I read this back in the 1990's when it first came out, and enjoyed it at the time. And I didn't dislike it this time around, but it had a more dismal tone than I remembered. I don't regret reading it, though. It's hard to find a fantasy book with a protagonist older than her twenties, and Ruth is 30. And I have a soft spot for reading about librarians (or student librarians, as the case may be). Also, I had fun imagining how radically different the story would be if the characters had had cell phones.

In an unregistered LFL on the west side of the street.