A REESE WITHERSPOON x HELLO SUNSHINE BOOK CLUB PICK A WASHINGTON POST TOP 10 BOOK OF THE YEAR * A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER and NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF 2018 “A constant pleasure to read…Everybody who loves books should check out The Library Book.” –The Washington Post “CAPTIVATING…DELIGHTFUL.” –Christian Science Monitor * “EXQUISITELY WRITTEN, CONSISTENTLY ENTERTAINING.” –The New … “CAPTIVATING…DELIGHTFUL.” —Christian Science Monitor * “EXQUISITELY WRITTEN, CONSISTENTLY ENTERTAINING.” —The New York Times * “MESMERIZING…RIVETING.” —Booklist (starred review)
A dazzling love letter to a beloved institution–and an investigation into one of its greatest mysteries–from the bestselling author hailed as a “national treasure” by The Washington Post.
On the morning of April 29, 1986, a fire alarm sounded in the Los Angeles Public Library. As the moments passed, the patrons and staff who had been cleared out of the building realized this was not the usual fire alarm. As one fireman recounted, “Once that first stack got going, it was ‘Goodbye, Charlie.’” The fire was disastrous: it reached 2000 degrees and burned for more than seven hours. By the time it was extinguished, it had consumed four hundred thousand books and damaged seven hundred thousand more. Investigators descended on the scene, but more than thirty years later, the mystery remains: Did someone purposefully set fire to the library–and if so, who?
Weaving her lifelong love of books and reading into an investigation of the fire, award-winning New Yorker reporter and New York Times bestselling author Susan Orlean delivers a mesmerizing and uniquely compelling book that manages to tell the broader story of libraries and librarians in a way that has never been done before.
In The Library Book, Orlean chronicles the LAPL fire and its aftermath to showcase the larger, crucial role that libraries play in our lives; delves into the evolution of libraries across the country and around the world, from their humble beginnings as a metropolitan charitable initiative to their current status as a cornerstone of national identity; brings each department of the library to vivid life through on-the-ground reporting; studies arson and attempts to burn a copy of a book herself; reflects on her own experiences in libraries; and reexamines the case of Harry Peak, the blond-haired actor long suspected of setting fire to the LAPL more than thirty years ago.
Along the way, Orlean introduces us to an unforgettable cast of characters from libraries past and present–from Mary Foy, who in 1880 at eighteen years old was named the head of the Los Angeles Public Library at a time when men still dominated the role, to Dr. C.J.K. Jones, a pastor, citrus farmer, and polymath known as “The Human Encyclopedia” who roamed the library dispensing information; from Charles Lummis, a wildly eccentric journalist and adventurer who was determined to make the L.A. library one of the best in the world, to the current staff, who do heroic work every day to ensure that their institution remains a vital part of the city it serves.
Brimming with her signature wit, insight, compassion, and talent for deep research, The Library Book is Susan Orlean’s thrilling journey through the stacks that reveals how these beloved institutions provide much more than just books–and why they remain an essential part of the heart, mind, and soul of our country. It is also a master journalist’s reminder that, perhaps especially in the digital era, they are more necessary than ever.
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I’ve told nearly everyone I know to read this book. Orlean has an incredible gift when it comes to rendering stories on the page and this story of the 1986 Los Angeles Library fire is no exception. I have never read such a beautiful description of something so destructive. She covers every aspect of the fire–the history of the library, the fire itself, how the staff handled it, how the fire fighters fought and investigated the fire, who might have started it (and the entire investigation related to that), as well as how it was rebuilt and incorporated once more into L.A. culture.
The amount of research that went into this book is immense. Orlean dug up everything you can imagine about the library’s past and spoke to countless individuals ranging from the staff, the firefighters, the police and the family of the man they believe ultimately started the fire.
In passing in the book, she mentions that she had decided to stop writing, but the story of the fire compelled her back into words. For that I am grateful, because as a writer myself, her writing is a true inspiration: her descriptions, her turns of phrase, her deep dives into the people of her books, making you feel like you are there with them. Please Susan Orlean, never stop writing.
Fascinating!
Do you know what a “Biblioburro” is? Well, I didn’t until I read Susan Orlean’s amazing book The Library Book. It is just one of a slew of interesting factoids in a book that is, at its heart, a love story about libraries. The book is centered around the great 1986 fire at the Central Library branch in Los Angeles – which burned for hours, causing millions worth of damage and remains a bit of a mystery even today, but it is so much more than that. It delves into the history of libraries, the importance of them during different eras, what they bring to their communities and what unsung hero’s librarians really are. Libraries are a place to check out books, sure but they are also community hubs and safe havens. Librarians are educators, social workers, community activists, social coordinators and so much more. This was a fantastic book! So well researched, interesting and read like a story. Highly recommend for anyone who loves books, thinks about books, currently reading a book, might pick up a book…everyone!
A book for book lovers, obviously.
Very factual.
Too much detail, but overall pretty interesting.
Lots of interesting information about the Los Angeles library system, the fire and about libraries in general.
Fascinating. Ode to libraries, librarians, and books. Investigation into a possible arsonist. Science lesson about fires. History lesson on the Los Angeles public library, the growth of LA in general, and libraries around the world.
Rated on the fact it is an Interesting story. Redundancy and and difficult timeline transitions were distractions.
2.5 stars.
This is probably going to place me in the minority here, but I did not love this book. In fact, I was bored! While I do think that is partly attributed to the audiobook, it is largely just the way it was written. I was very interested in the LA Library Fire and excited to read about it. I did not realize, however, that not only would I get a history of the fire and its subsequent restoration and investigation, but also a full history of the library from its inception, as well as histories of libraries in general, a treatise about the burning of books and what that has looked like throughout history and cultures, and a litany of the virtues and needs of librarians. Do I have a problem with any of those things? No. In fact, to me, being a librarian would be a dream job and reading about the history of book burning was fascinating, if heartbreaking. I love to read books about books and fully expected to enjoy this one!
But the narrative was long and drawn out, with too many trivial details, too much focus on everything NOT related to the fire, and just not what I expected going in. I didn’t love how everything went back and forth from tidbits about the library fire to a snippet of library history from the 1890’s to a play-by-play account of spending time with the current library director to a brief supposition about Harry Peak to a short synopsis of book burning through history and around and around again. I felt like it jumped all over and wasn’t cohesively tied together. I do think my feeling on that was partly due to the audiobook, because you don’t have any indication from chapter to chapter what will be discussed in each one. But I’m not sure I would have liked it much more if I’d read the physical book. I wanted to like this book and went in fully expecting to, but I was sadly disappointed.
AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: Read by the author. It’s a basic reading, not much for special inflection or to make it an interesting read. I’m a fairly fast reader and therefore always listen to my books a little fast, but usually only 1.25x or 1.5x speed, depending on the reader’s narrative speed. However, this book I listened to at 2x speed, because she was such a slow reader! Even my husband, who hates that I speed up my books and struggles to understand when I do, said it sounded normal (aka not sped up at all) at 1.5x speed and he was initially surprised I hadn’t sped up the book.
learned a lot about the history of libraries in the US
Extremely interesting! I will never think of a library in the same old way again!
I loved learning about the Los Angeles Library and libraries in general.
Very interesting book for any book lover.
Although it was somewhat difficult to plow through, I found the book extremely informative and very well written
Did not hold my attention
I didn’t know what to expect from this book. It’s basically a history of the big fire at the Los Angeles main library but it’s so much more! If you love libraries, this book is for you!
I’m plowing through it. Interesting, but I can’t take too much at one time.
I really couldn’t imagine how she could write as long as book as she did but it was so good. So much history about LA, the library, the fire, the suspect. I’m going to be thinking about this book for a long time. I grew up in LA and didn’t know even a 1/4 of this! Even if you didn’t grow in LA, it is just fascinating. Can’t recommend it enough.
I’m a fan of fiction but this well-told chronicle of all things books and libraries is not to be missed. An extremely well- written true and informative story. A great read.
Susan Orleans writes another entertaining, captivating non fiction tale and embues it with her love of libraries. Terrific story!