Reviews with content warning for Death - The Library Book

Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Library Book by Susan Orlean

9 reviews

bebidocrimes's review against another edition

hopeful informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

4.5

This was less a story about the 1986 LA Central Library fire and more a story about its full history, as well as a love letter to all libraries. Nonetheless, a delightful read! It really rekindles my love for what a library does for its community, as well as all that it can become. They are a shining beacon of community support and everyone needs to nurture a strong appreciation for them.

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hanz's review against another edition

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informative reflective slow-paced

3.0

Think I'd class this more as history or even social issues as opposed to true crime. The book jumps around a lot between the fire and its investigation, the history of the LA library and the current people and services of that library.

The history parts were my favourite and there were a lot of interesting facts about the people involved in the early stages of the library.

Occasionally hard to follow because it jumped around a lot and I found that some of the chapters ended quite abruptly and didn't really have a conclusion to add to the overall point of the book, however I'm relatively new to non fiction so could just be me.

The author also repeated used either he or she to refer to an arbitrary person, which was a little jarring and felt out of place with some of the themes of the book.

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betsyhokamp's review

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informative medium-paced

4.0

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caseythereader's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.75

- THE LIBRARY BOOK is more than just an investigation of whether L.A. Central Library was a victim of arson. It's also a history of the branch, of libraries generally, and a look at what libraries have evolved into today and the challenges librarians tackle every day.
- This book is a love letter to libraries and a message of gratitude to librarians. The descriptions of people and places read like fiction, and I just couldn't put it down.
- I really appreciated the repeated emphasis on how libraries are expected to fill every social need and gap in our safety nets, in particular in regards to supporting unhoused people but also in dozens of other ways. It shows us how far beyond their limits (financial, educational, etc.) we have forced them to stretch.

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linesiunderline's review against another edition

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informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.0

A love letter to libraries past and present, and a catalogue of all that they offer to patrons, then and now, this book is fascinating and teaches readers a great deal along the way. Orlean’s writing is clear and compelling, and I mostly enjoyed the meandering structure, though it wasn’t what I had initially anticipated. Certain players in the library’s history were more interesting than others, and overall I’d have liked even more attention payed to Harry Peak’s part in it all. You’ll put this one down and be more awestruck than before at the miracle and necessity of libraries.

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