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A review by abbynice
The Library Book by Susan Orlean
3.0
I have to provide a disclaimer here - I read the audiobook, and the narrator does not have a good narration voice. My rating and review may be biased due to this.
The Library Book by Susan Orlean is an exceptionally well-researched book. There is SO much information about libraries, from the Library at Alexandria, to modern libraries today. It was fun to read how much (or little) has changed about libraries over time, and how certain rules (library fines, etc.) came to fruition. It was a fascinating book about the history of libraries...
However, the book advertises itself as a story about the fire at the LA Central Library in the 80s. Although a good amount of this book is about that topic, it is sparsely detailed throughout the book in small chunks that seem unrelated to the surrounding history of libraries. I feel like I would have enjoyed this book much more had Part 1 been about the history of libraries, including the Central Library, and Part 2 had been specifically about the fire. Both sections were incredibly well-researched and well-written, but the transitions between topics were disappointing and confusing.
The Library Book by Susan Orlean is an exceptionally well-researched book. There is SO much information about libraries, from the Library at Alexandria, to modern libraries today. It was fun to read how much (or little) has changed about libraries over time, and how certain rules (library fines, etc.) came to fruition. It was a fascinating book about the history of libraries...
However, the book advertises itself as a story about the fire at the LA Central Library in the 80s. Although a good amount of this book is about that topic, it is sparsely detailed throughout the book in small chunks that seem unrelated to the surrounding history of libraries. I feel like I would have enjoyed this book much more had Part 1 been about the history of libraries, including the Central Library, and Part 2 had been specifically about the fire. Both sections were incredibly well-researched and well-written, but the transitions between topics were disappointing and confusing.