This book's strength and weakness are pretty much the same thing. You can dip in and out of the story, enjoy a couple of days of teaching and entertaining stories and then go read something else.

What of course stands out in the story is how little training substitute teachers get in Maine and, no, I don't imagine that it's the only state doing this. Everyone's just trying to get through the day and maybe teach the kids a little something in the meantime. Nicholson Baker is open to whatever he needs to do, he listens, he asks the kids questions about curriculum, scheduling, homework because there's a shortage of adults to let him know what's next. The kids are pretty helpful, and he buzzes along. It seems that Baker is a big guy, and his class days with second graders and their tiny desks are pretty funny. I'd forgotten how together many second graders are.

I'm still dipping in and out of this book, and I recommend "Substitute" for just that. Baker's a good writer and the students and faculty are immediately real and relatable even in the brief time he spends with most of them.

Public school where I live has little in common with what Baker encounters. There's something a little nostalgic about this trip, and for awhile, it was good to be back in the classroom again.