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3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
one might have to be a library geek to appreciate all of this book, but i guess i am :-) still, i think anyone would enjoy the storyline about the LA library fire.
This exploration of the history of the LA Library and its devastating fire reads like a love letter to libraries everywhere. A little slow, but full of great information and details. I appreciated all the context around the story.
I found the ending to be a bit frustrating, but c’est la vie.
I found the ending to be a bit frustrating, but c’est la vie.
Läs min recension på bloggen: https://www.fiktiviteter.se/2020/09/08/the-library-book-av-susan-orlean/
The Library Book was more than the story of the 1980s LA Central Library building fire. It included library history, arson investigation/research, booking burning history, and some LA history. It bounced around a bit between topics but I felt they all worked together to support the story of the library building fire. Highly recommend this book.
Did you know that in 1986 that the Los Angeles Library experiences a devastating fire? Because I had no idea, but as a lover of libraries as well as someone familiar with the author, Susan Orlean, I knew I wanted to give this book a try. It was everything I'd hoped for from her - true crime, social history, library history and the current state of affairs in libraries as both repositories of information and centers of communities. I felt a profound and surprising emotion when I thought about books burning - the thought of a library burning and all priceless treasures turning to ash hit a really tender spot. And the section about the power of writing and the "persistence of memory" read almost like scripture to me. It maybe went a little long and I skimmed a tiny bit but overall, it was an engaging read. This book is not just about an event and a possible crime - it is also an homage to the power and fragility of the written word and all those who choose to spend their lives engaged with it.
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
Moderately interesting content but the writing was just fine.
Really enjoyed this latest from Susan Orlean, The Library Book. A sort of true crime exploration of the 1986 Los Angeles Central Library fire combined with an engaging history of LAPL from its inception, interspersed throughout with Orleans’s reflections on her life as a reader, her relationship with her son and her own mother, and with her adopted hometown of Los Angeles.
Sort of a memoir of an institution - I loved it!