The Library Book
In the “exquisitely written, consistently entertaining” (The New York Times) The Library Book, Orlean chronicles the Los Angeles Public Library fire and its aftermath to showcase the larger, crucial role that libraries play in our lives; delves into the evolution of libraries; brings each department of the library to vivid life; studies arson and attempts to burn a copy of a book herself; and reexamines the case of Harry Peak, the blond-haired actor long suspected of setting fire to the LAPL more than thirty years ago.
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The Library Book by Sean Orlean
313 pages
What’s it about?
Susan Orlean explores a fire that occurred at the Los Angeles Public Library in the spring of 1986. When the fire quit burning it had consumed 400,000 books and damaged another 700,000. Orleans uses the Los Angeles fire as a jumping off point to explore arson, but she explores at greater length how libraries have evolved over the years.
What did it make me think about?
Some of my earliest memories are of going to the library as a child- not always willingly- but we went a lot. "Decades had passed and I was threee thousand miles away, but I was whisked back in time and place, back to the scenario of walking into the library with my mother. Nothing had changed- there was the same soft tsk-tsk-tsk of pencil and paper, and the muffled murmuring from patrons at the tables in the center of the room, and the creak and groan of book carts, and the occasional papery clunk of a book dropped on the desk. ..... It wasn't that time stopped in the library. It was as if it were captured here, collected here, and in all libraries- and not only my time, my life, but all human time as well. In the library, time is dammed up- not just stopped but saved. The library is gathering pool of narratives and of the people who come to find them. It is where we can glimpse immortality; in the library, we can live forever." This book took me back and it also emphasized that libraries are an ever changing place.
Should I read it?
This was a really good book about a subject that could be considered dry. If you are looking for a crime book- then be aware that this does explore the library fire but it is about so much more. If you are looking for a book that explores where libraries have been and where they are going- then this book is a great choice.
Quote-
"The publicness of the public library is an increasingly rare commodity. It becomes harder all the time to think of places that welcome everyone and don't charge any money for that warm embrace. The commitment to inclusion is so powerful that many decisions about the library hinge on whether or not a particular choice would cause a subset of the public to feel uninvited."
"Libraries have become a defect community center for the homeless across the globe. There is not a library in the world that hasn't grappled with the issue of how- and how much- to provide for the homeless. Many librarians have told me that they consider this the defining question facing libraries right now."
If you like this try-
Ghettoside A True Story of Murder in America by Jill Leovy
My Brother Moochie by Issac J. Bailey
Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance
The Library Book by Sean Orlean
313 pages
What’s it about?
Susan Orlean explores a fire that occurred at the Los Angeles Public Library in the spring of 1986. When the fire quit burning it had consumed 400,000 books and damaged another 700,000. Orleans uses the Los Angeles fire as a jumping off point to explore arson, but she explores at greater length how libraries have evolved over the years.
What did it make me think about?
Some of my earliest memories are of going to the library as a child- not always willingly- but we went a lot. "Decades had passed and I was threee thousand miles away, but I was whisked back in time and place, back to the scenario of walking into the library with my mother. Nothing had changed- there was the same soft tsk-tsk-tsk of pencil and paper, and the muffled murmuring from patrons at the tables in the center of the room, and the creak and groan of book carts, and the occasional papery clunk of a book dropped on the desk. ..... It wasn't that time stopped in the library. It was as if it were captured here, collected here, and in all libraries- and not only my time, my life, but all human time as well. In the library, time is dammed up- not just stopped but saved. The library is gathering pool of narratives and of the people who come to find them. It is where we can glimpse immortality; in the library, we can live forever." This book took me back and it also emphasized that libraries are an ever changing place.
Should I read it?
This was a really good book about a subject that could be considered dry. If you are looking for a crime book- then be aware that this does explore the library fire but it is about so much more. If you are looking for a book that explores where libraries have been and where they are going- then this book is a great choice.
Quote-
"The publicness of the public library is an increasingly rare commodity. It becomes harder all the time to think of places that welcome everyone and don't charge any money for that warm embrace. The commitment to inclusion is so powerful that many decisions about the library hinge on whether or not a particular choice would cause a subset of the public to feel uninvited."
"Libraries have become a defect community center for the homeless across the globe. There is not a library in the world that hasn't grappled with the issue of how- and how much- to provide for the homeless. Many librarians have told me that they consider this the defining question facing libraries right now."
If you like this try-
Ghettoside A True Story of Murder in America by Jill Leovy
My Brother Moochie by Issac J. Bailey
Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance
Just finished The Library Book by Susan Orlean. (She also wrote The Orchid Thief.) It's a nonfiction book about the giant fire at the LA Public Library and the possible arsonist. It's not told in a linear fashion and jumps all around with the history of the Library, story of the head librarians and love of the library and books in general. I enjoyed it. However, it was definitely rambling and longer than it should have been. Read for the Kemp Library Book Chat. 3.5/5
It’s more a love letter to libraries than about a library fire. Reminded me of why I became a librarian and may have rekindled my professional flame.
This book was nowhere on my radar until it was released. Attracted by the words "library" and "book", I took a look at it. My interest was immediately piqued when I learned it was about the L.A. Central Library fire of 1986. I grew up in L.A. and was in 9th grade when that fire took place.
I quickly discovered, much to my delight, that while the book used the Central Library fire as a focal point for the narrative, it was really about the history of the L.A. public library, and look inside the workings of libraries in general. I found the whole book fascinating.
Orlean talks about books being an experience, and that the value of a library, at least for her, was that she didn't have to buy the books to get the experience. I agree with this. I made exhaustive use of the Granada Hills branch of the L.A. library back when I couldn't afford to buy all of the books I wanted to read
I quickly discovered, much to my delight, that while the book used the Central Library fire as a focal point for the narrative, it was really about the history of the L.A. public library, and look inside the workings of libraries in general. I found the whole book fascinating.
Orlean talks about books being an experience, and that the value of a library, at least for her, was that she didn't have to buy the books to get the experience. I agree with this. I made exhaustive use of the Granada Hills branch of the L.A. library back when I couldn't afford to buy all of the books I wanted to read
It's a bit cliché to describe a book as simultaneously being several different—even contradictory—things, but this is one case where it's quite true. Most prominently, I suppose, this book is focused on the mystery of the 1986 fire which destroyed the Los Angeles Public Library. That focus instantly cleaves into two separate narratives: One following the prime suspect in the case; the other detailing the library's (and the community's) effort to rally and rebuild the library to its glorious present state. These narratives are fully fleshed out, and each feels substantive on its own. But beyond this, Orlean also provides a historical account of the library's birth, growth, and development over nearly the last century and a half, and along the way has some things to say about the role libraries play in our public life overall.
I suppose by definition it's a dense book, as it packs all that into ~300 pages, but it doesn't feel dense. The narrative glides along; I found myself consistently excited to continue along with it. It doesn't read like fiction, the way some of the best creative nonfiction does. But if you enjoy nonfiction generally, as I do, I would definitely recommend it.
I suppose by definition it's a dense book, as it packs all that into ~300 pages, but it doesn't feel dense. The narrative glides along; I found myself consistently excited to continue along with it. It doesn't read like fiction, the way some of the best creative nonfiction does. But if you enjoy nonfiction generally, as I do, I would definitely recommend it.
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