Take a photo of a barcode or cover
danadalloway 's review for:
The Library Book
by Susan Orlean
One would think that:
A. Orlean got paid by the word, as it was alleged that Dickens did, because there is a lot of padding in this book;
B. Orlean did not have an editor.
The opening chapter is a marvel of nostalgia and an evocative paean to literacy, libraries, and mothers. Orlean records fascinating and instantly forgettable facts and seems to lose track of her narrative about the fire at the LA Central Library for several chapters at a time. By 200 pages in, I thought if she wandered into one more Story Hour or interviewed another librarian who did teen literacy outreach, I would hurl my Kindle across the room. (Yes, I read a book about books without a book.) Ultimately, I felt she did a grave disservice to poor Harry Peak, misleading her readers through what is really a series of randomly linked essays about libraries in general.
A. Orlean got paid by the word, as it was alleged that Dickens did, because there is a lot of padding in this book;
B. Orlean did not have an editor.
The opening chapter is a marvel of nostalgia and an evocative paean to literacy, libraries, and mothers. Orlean records fascinating and instantly forgettable facts and seems to lose track of her narrative about the fire at the LA Central Library for several chapters at a time. By 200 pages in, I thought if she wandered into one more Story Hour or interviewed another librarian who did teen literacy outreach, I would hurl my Kindle across the room. (Yes, I read a book about books without a book.) Ultimately, I felt she did a grave disservice to poor Harry Peak, misleading her readers through what is really a series of randomly linked essays about libraries in general.