Susan Orlean

Orlean re-opens the unsolved mystery of the most catastrophic library fire in American history and delivers a love letter to the institution of libraries themselves.

The Library Book

A REESE WITHERSPOON x HELLO SUNSHINE BOOK CLUB PICK A WASHINGTON POST TOP 10 BOOK OF THE YEAR * A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER and NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF 2018 “A constant pleasure to read…Everybody who loves books should check out The Library Book.” —The Washington Post “CAPTIVATING…DELIGHTFUL.” —Christian Science Monitor * “EXQUISITELY WRITTEN, CONSISTENTLY ENTERTAINING.” —The New York Times * “MESMERIZING…RIVETING.” —Booklist (starred review) A dazzling love letter to a beloved institution—and an investigation into one of its greatest mysteries—from the bestselling author hailed as a “national treasure” by The Washington Post. On the morning of April 29, 1986, a fire alarm sounded in the Los Angeles Public Library. As the moments passed, the patrons and staff who had been cleared out of the building realized this was not the usual fire alarm. As one fireman recounted, “Once that first stack got going, it was ‘Goodbye, Charlie.’” The fire was disastrous: it reached 2000 degrees and burned for more than seven hours. By the time it was extinguished, it had consumed four hundred thousand books and damaged seven hundred thousand more. Investigators descended on the scene, but more than thirty years later, the mystery remains: Did someone purposefully set fire to the library—and if so, who? Weaving her lifelong love of books and reading into an investigation of the fire, award-winning New Yorker reporter and New York Times bestselling author Susan Orlean delivers a mesmerizing and uniquely compelling book that manages to tell the broader story of libraries and librarians in a way that has never been done before. In The Library Book, Orlean chronicles the LAPL fire and its aftermath to showcase the larger, crucial role that libraries play in our lives; delves into the evolution of libraries across the country and around the world, from their humble beginnings as a metropolitan charitable initiative to their current status as a cornerstone of national identity; brings each department of the library to vivid life through on-the-ground reporting; studies arson and attempts to burn a copy of a book herself; reflects on her own experiences in libraries; and reexamines the case of Harry Peak, the blond-haired actor long suspected of setting fire to the LAPL more than thirty years ago. Along the way, Orlean introduces us to an unforgettable cast of characters from libraries past and present—from Mary Foy, who in 1880 at eighteen years old was named the head of the Los Angeles Public Library at a time when men still dominated the role, to Dr. C.J.K. Jones, a pastor, citrus farmer, and polymath known as “The Human Encyclopedia” who roamed the library dispensing information; from Charles Lummis, a wildly eccentric journalist and adventurer who was determined to make the L.A. library one of the best in the world, to the current staff, who do heroic work every day to ensure that their institution remains a vital part of the city it serves. Brimming with her signature wit, insight, compassion, and talent for deep research, The Library Book is Susan Orlean’s thrilling journey through the stacks that reveals how these beloved institutions provide much more than just books—and why they remain an essential part of the heart, mind, and soul of our country. It is also a master journalist’s reminder that, perhaps especially in the digital era, they are more necessary than ever.

Henry Stromberg

I liked the idea that the library is more expansive and grand than one single mind, and that it requires many people together to form a complete index of its bounty.

Patron wants to know origin of the expression “bear coughed at the North Pole.” (Unable to provide answer.)

In Senegal, the polite expression for saying someone died is to say his or her library has burned.

I found myself wondering whether a shared memory can exist if one of the people sharing it no longer remembers it.

A book feels like a thing alive in this moment, and also alive on a continuum, from the moment the thoughts about it first percolated in the writer’s mind to the moment it sprang off the printing press—a lifeline that continues as someone sits with it and marvels over it, and it continues on, time after time after time.

We were very much a reading family, but we were a borrow-a-book-from-the-library family more than a bookshelves-full-of-books family.

Emma Miller

 This is why I wanted to write this book, to tell about a place I love that doesn't belong to me but feels like it is mine, and how that feels marvelous and exceptional.

You don't need to take a book off a shelf to know there is a voice inside that is waiting to speak to you, and behind that was someone who truly believed that if he or she spoke, someone would listen… I was struck by how precious and foolish and brave that belief is and how necessary and full of hope it is to collect these books and manuscripts and preserve them.

A library is a good place to soften solitude

Talking to him was like engaging in a fistfight with someone gazing at himself in a mirror while punching you.

In Senegal, the polite expression for saying someone died is to say his or her library has burned. 

We are all whispering in a tin can on a string, but we are heard, so we whisper the message into the next tin can and the next string. 

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.

I am having a very similar experience at this point in my life.

AIl I know is that I lost my appreciation for the slow pace of making your way through a library and for having books on borrowed time. I wanted to have my books around me, forming a totem pole of the narratives I'd visited.

Katheryn

absolutely beautiful read start to finish. what really connects us? how does the most accepting and equalizing public service space in the city reflect its good, bad, and ugly? who do librarians become in times of need or change, and who can the community become to its beloved library in times of catastrophe? i loved all the history and intricate details. the people seemed to breathe from the page from all the personality and humanity infused into their descriptions. such a necessary read for anyone like me who grew up visiting the library, and thinking it was magic. i related to the author so much, as i'm sure most of the world does (or should). i'll think about this book for a long time. 

Kamu Pancholi

Sajiya Chaudhary

It is an emotional read for those who connect with books like it was a living being. Susan Orlean is a brilliant writer and an even more empathetic book lover, or I should say Library lover. Those who have seen 'Chernobyl', know what a tragic and horrific event that was, but LA Central Library Fire (happening at the same time) wasn't less horrific either. I have read this book once, and I am sure I am going to read it again. Just for the pleasure of knowing the history of connection, that we have with books.

Ainsley Jeffery

Possibly my favourite read of this year so far. Susan Orlean takes the reader through a story about the Los Angelos Central Library fire of 1986. Through a back and forth of history and Orleans connective storytelling of those involved, I felt reflective of what the public library had meant to me and my community. Just so good and couldn’t recommend more to anyone who values the public library in any way.

Sarah Sammis

Orlean gets sidetracked by writing lengthy biographies of the various men who ran the library (as well as asshole Melville Dewey). Although there were women librarians in charge too, their careers are glossed over. Libraries are primarily, overwhelmingly run by women but men consistently get the majority of the attention, even in a book written by a woman.

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Derek Barlas

Sot of non-fiction history of the San Francisco Library fire. But it also weaves in the details of lots of characters so it kinda becomes like a novel.

altlovesbooks

"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."

This is a weird book to rate, because the book’s blurb indicates it’s about the Los Angeles Public Library fire in 1986, and while that’s certainly covered, there’s also quite a bit of other stuff in here that may or may not interest the average reader. I, however, loved it all, because it spoke to all the reasons why I work in a library and spent the (considerable) time and money to get a degree in the field. If you want to read about a crazy library fire and also the history of libraries and the many different ways libraries have evolved over the years, you will find the same pleasure in this book that I did.

Interspersed with the chapters about the leadup to the fire, the firefighters battling the fire, and the aftermath and the impacts it had on the librarians and the community, you’ll get a profile of a man who was the prime arson suspect, the history of libraries in general and the history of Los Angeles Public Library in specific, and the author’s experiences with visiting the library today. It hops around a ton and covers a lot of ground, but I don’t think any of it ever bored me. I especially liked the discussion around homeless/displaced people in the library, because it’s a tough topic without an easy answer.

If you’re looking for a book strictly about the fire though, this one may not be for you. While the chapters on the fire itself were fascinating, it doesn’t feel like there was enough material there for a full book experience. The topics covered were interesting, but I can see how some of the material may be boring or dry for anyone not already in the library field or interested in how libraries have evolved over the years. 

Support your local libraries. Even if you don’t think you need their services, vote locally and ensure they receive the funding they so desperately need to serve the ones who depend on them.

Rakan

بعد قرائتي للكتاب مازلت في ضياع اذا ماكان الموضوع عن احتراق مكتبة لوس آنجلوس العامة عام ٨٦ او عن بعض من المواقف الحاصلة فيها على مر السنوات الماضية
عمومًا كتاب ممتاز. جدًا ممتاز 
حقيقةً في جزئيات كثيرة من الكتاب كنت مستمتع مع ان عن طريق الصدفة اخذته من على احد الرفوف. 
في اوقات كثيرة الكتاب انحرف عن مساره الرئيسي. كانت في اوقات معينة ممتعة ولكن في اوقات اخرى جدًا سيئة ومشتتة. 
بعض من الأفكار العشوائية في الكتاب كانت تستحق النشر:

-المرأة كان مسموح لها فقط بالدخول لقسم محدد يوجد فيه فقط مجلات. 
-لمحة سريعة عن اقتراحهم عن عدم اختيار المياة كخيار لإطفاء الحريق لانها تسبب ضرر للكتب يصل للضرر اللي ممكن يسببه الحريق 
-كانت تنصح المكتبة (ولو بشكل غير رسمي) عدم قراءة الروايات بشكل مفرط

Mary Foy بعمر ١٨ كانت اول شخصية نسائية تترأس مكتبة.
 
-الراوية Tessa Kelso كان لها فضل في الغاء عضويات المكتبة المدفوعة. وعن طريق هذا التصرف ازداد عدد الاشتراكات في المكاتب. سمحت للكثير بالقراءة السريعة على رفوف المكاتب بدون الحاجة لإستئجار الكتاب او تسجيل اخذه في دفتر خاص. سمحت للأطفال فوق ١٢ سنة بالقراءة. 
 أضافت ادوات رياضية وبوردقيمز للإستئجار في المكتبات كخطوة تحمس غير محبين القراءة بالمرور على الأقل ورؤية الكتب ومحبيها. 
كانت فكرتها جعل المكتبة مكان لتجمع جميع افراد المجتمع.

Dana Kraft

This had some interesting nuggets and history about libraries. I realize that while I like libraries in general, I don’t really care about the Los Angeles Central Library at all. That made this book pretty meh for me.

Bambi Ard

I loved this book so much more than I ever expected to, and I'm so happy I read it! Not only because the reading experience was so pleasant, but also because it's helped curb some of my fear of nonfiction, a genre I definitely neglect and have been meaning to get more into.

This book is posited as an investigation into the means and motives behind the massive fire that destroyed the Los Angeles Central Library in 1986, but acts more as a history of the structure, and as a love letter to libraries in general. Whether Orlean was reviewing facts from the investigation of the fire, or diving into the different personalities of the library's past head librarians, or simply waxing poetic about the value and magic of libraries as a whole, I found myself enchanted and entertained, hanging onto her every word. That said, I think this is a book best gone into if you already have a pre-existing passion for libraries; this is a text I'm sure could very easily be boring to many.

As someone who has said pre-existing passion, and who myself works at a library, I was just delighted by the book. Every time Orlean went into some description of how the Los Angeles Central Library operates I would go "we do that, too!" like some kind of village simpleton.

One complaint I had is that the book felt like it lost steam in the last thirty or so pages, but whether this was the fault of Orlean's writing or simply my own interest fading, I'm not sure.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

Such a treasure trove of thoughts and ideas about society, history and culture as it pertains to the library. I was so enthralled by the writing style and facts that I discovered through the course of reading. The library fire was a great framework for the narrative but towards the end I was getting a little tired of the constant switching between history and the fire. It was so interesting to find out about each library head and their specific style. A thing that made Orleans writing stand out was her descriptions of people. They were so charming and gave me a perfect view of the person. As a love letter to libraries, this book succeeds on all fronts and it was the perfect time in my life to read this.

Susan Orlean’s bestseller and New York Times Notable Book is “a sheer delight…as rich in insight and as varied as the treasures contained on the shelves in any local library” (USA TODAY)—a dazzling love letter to a beloved institution and an investigation into one of its greatest mysteries. “Everybody who loves books should check out The Library Book” (The Washington Post). On the morning of April 28, 1986, a fire alarm sounded in the Los Angeles Public Library. The fire was disastrous: it reached two thousand degrees and burned for more than seven hours. By the time it was extinguished, it had consumed four hundred thousand books and damaged seven hundred thousand more. Investigators descended on the scene, but more than thirty years later, the mystery remains: Did someone purposefully set fire to the library—and if so, who? Weaving her lifelong love of books and reading into an investigation of the fire, award-winning New Yorker reporter and New York Times bestselling author Susan Orlean delivers a “delightful…reflection on the past, present, and future of libraries in America” (New York magazine) that manages to tell the broader story of libraries and librarians in a way that has never been done before. In the “exquisitely written, consistently entertaining” (The New York Times) The Library Book, Orlean chronicles the LAPL fire and its aftermath to showcase the larger, crucial role that libraries play in our lives; delves into the evolution of libraries; brings each department of the library to vivid life; studies arson and attempts to burn a copy of a book herself; and reexamines the case of Harry Peak, the blond-haired actor long suspected of setting fire to the LAPL more than thirty years ago. “A book lover’s dream…an ambitiously researched, elegantly written book that serves as a portal into a place of history, drama, culture, and stories” (Star Tribune, Minneapolis), Susan Orlean’s thrilling journey through the stacks reveals how these beloved institutions provide much more than just books—and why they remain an essential part of the heart, mind, and soul of our country.

Patty Pforte

This book was truly a joy. Deeply researched and compassionate to its subject matter, you can feel the love Orlean has for libraries in every page. 

My favorite parts of the book were the people she encountered (and the ways she wrote about them) and the surprising histories embedded in the Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL). Read this book to fall in love with LAPL, to fall deeper in love with libraries in general, and to have a teary moment or two when Orlean pulls you into an unforgettable vignette or story that pulls on the heart strings.

✨Tyler ✨

i had a hard time rating this bc it's a perfect 3.5 for me. i ended up going with 4 because there were a few chapters I really liked but I also think I might have liked this more of I had read it instead of listening to it as an audiobook.
it did make me really appreciate libraries while I listened to it.

Zoe Deckard

This book is so very interesting. Not only does it talk about a mysterious historical event but it lets you in on the lives of librarians and the Los Angelos library system. Honestly, the book made me more excited and enthused to be pursuing my library science masters soon. I highly recommend reading it.

Tori Perdue

I really enjoyed this book! It took me a while to finish it because I am also in school, but it helped me to remember why libraries are so important to every community and how devastating of a loss it can be.

Danna Sabolik

A must-read for all book or library lovers.

Nadine 

I never expected to enjoy this book so much - in fact it's a potted history of the Los Angeles library from inception to the fire and beyond with fabulous anecdotes about the women and men that ran it and worked there, plus a whole lot on arson, collections, social activism and the role of the library.
Fascinating read.

4.75 stars. 
Non fiction books aren’t normally what I enjoy - so the .25 is taken away for that. 

Aside from not being my normal genre preference - this book was extremely educational and inspiring. I learned so much about the history of books, culture, and library’s. 
It really makes you sit back and think about the impact of books. 

A must read for book lovers.

Kerry McHugh West

I was really excited to read this based on the little blurb but was disappointed in what it turned out to be. 

Alayna Wiezorek

I wanted to like this book. I was just about to DNF it but I saw how much other people liked it so I decided to finish it. It was just dull in my opinion

Deanna Kendall

Fascinating story of the LA Central Library's history and the man who may have set it on fire.

Ruby Huber

HECK YEAH!!! Listened to this one on the second half of a cross country drive with my mom. I picked it, and I wasn't too sure about it. The summary makes it seem like it is just about the fire in the LA public library but it was about so much more!!!! This is actually a lot closer to the book I wanted to read when I read The Professor and the Madman. It does explore the big fire in the LA central library in 1986 (news coverage was sparse because of CHERNOBYL ok), but it also explores the history of libraries in general, the life of the man who maybe did it but maybe didn't. It went into all the past directors of the LA Library system, and all kinds of other library history. I can't even list all the fun stuff I learned from this book. It left me me missing the city I was leaving behind and wishing I could take one more look around the Central library, but it did make Missouri - Pennsylvania fly by which is no small feat! It was such a delightful journey through history and I loved every second of it. Only thing I still don't understand about libraries is the dewey decimal system... what the heck is that all about anyway???

Kaitlyn Krna

A fire broke out in the Los Angeles Public Library on April 29, 1986. It took over seven hours for the fire to be extinguished, and during that time hundreds of thousands of books, reference material, artifacts, and other objects were burned, leaving nothing but ash in many cases. Hundreds of thousands of books were damaged. As someone who has loved and adored my local libraries, reading about the extensive damage was heartbreaking.

But it was heartwarming to read about the response of the community and other libraries in the days and months following the fire. Restaurants offered to make room in their freezers for books that might be able to be restored one day. Volunteers came out in droves to help with the cleanup and organization. People offered money to help in the restoration and books to refill the shelves when the library was restored.

The book reads as if the story of the fire and the time of recovery are being reported in real time. I found myself fascinated with the history of the library and the mystery of how the fire was set. Was it accidental? Was it set on purpose? The writing is engaging and the book is thoroughly enjoyable. 

Side note: As an insurance underwriter (my day job), I was delighted to read about how the library's insurance and the claims adjusting procedure took place.

Corrie White 

I am literally speechless. This was such a well crafted love affair of books and libraries interspersed with an interesting history of Central Library in Los Angeles.

This book made me nostalgic for libraries and shopping for books as a kid when every experience was whimsical and wonderful. Thank you to every librarian out there <3

Susan Orlean's writing is just stunning. Some lines had me absolutely gobsmacked while others had me laughing. I went through such a vast array of emotions through this interwoven story of hope, sadness, loss, triumph, and how no matter what, books will prevail in the end.

b.andherbooks

Ostensibly about the huge fire that burned most of the Los Angeles Public Library's central branch collection, it really is a love letter to the institution itself and all of its foibles and accomplishments. As someone who works in a large, urban public library system, Orlean's interviews with the LAPL staff and what she noticed while observing the library at work were spot on.

This is an excellent book in a beautiful physical package. I highly recommend.

The Library Book

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