Virtual Event – Call Me Ishmael Phone Book

Call Me Ishmael is an online project that invites readers to celebrate the books they love. Anyone can call and leave a voicemail message about their favorite book; thousands of bibliophiles have already called and over a million readers have listened to this library of stories. You too can call and leave a voicemail about your favorite book, 774-325-0503.

To continue their mission of celebrating books, The Call Me Ishmael Phone Book is a revival of the yellow-paged directory you remember, but instead of finding contact information, you’ll use the Phone Book to find and celebrate amazing works of literature. Quirky, nostalgic, and full of heart, inside of it you’ll find interactive stories, literary landmarks, interviews with indie bookshops, and so much more.

The Call Me Ishmael Phone Book features some of our favorite calls, along with hundreds of brand new, anonymous bookish stories that will only be available through the book.

Magic City Books welcomes the co-founders of Call Me Ishmael, Logan Smalley and Stephanie Kent, for a virtual event on Thursday November 19 at 7:00 pm to discuss the project and their “Phone Book”.

This free event will be hosted on the Zoom platform and Facebook Live. To register in advance for the Zoom event, visit: https://magiccitybooks.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_2csXBa7TQ0q5KiPzKihTtw.

After you register, you will receive a confirmation email with details about how to join the event on Thursday November 19 at 7:00 central.

The Call Me Ishmael Phone Book is currently available at Magic City Books and can be purchased online here: https://magiccitybooks.square.site/product/call-me-ishmael-phone-book/321. 

About The Call Me Ishmael Phone Book

The Call Me Ishmael Phone Book is an interactive illustrated homage to the beautiful ways in which books bring meaning to our lives and how our lives bring meaning to books. Carefully crafted in the style of a retro telephone directory, this guide offers you a variety of unique ways to connect with readers, writers, bookshops, and life-changing stories.

In it, you’ll discover…
-Heartfelt, anonymous voicemail messages and transcripts from real-life readers sharing unforgettable stories about their most beloved books. You’ll hear how a mother and daughter formed a bond over their love for Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus, or how a reader finally felt represented after reading Gene Luen Yang’s American Born Chinese, or how two friends performed Mary Oliver’s Thirst to a grove of trees, or how Anne Frank inspired a young writer to continue journaling.
-Hidden references inside fictional literary adverts like Ahab’s Whale Tours and Miss Ophelia’s Psychic Readings, and real-life literary landmarks like Maya Angelou City Park and the Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum.
-Lists of bookstores across the USA, state by state, plus interviews with the book lovers who run them.
-Various invitations to become a part of this book by calling and leaving a bookish voicemail of your own.
-And more!

Quirky, nostalgic, and full of heart, The Call Me Ishmael Phone Book is a love letter to the stories that change us, connect us, and make us human.