I immediately downloaded Dear Committee Members by Julie Schumacher after reading a review and thinking to myself “that’s just what you need to read right now”. After enjoying The Room and Mosquitoland, I’m a little enamoured with the unreliable narrator right now, and a book composed entirely of passive aggressive letters from a tenured English professor sounded like comedy gold.
I wasn’t disappointed at all by this tiny book. At less than 200 pages, it was a quick and enjoyable Saturday afternoon read that had me laughing out loud more than once. My husband kept giving me funny looks, since he was watching a particularly violence-filled movie next to me at the time.
Synopsis: Throughout this book, Jason Fitger, our sarcastic and acerbic narrator, writes letters to coworkers, friends, future employers of his students, and publishers, while attempting to survive the ongoing construction work that has been imposed upon the English department offices to upgrade the Economics offices above. Surrounded by toxic fumes, tripping hazards, and unstable co-workers, Jay is unfailingly honest in every letter he sends, even when those requesting his letters of recommendation would prefer it otherwise.
This is another one of those books that I would love to continue reading long after the last sentence. I wanted to read more of Jay’s letters just to find out what happened to some of the other characters. For me, that makes it a really good book. If I care enough about the secondary characters to want to know more, there has to be something special about the book.
LC rating: 
(amazing book)
The Literary Counsellor 