Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
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.”
Mystery, history, loss, and the library as the heart of civilized human kind. Loved reading this book, and totally in awe of the author’s writing style. Totally captured the importance of libraries and why so many avid readers love libraries.
Beautiful ode to libraries, with lots of interesting history and a true-crime mystery to boot. Loved it.
A wonderful book. Be certain to read to the end of the Acknowledgments.
3.5, rounded up
An enjoyable book. Susan Orlean obviously loves libraries, and seems to have spent many years researching this book. While the overarching theme is supposed to be about the LA central library fire, and a ‘whodunnit,’ the mystery or suspense that may be intended is not there. Instead (and luckily) it’s a beautiful chronicle of libraries and the history of libraries, interwoven with a bit of LA history and Orlean’s own relationship with the library. Left me loving my Austin Public library and librarians even more.
P89 “Hacking into a library’s website seems pointless, since you can access it legitimately anytime, so I asked Mattson why anyone would bother. “They’re practicing,” he said. As he explained it, people hack into the library to rehearse hacking into bigger, more secure, and more valuable targets.”
P93 [re: being forgotten, persistence of memory, ways to be remembered ]
P145 [“Bibliosmiles” group aka “Librarians Who Are Nevertheless Human” w/ slogan “Cheer up, American Library Association!” And Lummis’s nickname “Grim Reality” ]
P196 [excerpt from radio show /Americans at Work/ in the ‘30s ]....”a librarian’s got to be a right smart girl nowadays.”
P198 Director Warren in speech to a library association “librarians should “read as a drunkard drinks or as a bird sings or a cat sleeps or a dog responds to an invitation to go walking, not from conscience or training, but because they’d rather do it than anything else in the world.””
An enjoyable book. Susan Orlean obviously loves libraries, and seems to have spent many years researching this book. While the overarching theme is supposed to be about the LA central library fire, and a ‘whodunnit,’ the mystery or suspense that may be intended is not there. Instead (and luckily) it’s a beautiful chronicle of libraries and the history of libraries, interwoven with a bit of LA history and Orlean’s own relationship with the library. Left me loving my Austin Public library and librarians even more.
P89 “Hacking into a library’s website seems pointless, since you can access it legitimately anytime, so I asked Mattson why anyone would bother. “They’re practicing,” he said. As he explained it, people hack into the library to rehearse hacking into bigger, more secure, and more valuable targets.”
P93 [re: being forgotten, persistence of memory, ways to be remembered ]
P145 [“Bibliosmiles” group aka “Librarians Who Are Nevertheless Human” w/ slogan “Cheer up, American Library Association!” And Lummis’s nickname “Grim Reality” ]
P196 [excerpt from radio show /Americans at Work/ in the ‘30s ]....”a librarian’s got to be a right smart girl nowadays.”
P198 Director Warren in speech to a library association “librarians should “read as a drunkard drinks or as a bird sings or a cat sleeps or a dog responds to an invitation to go walking, not from conscience or training, but because they’d rather do it than anything else in the world.””
I was interested in the parts about the library burning, history of arson investigations, and the investigation. I was less interested in the library fandom sections about the current status of librarianship as it was out of place in this book.
I enjoyed all of the library gushing done in this book. But I wonder if it has the same appeal for non-library employees or enthusiasts? Plus if you've been anywhere near a public library in the last ten years you know we offer so much more than books!
Summary: Susan Orlean reopens the unsolved mystery of the most catastrophic library fire in American history, and delivers a dazzling love letter to a beloved institution--our libraries.
Summary: Susan Orlean reopens the unsolved mystery of the most catastrophic library fire in American history, and delivers a dazzling love letter to a beloved institution--our libraries.
This is a book in three parts: The story of the 1986 Los Angeles library fire, the history of the library, and an unabashed love story about libraries. Orlean deftly interweaves these parts, taking the reader from the catastrophic fire, back to how the LA library evolved to the point of the fire, and what the library is doing today.
Any person who frequents their local library will recognize the work the librarians are doing in the community, and feel the tragic loss a library fire would bring. Orlean's affection for the institution of the library shines through.
Any person who frequents their local library will recognize the work the librarians are doing in the community, and feel the tragic loss a library fire would bring. Orlean's affection for the institution of the library shines through.