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A review by avrilhj
The Library Book by Rebecca Gray
4.0
A mixed bag, mostly delightful, occasionally moving, sometimes hilarious. A collection of essays, articles and stories about the importance of libraries, this book includes some absolute gems. Stephen Fry discovering Oscar Wilde; Val McDermid pretending her mother is bed-ridden in order to borrow adult books; an article by Bella Bathurst on 'The Secret Lives of Libraries' - I'd happily have bought the book for these three pieces alone.
Zadie Smith's article on the necessity of public libraries is brilliant and deeply logical: "It has always been, and always will be, very difficult to explain to people with money what it means not to have money. If education matters to you, they ask, and if libraries matter to you, well, why wouldn't you be willing to pay for them if you value them? They are the kind of people who believe value can only be measured in money, at the extreme end of which logic lies the dangerous idea that people who do not generate a lot of money for their families cannot possibly value their families as people with money do." Australians are as prone to this dangerous idea as the British; I'd like every local councillor to read Zadie Smith's 'Library Life'.
It felt strange to BUY a book about the wonders of BORROWING books, but the profits do go to The Reading Agency. And I am inspired to go hang out at my local library, and to try to make sure it's there for future generations.
Zadie Smith's article on the necessity of public libraries is brilliant and deeply logical: "It has always been, and always will be, very difficult to explain to people with money what it means not to have money. If education matters to you, they ask, and if libraries matter to you, well, why wouldn't you be willing to pay for them if you value them? They are the kind of people who believe value can only be measured in money, at the extreme end of which logic lies the dangerous idea that people who do not generate a lot of money for their families cannot possibly value their families as people with money do." Australians are as prone to this dangerous idea as the British; I'd like every local councillor to read Zadie Smith's 'Library Life'.
It felt strange to BUY a book about the wonders of BORROWING books, but the profits do go to The Reading Agency. And I am inspired to go hang out at my local library, and to try to make sure it's there for future generations.