Reviews - The Library Book

5.36k reviews for:

Despite this being being a non-fiction retelling of the LA fire and who may have done it I found this book to be so much more. It is such a nice ode to libraries. It made me appreciate them more than I already do and it totally changed my opinion of librarians and the people that work at libraries. I find them all much more interesting now.

mrs_fitzreads's review against another edition

5.0

Have you ever read a book and it just fits with your life? I savored every detail in this book. Non-fiction tale of a library fire in 1986 at LA. Central library. Susan Orlean makes this story come alive so much that you have to keep asking yourself, did this really happen? And this story that celebrates stories and all things library, might have lead me to a career change. “The library is a gathering pool of narratives and of the people who come to find them.”

brookeisbooked's review against another edition

2.0

I had really high hopes for this book and was so disappointed.

It started off really interesting, talking about the fire and the crime, but after a few chapters, it totally lost me. It's less about arson and the crime at the LA Public Library and more about the history if libraries in general. It was a bunch of random facts strung together, jumping all over the place without rhyme or reason. It felt like the author was just trying to fill the whole middle of the book with info so she could have maybe four chapters about the actual fire at the library.

I love libraries and I love books, but I most definitely did not love this book about libraries. If you're a history nerd, you'll like this one. Everyone else, skip it.

ejbayer's review against another edition

5.0

I need to go visit the Central Library the next time I’m in LA.

naceprettub's review against another edition

5.0

When this was out on Reese Witherspoon’s book club I wasn’t really sure if it was something I’d be interested in reading but I put it on my holds at the library anyway. That was January! I started the audio book as soon as it was available to me and I was fascinated and hooked from the beginning, which really surprised me because I usually read fiction and that’s it. I wasn’t aware of the LA library fire, because I was just 5 years old when it happened, but the idea of that many books and artifacts was heartbreaking. I liked that the book covered not only the fire but the lives of some of the employees and the history of the library itself. I’ve never really thought about something like this happening but I can’t imagine how devastating it could be. My local library system is the most used in the state so I can see how catastrophic it could be to lose it. Anyway, The Library Book was a fascinating read and I highly recommend it.