Reading Allowed

Paling's deftly drawn vignettes are frequently funny, sometimes sad and occasionally troubling . . . Borrow a copy from your local library, if you still have one. Better yet, buy it - Mail on Sunday Not only was I captivated by Paling's lovingly wrought series of pen portraits, I was amused, moved and - perhaps most surprising of all - uplifted - Daily Mail There are many detractors who question whether libraries are still relevant in the digital age. Paling's keenly and kindly observed account of his encounters offers a gentle insight as to why they still are - Sunday Times Restorative, gently British feel of these pages . . . It's fun, it's breezy . . . and it's full of Great British Quirk. It made me feel at home, and I recommend it strongly - The Book Bag Much of the dialogue is worthy of Alan Bennett - Spectator Paling's unflashy, plain-speaking and observant style is engaging - Sunday Herald Paling is an observant writer, with a brilliant ear for dialogue, and he sketches the eccentric cast of employees and customers perfectly. Although there is humour here, there is also pathos, as the library dwindles to become the haunt of the elderly and the homeless - a snapshot of people and institutions on the margins of the digital age, a poignant record of the unconnected life - Tablet Minutely observed cast . . . It is pinpoint-specific, as personal as a fingerprint or a reading record . . . The characters here lift these interlinked vignettes into something altogether richer - Times Literary Supplement