Shining City (Google Books ⧉, Amazon ⧉, Bookshop ⧉)

The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians

The older gentleman who approaches the counter isn’t a regular patron. His name is Robert—a navy veteran in his seventies and an avid reader of political fiction. I recommend a book by Tom Rosenstiel: Shining City, the first in a series about a Washington fixer hired to vet a Supreme Court nominee. “What if I don’t like it?” he asks. “Use Nancy Pearl’s formula,” I say, explaining the blueprint that the famed librarian came up with over a decade ago.