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3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
funny
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
This book was so interesting, I went out and bought it for my father-in-law. It's sort of a loose true crime about a library that was set in the Los Angeles Central Library, and the hundreds of years of history leading up to it, but at its heart it is a love letter to libraries. Anyone familiar with wandering the stacks or spending hours studying in quiet corners will enjoy this book - Orlean writes with heart and insight.
While "The Library Book" centers around the 1986 fire in the Los Angeles Central Library, it really is more of a love story to books, libraries, librarians and the roles these play in our communities. Libraries have long been the agents of social change, bastions of inclusion and acceptance, encouraging open minds and explorations into new ideas. Beautiful writing, engaging story telling, fascinating research and history make this book a true gem. Having grown up in Los Angeles, it was extra special for me to read about the city and the many city workers and volunteers over the years who have poured their support into the LA Public Library system.
"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 a 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". (pg. 11-12).
"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." (pg. 67).
"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 a 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". (pg. 11-12).
"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." (pg. 67).
What an absorbing book - Susan Orlean writes excellent narrative nonfiction, and she has a wonderful way with words.
Felt nostalgic and quirky and well researched and true. This book made me feel comforted and loved and taught, just like how the library itself makes me feel. Only reason it's not 5 stars is it did feel a little slow to read at times (although it is nonfiction, so I can't fault it for that).
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
I love this book. Great story about the fire interspersed with a love letter to libraries. Interesting characters and history.
Hope to visit the LA library when next in LA.
Hope to visit the LA library when next in LA.
Susan Orleans blends true crime, obscure history and personal experience expertly in The Library Book, a book that tells 150 years of history of Libraries in Los Angeles and around the world, and the mysterious story of the fire that nearly burned it all to the ground in the 80s. You may at first ask yourself why you're reading a book about this story, but you won't be able to put it down.
I like me a good biography. This followed the mystery of whether the fire that almost destroyed the LA library was deliberate or not. You'd think reading about filing systems and librarians would be boring but I was quite fascinated!
On the surface, it's the story of the Los Angeles main library branch fire of 1986, but of course with Susan Orlean it's more than just that surface – it's what libraries mean to us, how we got here, and why and so much more.
“Even the oddest, most peculiar book was written with that kind of courage -- the writer's belief that someone would find his or her book important to read. I was struck by how precious and foolish and brave that belief is, and how necessary, and how full of hope it is to collect these books and manuscripts and preserve them. It declares that stories matter, and so does every effort to create something that connects us to one another, and to our past, and to what is still to come.”