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3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
This was a beautifully-written ode to libraries, and to the people who make them work. As a librarian (and a person who just loves to read), I found it lovely and heartening.
Part of the story was the story of the 1986 LA library fire - what happened, who was involved. That part of the story was riveting. The absolute tragedy of a beautiful and massive library being ravaged by a fire that burned for two days... I kept tearing up while reading it.
I wasn't really pulled in by the story of Harry and whether he was just some self involved dick, or a cool-headed arsonist. I knew that the author was trying to give a balanced view of the facts, since he was never convicted... but going back and forth got a little slow for me. If he wasn't responsible, then I really wasn't interested in some random pathological liar.
Another part was the history of the Los Angeles Public Library, since its inception in the 1800s, and its managers and their views and rules of the library - all the way up to present day. Some of this was really interesting (especially how much the role of libraries has changed over the years, gender politics...).
Present day LA library sounds amazing. I made so many notes about programs currently running in the library, and opportunities for librarians to get more involved with their local communities that I definitely don't have available to me here. There is a lot to learn, and it made me excited to one day experience that for myself.
I would happily recommend this book to someone curious about how libraries work (day to day), how they have changed (to meet the needs of a changing city landscape and community, to applaud librarians for what they do and prove that this is important work.
To Susan Orlean - I'm really glad you rediscovered your love of the library, and wrote this book for us. I especially loved how the library was the touchstone of so many happy memories with your mother. That is how I want someone to feel when they step into my library - welcomed, excited. Thank you for sharing your experience with all of us.
Part of the story was the story of the 1986 LA library fire - what happened, who was involved. That part of the story was riveting. The absolute tragedy of a beautiful and massive library being ravaged by a fire that burned for two days... I kept tearing up while reading it.
I wasn't really pulled in by the story of Harry and whether he was just some self involved dick, or a cool-headed arsonist. I knew that the author was trying to give a balanced view of the facts, since he was never convicted... but going back and forth got a little slow for me. If he wasn't responsible, then I really wasn't interested in some random pathological liar.
Another part was the history of the Los Angeles Public Library, since its inception in the 1800s, and its managers and their views and rules of the library - all the way up to present day. Some of this was really interesting (especially how much the role of libraries has changed over the years, gender politics...).
Present day LA library sounds amazing. I made so many notes about programs currently running in the library, and opportunities for librarians to get more involved with their local communities that I definitely don't have available to me here. There is a lot to learn, and it made me excited to one day experience that for myself.
I would happily recommend this book to someone curious about how libraries work (day to day), how they have changed (to meet the needs of a changing city landscape and community, to applaud librarians for what they do and prove that this is important work.
To Susan Orlean - I'm really glad you rediscovered your love of the library, and wrote this book for us. I especially loved how the library was the touchstone of so many happy memories with your mother. That is how I want someone to feel when they step into my library - welcomed, excited. Thank you for sharing your experience with all of us.
Really this 2.5 rounded up to 3 stars, because wow did that feel like it took forever to get through.
I wanted to love this book. So much. From the moment I read a review months ago (before it was named any book club's pick). I even specifically made a trip to the book store to pick a hard copy when I saw that not only did they have only 1 in stock at the time, but it was also a signed copy. I mean it's a a book about books and libraries. Why wouldn't I want to love it.
Unfortunately, love is not the word I'd use to describe my reading experience. Sure there were points that I really liked it and there were parts that I enjoyed. But the meandering path that the narrative took to get from beginning to end was excruciating. It felt like one of those Family Circus comics where Billy takes the longest, most out of the way routes to get from A to B. Part of that I blame on the PR and dust jacket descriptions that made it sound like this books mostly focused on the 1986 fire at Los Angeles' Central Library. Made it sound like this was a cold case, an unsolvable mystery with some other anecdotal information thrown in. Starting out that's what it was. The focus was on the fire and what happened that day; how it was buried in the news cycle because bigger news happened a world away. And then the author made a hard left turn into tangent-ville. There's a section on the history of book burning (which, ok I can kind of see that connection, but there was too much). Then there's all the stuff on the history of the LA library system and how it's changed and how it all works today. So much so that we went huge section of the book without even a side mention of the fire, Harry Peak, the investigation, the lawsuits etc. But I also put some of the blame on the author. I know she loves using note cards to organize her thoughts/narrative order, but it seemed there was no order. One page she's talking about the fire, 3 pages later she's talking about interviewing a current librarian about their new social program and 10 pages after that she's babbling in great detail about what happened in 1923. It was that minutia on things that didn't matter to the over all story that left me not feeling bad about putting the book down.
While I appreciate the vast amount of research the author accumulated and I understand wanting to use as much of it as possible, I feel this was really two books that shouldn't have been squished into one.
I wanted to love this book. So much. From the moment I read a review months ago (before it was named any book club's pick). I even specifically made a trip to the book store to pick a hard copy when I saw that not only did they have only 1 in stock at the time, but it was also a signed copy. I mean it's a a book about books and libraries. Why wouldn't I want to love it.
Unfortunately, love is not the word I'd use to describe my reading experience. Sure there were points that I really liked it and there were parts that I enjoyed. But the meandering path that the narrative took to get from beginning to end was excruciating. It felt like one of those Family Circus comics where Billy takes the longest, most out of the way routes to get from A to B. Part of that I blame on the PR and dust jacket descriptions that made it sound like this books mostly focused on the 1986 fire at Los Angeles' Central Library. Made it sound like this was a cold case, an unsolvable mystery with some other anecdotal information thrown in. Starting out that's what it was. The focus was on the fire and what happened that day; how it was buried in the news cycle because bigger news happened a world away. And then the author made a hard left turn into tangent-ville. There's a section on the history of book burning (which, ok I can kind of see that connection, but there was too much). Then there's all the stuff on the history of the LA library system and how it's changed and how it all works today. So much so that we went huge section of the book without even a side mention of the fire, Harry Peak, the investigation, the lawsuits etc. But I also put some of the blame on the author. I know she loves using note cards to organize her thoughts/narrative order, but it seemed there was no order. One page she's talking about the fire, 3 pages later she's talking about interviewing a current librarian about their new social program and 10 pages after that she's babbling in great detail about what happened in 1923. It was that minutia on things that didn't matter to the over all story that left me not feeling bad about putting the book down.
While I appreciate the vast amount of research the author accumulated and I understand wanting to use as much of it as possible, I feel this was really two books that shouldn't have been squished into one.
adventurous
informative
reflective
medium-paced
I found this fascinating. I learned lots of things about places I've been and places I want to go. It made me feel way more passionate about my current library. I wasn't expecting what it was and I'm grateful I didn't know much going in because I don't know if I would have read it.
My first Orlean book - I have heard so much about the Orchid Thief, but haven't read it. For some reason, I thought this was fiction, but instead, it is engaging and fast-moving nonfiction.
While there were some interesting tidbits on library history, I felt this was a bit disjointed and read like a textbook I would have been assigned in library school. The fire garnered very little of the book. I can see where it might be interesting if you don’t already work in libraries, but even aside from the fact that I wasn’t learning much new information, I felt this could have been structured differently. Note that I’m in the minority so you may love this book even though I found it tedious at times.
What a wonderful, wonderful book. This is a book about the Los Angeles Public Library fire of 1986, but more than that, this is a book about libraries and books. In between chapters on the investigation and the aftermath of the fire, Susan Orlean dives into the past and present of the Los Angeles Public Library. It was fascinating to learn about all the people who made the library what it is today, from the fierce women (Tessa Kelso! I would love to learn more about her) who led the library in its first few decades, to the current librarians today who use the library to help provide social services to those in need.
Author Susan Orlean uses the catastrophic 1986 fire at the Los Angeles Public Library as a backdrop to write a beautiful homage to libraries. A mixture of tracing the unsolved mystery of who started the fire, a history of the library itself, the staff that imbibe life into the historical building, to her personal reflections on the importance of libraries. As a library employee of more than nine years, this was truly a joy to read.
The book had three main threads, the history of the fire at the LA library, the history of the Goodhue building, and the present and future of the LA library ND all libraries. I loved this book. I am such a huge fan of libraries and learning about his one special library and its amazing collections was so much fun. Parts of the book that looked to the future of libraries made me teary. May libraries ever endure.