, and the challenges posed in overcoming it -- highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: Easy read with a fun twist...
Review: I really didn't know what to expect when I picked up this book but I ened up being pleased that I read it, though not willing to recommend that one purchase it. The main character, Ally, was well-developed and quite witty. I enjoyed reading about her relationships with the other characters, especially the twist in relationships as they developed. The mystery in this book kept me turing the pages, as well as the desire to see if the librarian would find love in the end...
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down
Review: I thought this was a wonderful read! The diction wasn't high, but the wit was keen and quirky. As a budding librarian I couldn't resist the title, and I ended up finishing within 5 hours of purchase. Ally is a 40 year old librarian celibate for years. I completely disagree with other reviewers who say that the author was stuck on the librarian stereotype. It's a modern-day fairytale, and the princess happens to be a librarian. The author makes this very clear in many references to fairy tales, to the librarian stereotype, and to the protagonists dream that the librarian become a different type of archetype. I loved this book! It's meant to be sugary sweet and full of archetypes and stereotypes, and I think that it does a fantastic job at its goal. If you want to smile and giggle all over, go for it. There are some fun and interesting plot twists, and while I would have asked for a slower ending, it isn't altogether rushed.
Rating:
Summary: Adorable!
Review: I was also amazed by all the vicious reviews of this book. Perhaps because I, like Ally, am a single librarian who prefers
long dresses to mini-skirts, but I loved this book. It was quirky, fun and a great read. I am in my first year at Florida
State, earning my Masters degree in Library Science, and I urged all my classmates to read this adorable book. Ally makes me proud to be a librarian!
Rating:
Summary: utterly charming
Review: I was kind of surprised how much others seemed to have HATED this book. I admit, it's not a "serious" or deep novel, but I did find it charming and laughed out loud on at least 10 seprate occasions. Sure, there are some gaps in the plot (but it's not a really plot driven book) like what ever was the conductor's wife doing anyway?) but the scenes were just, well, funny and charming in their own way. Yes there are stereotypes, but they make us laugh at ourselves and our own habits, not at librarians in general. I think it's silly for librarians to be up in arms when the character is so likable. She's the first to admit how silly some of her habits and emotional disabilities are. It comes down to this -- if you want a light book of fiction that will make you laugh and has a happy ending, this is a terrific and downright fun book. If you're looking for the next Ulysses, well this isn't it. I bet none of the librarian critics caught the sly reference to Yeats' poem the Lake Isle of Innisfree -- come to think of it, maybe they didn't get lots of subtle wit and humor.
Rating: 
Summary: "Chick lit" that's a great read for guys
Review: I've avoided "chick lit" -- the genre that has sprouted "Bridget Jones' Diary," "Le Divorce" and all those other books targeted at young women trying to find love in a bustling, confusing world -- for all the right reasons: I'm not a chick. But a recent stroll through Barnes & Noble turned up this book, which had what has to be one of the worst titles ever. So, in spite of that and the fact that its cover review blurbs were all done by women whose names I've never heard before, I sat with it and gave it a read. And I was quite surprized. Told in the first person, this book has a wonderful, conversational style. And the dialog between characters is some of the best I've ever read; it's very natural, clever where it ought to be but within the realm of reason. Ally, the protagonist, is a 40-year-old reference librarian in Philadelphia who winds up falling in love from afar with the new conductor of the philharmonic. The book -- which you can easily read in a day -- follows her as she attempts to win over the conductor, in spite of her frumpy appearance and decidedly poor previous experiences with men. I felt the ending of this book was a bit rushed and there are a couple of plot contrivances involved that are both frustrating and, in my estimation, unnecessary. I'm also not sure this story, while fun and funny, is worth the $12.95 cover price. (Yes, I know that most trade paperbacks fall in this range. So what?) I'm also offended that the book includes a banal interview with the author and suggested book club discussion questions. This isn't high literature and it isn't being read in high school English classes, so both are unnecessary. That's what's held me back from calling this a masterpiece. But overall, this book is a great read.
Rating:
Summary: Cute, fluffy
Review: If you're looking for a cute, fluffy book and have already read the Shopaholic books by Sophie Kinsella, you might try this one, although it doesn't live up to the Shopaholic books by any stretch. The humor is present and in many cases delightful, and the fantasy that Ally has with the Maestro cannot be taken seriously as some who have written reviews have done. It is just to cartoonish to be offensive in my opinion.
Rating:
Summary: Lively, Funny & Entertaining
Review: Josephine Carr's The Dewey Decimal System of Love is an entertaining and quick read as the book is just impossible to put down. The reader just cant wait to find out what happens next. Very well written in the first person, our single and celibate heroine, a research librarian, falls in love, or is it lust, with a symphony conducter. To further complicate the matter, she believes she has stumbled onto a plot by the conductor's wife to murder him. The plot is well written, the dialogue crisp and convincing, and the characters well developed. I loved this book and look forward to the sequel (please). If you are looking for serious literature, you may be disappointed, but for a lively, quick read, a fun read, a humorous read, this book is the real deal.
Rating:
Summary: Librarians, Convertibles, Martinis, and Musical Scores
Review: This book centers around a 40-year-old, convertible driving, martini drinking, very, very celibate librarian, her coworkers, and the object of her fantasy, a composer. This book is quite hilarious, and has quite a few (mildly) sexual themes and elements. Carr uses humor and irony in generous doses to the reader's delight, and definitely twists the whole librarian stereotype three ways to Sunday! As entertaining as this read was, with its fantastic characters and hilarious- if sometimes unreal- plotline, I knocked two stars off my typically generous rating system for one reason- the ending. Carr uses more then 200 pages to introduce us to characters we grow to love, and takes us through loop after loop of new insights and developments in the plot. Then, when we finally learn the conclusion, she just cuts it off. The bad guy gets their due, and for Carr, that's that. She literally leaves us hanging. We do not learn what happens in many aspects to the main character- for instance, how do she and the man she now loves continue (if only for a few pages)? The relationship between father and daughter- did that work out after our librarian had an epiphany about men? And just what sort of justice did the evil one get? Carr catches the bad guy, and then just ends the story. Done. No thorough, well thought out conclusion- as in the 3-5 pages most authors typically allow for us to see where the characters go from here and wrap up their loose ends. I devoured this book in one sitting, enjoying it every minute up until the last two pages. If you can handle severe disappointment with an all-too-short ending, read on. If you can't handle that when you love the characters, then pick up a different book. JK
Rating: 
Summary: Needs a fact checker
Review: This book is filled with inaccuracies about Philadelphia and the institutions portrayed. Maybe this isn't important if you're a reader living somewhere else, but as someone reading the book in Philadelphia, these errors made me cringe! At one point, the author has her protaganist follow the conductor's wife from the Parkway to 52nd Street and back on foot -- that's over 6 miles and all during a lunch break! Restaurants appear in the wrong places, roads run in the wrong directions, buildings are mistakely named, etc. Additionally, both the Free Library and Philadelphia Orchestra (oops, I mean Philharmonic) appear to be run as part-time hobbies by about three staff members each. Too much is factually wrong with this book to be overcome by its thin plot.
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