My Thoughts

THE WORLD’S STRONGEST LIBRARIAN is a non-fiction story about Hanagarne’s struggle with Tourette Syndrome. I had a like / hate relationship with the book, mostly due to his writing style.

Hanagarne grew up Mormon and lost his faith. As a Mormon myself, I really loved his funny anecdotes about how family scripture study never seems to go the way parents want it to or the fact that the scriptures can be very boring to read. I also loved his anecdotes about those members who are so caught up in everything religious / spiritual, they can’t have any fun because they think it isn’t appropriate. And, I really loved how honest he was about how he felt about the fact that he was struggling and didn’t know if he believed. It was raw and endearing because of his struggles.

I struggled with how he introduced Mormon beliefs that his family taught him as a child. He used words like “supposedly” or “allegedly.” I feel like he could’ve just left those out and said something to the effect of him not believing it himself. That has much less negative connotation and doesn’t attack those who do believe the doctrine. At times, it felt like he was pandering to two crowds as if he didn’t want to offend either the extremely religious or those who had left the faith all together. It felt very two-sided whether it was intentional or not.

I thought how he described what it was like to live with Tourette’s was very interesting. I learned a lot. I had preconceived notions of what the disorder was and now I feel like I understand it much better. I feel bad for him and anyone who lives with this disorder. I’d hate not having control over my body. I can see why it makes things difficult.

I thought he was very funny and his life was interesting to read about. I’m glad I read his memoir and I’m excited to discuss it at book club.