The Call Me Ishmael Phone Book: An Interactive Guide to Life-Changing Books

The Call Me Ishmael Phone Book is one of the most ingenious ideas for a book I’ve learned about this year. The concept is simple: anyone can call the number listed on the cover and multiple pages throughout the book. The “welcome” message will direct you to either leave a review of your favorite book or else listen to a review already left by an anonymous reader. To listen to a particular review, the caller will dial an extension for a specific book. The phone book is your resource to know the extension numbers as well as ideas for new books to read. Like a real phone book, there are ads spread throughout the pages for different novels. Bookstores found across the country are categorized by state in order to allow the reader to explore some new reading territory.

This is such a neat concept for a book and it should appeal to avid readers everywhere. I haven’t stopped telling people in my house about it, and they genuinely seem interested! I noticed that for each category of book, there are only maybe six titles listed; I’m curious as to how they could keep it that short. Regardless, check out The Call Me Ishmael Phone Book for some interactive fun with books.