If you are a reader, you’ve heard of James Patterson, even if you’ve never read one of his books. And, I have to say, as much as librarians joke that he has a new book out every week, we also appreciate everything he does for reading, all the authors he has introduced, and the fact that people do read his books. No one will be surprised to discover that his memoir, James Patterson: The Stories of My Life features short chapters and has a fast pace. He considers himself a storyteller, and that’s exactly what he does, tells stories about his life as he remembers it. It’s funny and there are a few chapters that brought me to tears, including the one about the fist love of his life.

Patterson tells of his childhood and college years attending Catholic schools. He includes stories of his friends and family, especially the grandparents that he loved. Although he was successful in advertising, becoming CEO of the advertising agency J. Walter Thompson North America at thirty-eight, he always wanted to be a writer. He was twenty-six when he sold his first book, and had four bestselling Alex Cross novels before he quit his day job in advertising.

I did enjoy some of the stories Patterson told. He talks about book tours, and said he would ask book escorts who the nicest author was that they ever escorted on tour. “Hands down, it was the late Mary Higgins Clark.” And, he says he tries to be kind when he’s approached by people who enjoy his books because Kurt Vonnegut and Tom Wolfe and Wilfred Sheed were kind to him, “really good role models”.

I enjoyed the chapter about people he loved in his life, and some of the name-dropping stories were amusing. But, as a librarian, I’ll admit my favorite parts of the book were about his work to get children to read. Several times, he talks about the importance of kids reading It’s so important he covers it in several chapters. And, in one, he stresses the importance of getting kids reading and loving what they read. “You may have noticed that our country is on fire again. At least part of the reason for that is that so many of our kids can’t read.”

Then, there’s this. “Mostly, I choose to give pro bono speeches to kids or large groups of teachers or librarians. I like the enthusiasm of the audiences. For one thing, they’re readers. Interestingly, librarians are particularly lively – those crazy little book addicts get all my jokes and most of my obscure literary references.”

I’ll take that summary – “crazy little book addicts”. And, I’ll recommend Patterson’s memoir as an enjoyable book of stories, just what he would appreciate.

James Patterson’s website is https://www.jamespatterson.com/

James Patterson: The Stories of My Life by James Patterson. Little, Brown & Company., 2022. ISBN 9780316397537 (hardcover), 360p.

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