Bob the Book

Bob the Book

4.3 of 5 stars 4.30  ·  rating details  ·  66 ratings  ·  32 reviews
A charming romance of book meets book and boy finds boy.Meet 'Bob the Book, ' a gay book for sale in a Greenwich Village bookstore, where he falls in love with another book, Moishe. But an unlikely customer separates the young lovers. As Bob wends his way through used book bins, paper bags, knapsacks, and lecture halls, hoping to be reunited with Moishe, he meets a variety...more
Paperback, 190 pages
Published October 1st 2010 by Chelsea Station Editions (first published September 18th 2010)

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127th out of 291 books — 279 voters
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Vio
What a weird and wonderful story. I don't think I've ever laughed so much and shed a few tears along the way, this was not your typical romance, be prepared for a ride, a fabulous adventure as we follow Bob the book and his other bookie friends trying to find acceptance, love and finally a home to rest. Its funny and sweet and I wanted their dreams to come true, be happy and cherished. I was captivated by this and anyone who has a love of books will be delighted to read this!
Enny
Bob the Book is a fantastic read! It says a lot of very beautiful and insightful things about books and relationships. The books characters were so funny and cute. I was really rooting for them to get together. I started my love affair with books when I was a little kid and it's a love that has never waned. Highly recommended for everyone who loves books!
Lil' Grogan
I loved this charming and hilarious adventure following Bob and his friends as they and their owners look for love. I laughed self-consciously through the commentary on readers, I cheered and gasped along with the books à la Toy Story, and I got that warm, squishy feeling when books fell in love. Seriously? And, in one instance, this story got a rare reaction from me - horrified laughter. I think the laughter won. XD I love my books, I hope they forgive me, and I would NEVER crack a spine.
ARe Cafe
Bob the Book by David Pratt (published by Chelsea Station Editions at 44,924 words) introduces Bob, who (like all books in this universe) has a soul and a personality. Bob is a treatise about gay erotic photography, so of course he is gay. He falls in love with Moishe, a book about homosexuality and Judaism, who is gay and Orthodox Jewish. However, life is full of surprises, especially if you’re a book whose fate takes you from owner to owner to used bookstore to being loaned out to friends. Whe...more
Alan
Bob is a book about pre-nineties gay porn, complete with many hot pictures. He is delivered to a Greenwich Village bookstore, where he goes on sale beside another book, Moishe, whose title is Beneath the Tallis: The Hidden Lives of Gay and Bisexual Orthodox Jewish Men. Bob and Moishe fall in love, but are separated by an unlikely buyer.

As Bob journeys through sales tables, used book bins, different owners, and lecture halls, he meets a variety of other books and people, but he’s always hunting...more
Kassa
Bob the Book is simply wonderful. I’m definitely buying a paperback version of this book and cherishing it (whatever it’s name and maybe it’ll find love on my shelves). The book plays on familiar grounds but in inventively new and fresh ways. There are a few moments of overt preaching though. I didn’t mind this too much since the book is simply delightful and entertaining, which makes up for the obvious hammering home of how difficult life can be for those different. While readers may not apprec...more
Elisa Ramblings
I cannot find enough good words to praise this book, it’s most likely one of the best book I read this year, one of the most sweet, romantic and well plotted book, with not one, not two, not three, not five, but six happily ever after!

Bob the Book is the story of a gay non fiction book on vintage pornography. He is an interesting book, with nice pictures, but truth be told he is not selling as good as the more glossy photobooks on some male p**nstar or the various calendars. But Bob has a nice...more
Mary
How do you feel about the books you read? Do you treat them with care? Read them and then forget about them-the emotions they evoked in you as you lost yourself in the world and characters within their pages. Do you keep them with you? Cherishing them and recalling passages or quotes you found memorable?

This book jumped out at me at first glance; and not even stopping to think why, I headed over to amazon and bought it. It turned out to be a great choice. It is a delightful and refreshing novel,...more
Leslie Nicoll
This was an absolutely terrific book!

Here's the synopsis:

Meet ‘Bob the Book,’ a gay book for sale in a Greenwich Village bookstore, where he falls in love with another book, Moishe. But an unlikely customer separates the young lovers. As Bob wends his way through used book bins, paper bags, knapsacks, and lecture halls, hoping to be reunited with Moishe, he meets a variety of characters, both book and human, including Angela, a widowed copy of Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park, and two other separate...more
John
Ever look at your bookshelves and think, "If these books could talk..."? That's the world of Bob the Book.

This is a really charming story of a group of book-friends as they move from store to owner to owner - form friendships, fall in love and, well, just live. It's full of humour and just a touch of pathos. The premise is clever, and after a few pages, not as far-fetched as it seems. To me, it's an ideal little weekend book, for moments when you really just want to unwind with a pleasant novel...more
Jessica Davies
Devoured this in a day. When i first saw it being promoted a year or so ago (at the GLCC Pittsburgh) it sounded cute and whimsical, but i only just got around to borrowing it to read. It was one of the sweetest stories i've ever read. You will never look at a bookshelf the same way, kind of "Toy Story" for the literati. Some of those books really got me choked up! And yeah, i'm sitting here at the moment looking at how a little book of Bosch paintings is leaning against a Gary Larson "Far Side"...more
Edina Rose
Very, very funny book, a kind of parody of life played by book characters.

You've got the fascist, the romantic, the knight, the inspirational one, the pretty face, the "pornoman" (thanks for the word, Damon Suede), the regency heroine, the business man, the fashion girl, the scholar, the intellectual, the boring one, the self-righteous Christian and many more.

As they are bought, sold, offered and discarded, they meet, interact, fight, help each other, fall in love etc. You see them get happy,...more
Katie
I found this at my local library and began reading it based solely on the oddness of the cover. I am straight and usually like to read non-fiction, but after reading the first 25 pages, I checked it out and finished it later that night. Awesome read! Very imaginative and smart. I also learned a lot about dating and homosexuality, although a lot of the wisdom implied in the book holds true for straight singles as well. If you are a book lover, definitely check out this book.
Jess Candela
It was a really good book, one I very much enjoyed reading. Obviously I'm a bibliophile, and it was fun to read a book from the perspective of a book. And I liked the premise of moving on and making happiness for yourself wherever you land. So, overall, a good experience but I'm very glad I didn't have to pay $10 for it.

Though I wonder if paying $10 would have made me like it more, as psychology studies have found cognitive dissonance effects such as people rationalizing themselves into preferr...more
Don
Charming funny and ultimately moving. The idea of books being alive with individual personalities sounds like it could be too precious or "twee" by half but the author, David Pratt pulls that hat trick of being very funny but also really pulling us into this alternate world and making us invest in it. A wonderful debut and deservedly winning of the Lambda award for debut fiction!! Highly recommended!
Alaska
This story might not be for every reader but it is for every book-lover. For everyone who likes to turn pages instead of pushing a button, who likes the weight of a book in your hand instead of a super light plastic casing and who thinks that books can talk to you, even if you are not always willing to listen.
This was a beautiful story about finding love, losing love and not giving up no matter what life throws at you or where you will find yourself in the world.
And, of course, it is about the l...more
Lauraadriana
Sweet little story about a book named Bob and his misadventures. The concept is adorable and the personalities of the books are fantastic. Moishe Judaic book on Homosexuality, with his feisty Yiddish :O) The Sunny the new age book and her catch phrase, Hank the Tom Clancy novel...It was adorable and too funny. What a great idea for a book!
Margaret
When I first heard about this book, I thought what a great concept for a story. Now that I read it for myself I realize that it is more than a concept. It is a polished gem of a story that both entertained me and gave me a lot to think about from its beginning to its end.
Chris
Excellent story about a gay book named Bob, as he travels from bookstore to armchair and beyond. It's also a story about love found and lost, about discrimination and acceptance, about learning and growing... basically about life. Highly recommended.
Bradley
I seriously having fallen in love with this book. It's got a whole Velveteen Rabbit/Toy Story thing going where books come to life and can talk to each other. Bob is a copy of "Private Pleasure: Myth and Representation in Male Photo Sets and Pornography from the Pre-Stonewall Era to 1979" and he lives in a LGBT book store in the Greenwich Village. There he falls in love and hopes for "an owner and a reader" to come in and buy him.

Bob the Book is a sweet tale. Do yourself a favor and pick it up.
Karin Wollina
You will treat your books different after reading this book. Definitely One of my favorite books this year !
Jenn
Oct 05, 2012 Jenn marked it as to-read
Rec'd by Eric. Read next.
BD Whitney BookWenches
From the first page to the last, Bob the Book is a touching, charming, memorable tale. I would recommend it to anyone who is searching for something well-written yet different. Both serious and playful, this book will make you think, touch your heart, and stay with you for a long time to come.

Complete review here: http://www.bookwenches.com/​november1...
Mark Ward
An adorable, wonderful, charming book.
Mark
I can't decide between four and five stars. You won't see it held up with the likes of Hemingway, but I really enjoyed it. It is cute, fun, and hopeful.
Sylvia
Aug 12, 2012 Sylvia rated it 5 of 5 stars
Shelves: won
Sweet. I feel so sorry for all my neglected paper books now. I hope they get along with each other.
Rosie
Jul 27, 2011 Rosie rated it 4 of 5 stars
Shelves: m-m
The sweetest little story. If I didn't love books books before, I certainly DO now!
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Bob the Book (ebook)
Bob the Book (Kindle Edition)
Bob the Book (ebook)
David Pratt is a short story author, playwright, and theater director. Bob the Book is his first published novel.

Librarian note: This is not the only author by this name in the database. See authors with similar names.
More about David Pratt...
For the Thinking Executive: 916 Quotes by Nobel Laureates My Movie Social Security and Medicare Answer Book, 2009 Cumulative Supplement Political Thought of King Alfred the Great, The. Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and Thought The 1,000 Wisest Things Ever Said: Wisdom from the Nobel Laureates. Compiled by David Pratt

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