Running the Books: The Adventures of an Accidental Prison Librarian [Paperback]

Avi Steinberg (Author)

Book Description

Release date: October 4, 2011

Avi Steinberg is stumped. After defecting from yeshiva to attend Harvard, he has nothing but a senior thesis on Bugs Bunny to show for himself. While his friends and classmates advance in the world, Steinberg remains stuck at a crossroads, his “romantic” existence as a freelance obituary writer no longer cutting it.
 
Seeking direction (and dental insurance) Steinberg takes a job running the library counter at a Boston prison. He is quickly drawn into the community of outcasts that forms among his bookshelves—an assortment of quirky regulars, including con men, pimps, minor prophets, even ghosts—all searching for the perfect book and a connection to the outside world. Steinberg recounts their daily dramas with heartbreak and humor in this one-of-a-kind memoir—a piercing exploration of prison culture and an entertaining tale of one young man’s earnest attempt to find his place in the world.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this captivating memoir, Steinberg, a Harvard grad and struggling obituary writer, spends two years as a librarian and writing instructor at a Boston prison that's an irrepressibly literary place. True, his patrons turn books into weapons (and one robs him while out on parole), but he's beguiled by the rough poetry of inmate essays and "kites"--contraband notes secreted in library books--and entranced by the "skywriting" with which they semaphore messages letter-by-letter across the courtyard. And there's always an informal colloquium of prostitutes, thieves, and drug dealers convened at the checkout desk, discussing everything from Steinberg's love life to the "gangsta" subculture of Hasidic Jews. Gradually, the prison pulls him in and undermines his bemused neutrality. He helps a forlorn female prisoner communicate with her inmate son, develops a dangerous beef with a guard, and finds himself collaborating on the memoir of a charismatic pimp whose seductive rap disguises a nasty rap sheet; he has to choose sides, make queasy compromises, and decide between rules and loyalty. Steinberg writes a stylish prose that blends deadpan wit with an acute moral seriousness. The result is a fine portrait of prison life and the thwarted humanity that courses through it. (Oct. 26) (c)
Copyright © PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

When Steinberg graduated from Harvard, he expected to become a rabbi, but neither his faith nor his chosen lifestyle made that a suitable career choice. As a stopgap, he applied to work in a Boston jail library. There he was responsible not only for the day-to-day functioning of the library but also for teaching inmates creative writing. A dedicated intellectual and instinctively diffident, he was almost too easy prey for tough, aggressive, streetwise, ever-conniving criminals. To his chagrin, the hard-bitten prison staff equally tested his presuppositions about humanity’s benevolence. Caroming instantaneously from profane comedy to abysmal tragedy, Steinberg recounts his struggles to relate humanely to people at the edge of society. Prison librarianship offers some of the profession’s greatest challenges, and Steinberg tells just what it’s like to suddenly recognize that the mugger attacking him in the park was the same guy he had checked out some books to a few months earlier. --Mark Knoblauch --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Anchor (October 4, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0767931319
• ISBN-13: 978-0767931311
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.9 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (79 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #128,062 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

95 of 96 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly deep and excellent September 19, 2010

By Theoden Humphrey VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

This was not the book I expected.

I'm not totally sure what I expected, but I think it was something funny: something about a librarian hanging out with pimps and drug dealers, scattering literature across the infertile soil of a prison's worth of undereducated, life-hardened, embittered minds. I was looking for some uplift, here, something about how books can save even the toughest cases.

What I got instead was reality. Avi Steinberg, who falls into prison librarianhood mainly because he is avoiding the expectations of his strict Orthodox Jewish upbringing (Doctor or lawyer or rabbi, oh my!) but not making enough money as a freelance obituary writer (Another career I never really thought existed, though of course it does), does indeed hang out with pimps and drug dealers, but it isn't really funny. These are not the cartoonish pimps that floated through my mind, a cornucopia of platform shoes and ostrich feather hats and 70's jive lingo; these are actual hustlers, men who make their living off of the exploitation of women, men who are cold and calculating and violent no matter how charming they appear. And because they are human beings, they are also emotionally stunted victims themselves, sufferers of abuse and neglect and generational poverty; their less savory characteristics are simply their best defense against the world that surrounds them.

Although there is very little about the saving grace of literature and words and books, Steinberg does paint a vivid and touching portrait of the criminals he dealt with every day for the years he worked in Boston's South Bay prison, as well as a harsh and unflinching one.... These people are complex, despite society's desire to affix simplistic labels and shove them into an appropriate drawer labeled "criminal" or "convict" or "scum." Some of them -- many of them -- are cruel and violent and dangerous, as evidenced by the encounters Steinberg has with them on the outside, once they have been released; two that he recounts in the book are a mugging, and a depressing encounter with a pimp and a hooker, both of whom he knew from the prison; Steinberg plays up to the pimp's ego before he realizes that by doing so he is encouraging the violent exploitation of the drug-addicted woman whom he knew and had friendly feelings towards. But there is also incredible sadness in these devastated lives; though there are no instances of the kind of violence usually depicted in Hollywood movies about prison life (another shallow prejudice broken by this book), there is certainly violence and turmoil, and many of the people Steinberg meets are dead before the book's last page.

What was most clear from reading this book is that Steinberg is an outstanding memoirist; he gives some wonderful background, on himself, his acquaintances within the prison, and prison itself, both the system and the specific institution he worked in. He has remarkable insight, leading me to pause frequently to consider a particular passage or idea; one of the most telling for me was the simple observation that American prison spending has multiplied even while spending on education, and on libraries, has fallen to almost nothing -- a trend that continues and accelerates in today's economy. And he is a great storyteller, able to bring the people and places to life. This was a great book, one that I think anyone would enjoy who had an interest in books or prison -- and I would wager that pretty much everyone has an interest in one or the other, if not both.

A small personal note: as a sometimes reluctant high school teacher, it was fascinating to me personally to read about Steinberg's experiences trying to teach a creative writing course as part of his librarian's duties, because the things he struggled with, and the mistakes that he made and the successes that he had, are very similar to my own experience. Not that I would compare high school students to criminals . . . but the reverse is actually a reasonable comparison; these criminals are in many ways like high school students, and it was very interesting to see. Read more ›

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A surprisingly wonderful read! September 23, 2010

By SkyeNoir

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

I really enjoyed this book. It is about a man, Avi, a Harvard grad and previous Orthodox Jew, who goes on to become a prison librarian, somewhat on a whim, when he isn't sure what direction he wants his life to take. The book can seem a bit disjointed at the beginning, as the first section is more anecdotal, but it all leads up to Avi getting to know and understand the prison system and the inmates. I love the writing in this book. It is lyrical and many "big words" are used, which in most books would feel self indulgent, but they fit perfectly in this story and serve as great descriptors. The inmates in the book are humanized and likable, and Avi shows more contempt for the prison workers than the prisoners themselves. Avi is an idealist and optimistic, and his job tests those personality traits. A great story about a man getting to know himself and understanding the human condition. I also love the cover artwork, it's quite creatively done. I will definitely be recommending this book to others!

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars A Long Sentence September 19, 2010

By Karie Hoskins VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

I chose this book because I was intrigued by the story of a prison librarian...and because one of my favorite writers was quoted on the back with very positive things to say about "Running the Books." And it was interesting...but would have been a more compelling read if - and I've tried to think of any other way to say this - it was shorter.

Since that sounds more than slightly lazy - I suppose what I really mean is that there wasn't a story arc that held my interest through the whole book. Though I realize this is a memoir - there just isn't a climax of any sort. The reader is introduced to Avi, we learn how he ends of applying for and becoming a librarian in a Boston prison...and then we just stay there in prison with him.

We learn more about the prisoners than we do Avi. Which is interesting, of course, but because he is our window into this world that few of us know much about, we want to know more about how he feels in that unreal atmosphere - and the effects that it has on his life outside of work. For that matter - I wanted to learn more about his life outside of work, period.

"The main book man. I like that. I can't help it. For an asthmatic Jewish kid, it's got a nice ring to it. Hired to run Boston's prison library - and serve as the resident creative writing teacher - I am living my (quixotic) dream: a book-slinger with a badge and a streetwise attitude, part bookworm, part badass. This identity has helped me tremendously at cocktail parties."

Because he's one of the few people we read about that spends time in the prison world by choice, I wanted to know more about what kept him there, more about how he felt about leaving and what he did after his prison experience.... He's one of the few that a reader might hold out hope that would leave prison and not return - and so the ending just sort of falls off - leaving many unanswered questions.

The cultural references he brings out about prisons and their role in society were well done, "Archeologists are occasionally unsure whether an unidentified solidly built ancient structure is a prison or whether it is a treasury building. The polar ends of a society's assets - its wealth and its criminals - are guarded with equal vehemence. Both are of supreme concern and utmost value."

For a reader, a librarian is a familiar occupation. The story of that occupation existing in such unfamiliar surroundings should be a compelling one. But because time in prison is measured in such a different way - without more detail on Avi and his life providing an overarching timeline - the reader is left feeling that every prison story has the same result, with just a different inmate. Read more ›

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Well done drama September 13, 2011

By TW Brown, Author, Editor, and Reviewer

Format:Hardcover

Running The Books by Avi Steinberg is one of those titles that stands out as very different from what I am known for reading. No zombies or vampires here. However, it does take the reader inside prison...a concept I AM familiar with.

As somebody familiar with the prison environment, I'm always interested in the mythology that swirls about involving the realm of incarceration. Television--for whatever reason--likes to glamorize the worst of the worst. The tendency is to feature the outlandish wanna-be trannies and the violently anti-social.

Running With The Books is more than just a peek inside the Big House. It is about a man who makes parallel discoveries about his own life and the lives of the inmates he meets at his post as a prison librarian. It is amazing what a person can discover about his own life when watching others.

As somebody who knows, it was fascinating to see the mind of a "civilian" struggle with dealing face-to-face with inmates. There were moments while reading and I would find myself saying, "Avi, you are gonna get screwed." It was tough to read at times...realizing before the writer that he had committed a terrible mistake in an unforgiving environment.

I can say firsthand that there is a real desire among the incarcerated to be treated and thought of as regular men and women. However, it is one of the biggest mistakes that a civilian worker or CO can make inside the fence.

While it is one thing to help and invest time helping an inmate who is trying to better themself...it takes a lot of discipline to not cross a very blurry line. For every "honest" inmate trying to make positive changes in their lives, there are ten who will abuse any act of charity and kindness.... That is a painful thing to say as somebody who has been locked up, but it is the truth.

I could go on forever about that subject, but this is a book review, not a dissertation for a psyche class on the mindset of the incarcerated. Running the Books is a fascinating read...for both sides: civilians and the incarcerated. It would be a brilliant book club selection and spark some fascinating dialog. (Especially if a prison book club were to read it. Yes, such things DO exist.)

If you know somebody who is locked up, send them the book. Otherwise, it is a wonderful and fascinating drama. Steinberg draws you in, not only to his story, but the multitude of stories that unfold around him. Read more ›