This book was gorgeous. The authors writing flowed and maybe want to run to the nearest library and just sit there and take it all in. The story centers around the LA library and the horrible fire that took place there and the mystery surrounding the fire and the suspected arsonist.

"Here is my story, please listen; here I am, please tell me your story," says the library. Susan Orlean weaves an amazing tale for us centered around the tragic library fire that devastated the Central LA Branch in 1986.

In this book, the story begins with a depiction of the fire itself then backtracks to tell the story of the LA library system and its many iconic leaders. In between we get updates on the investigation into the fire as well as chapters on the many ways a library is so much more than a storehouse for books.
All of us who love libraries will be uplifted by this love letter to libraries and the way they transcend the mere buildings and physical objects within. Highly recommended!

A big thank you to Simon Schuster and NetGalley for a digital ARC of this beautiful ode to libraries.

My initial reaction to this book after reading 3 chapters or so was “Ooo, fire! Ooo, books!” Orlean’s writing feels like fiction not dry facts. I really enjoyed her writing. The Library Book starts with the author's love of libraries as a child, which switched to her love of buying (instead of borrowing) books when she became an adult. She then rediscovers her love of libraries when she has her own child. This part made me nostalgic. She then she describes the LA Central Public Library, the collections, the art, the people, and the building. All of it sounded very cool and now I want to visit it. I think book lovers will really enjoy this book for many reasons.

After those beginning chapters, she describes the fire. On one the hand my heart hurts at the damage done by the fire and water. On the other hand the fire is so very cool,so very large, and so extraordinary. I also loved the description of how the city of LA came together to help the library: "They formed a human chain, passing the books hand over hand from one person to the next, through the smoky building and out the door. It was as if, in this urgent moment, the people of Los Angeles formed a living library. They created, for that short time, a system to protect and pass along shared knowledge, to save what we know for each other, which is what libraries do every day.”

Another aspect of the book I found delightful are book titles with their library info at the beginning of each chapter. You can guess what the chapter will be about from the books listed. I appreciated how Orlean goes back and forth with the time in each chapter. One chapter she is following librarians of the LA public library around in present day, the next chapter she is interviewing folks about the fire or describing the fire, and the next chapter she is giving us anecdotal library history. I found the history of library fires fascinating; although it did make me sad. She also tells stories about notable folks that were involved with the library. The past directors of the LA public library were some characters!

The question of whether or not Harry Peake started the fire, was there on the day of the fire, or was just lying for attention and was innocent is not answered. Read the book and tell me your conclusion. Personally, I think Harry was there but did not start the fire on purpose or accidentally.

Is this a true crime story of arson or a love letter to libraries? It's both. The 1986 fire in Los Angeles destroyed more than a building and paper. Orlean delves into the fire and the subsequent arson investigation but equally importantly, she looks at the history of libraries and the role they play in communities. One of the best parts of this is learning how the community reacted to the fire= how it helped out. As someone who grew up with the Enoch Pratt Free Library as a safe place and a place of joy, this book was a must read for me. I still visit my local library weekly and regularly donate to it as well. Thanks to publisher for the ARC. Orlean has written a wonderful book that deserves a wide audience.

Part history of libraries and part narrative of the fire which devastated Los Angeles Public Library in 1986 this is an episodic read for those of us who live books and reading.
If councils and governments need reasons to keep funding libraries then they should read this book.
In fact it reminded me about why I work as a librarian in a career which I love for over 25 years.

This was a very enjoyable read in part because it tells several interesting stories, but one drawback is that no one story gets quite enough attention. Just when you're really into one thread, another thread takes over. I think this is a book best read in small sections, so that you can focus on each thread as it appears. The details on how the fire progressed and what was lost at the LA Public Library are enough for me to encourage anyone who loves books and libraries to read this book.

On April 29, 1986 a fire raged in the Los Angeles Public Library for more than seven hours. By the time it was extinguished, it had consumed 400,000 books and damaged 700,000 more. And most of us never even knew about it! Why? There just happened to be a little nuclear disaster that was dominating the news at the time.

This book is part mystery, part history, and part love letter to libraries everywhere. I loved learning about the history of the Los Angeles Public Library, which in many ways reflects the history of libraries all over the country.

Susan Orlean packed so much good stuff into this book. I love the way she has with words and found myself highlighting things repeatedly and reading them over (and over) just to savor them.
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 like a marvelous and exceptional thing. All the things that are wrong in the world seem conquered by a library’s simple unspoken promise: Here is my story, please listen; here I am, please tell me your story.

I found myself falling in love with libraries all over again and regretting that I haven't spent as much time in the library as I used to. Time to remedy that...

Thanks to NetGalley for the copy. I loved it. One of my favorite books this year.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

Using the great fire in the LA Central Library in 1986 as a backdrop, Susan Orlean tells a wonderful story of the history of libraries. The reader learns that the library is more than just books. The physical plant and the people who work there are critical to its successful operation. Even with the growth of the internet and e-books, the library still plays an important role in its community. It is a meeting place, a work place, a place for research, and even a place to come in out of the heat or cold.

If you love books and reading, The Library Book is a must read.

This is a love story about libraries. The history of LA Central Library, the personalities behind the founding and development of the library, and of course the fire, made this a hard to put down read. Libraries are not just books, but are the cornerstone of communities. Since I am one who loves libraries, and have for 50+ years, this book brought me to my happy place. Outstanding!

This is a love letter to the institution we know as the public library. From the outset of this book where the author is describing her earliest memories of going to the library, I felt as if I could have written it identically. She was so adept at making me feel all the same feelings that it was uncanny. She continues to expound on the history of libraries, librarians and bibliophiles using the most horrific crime against libraries in the United States - the 1986 fire at the Los Angeles Central Public Library. Her research is impeccable and presents all types of interesting characters and stories within stories. It makes for a very enjoyable read.

Imagine there was a card file in your local library that contained only information about libraries. Everything there was to know about them: how they operate, who uses them, the people who work in them, how books move from one branch to another, and anything else you could possibly ask about them. Reading award-winning author, Susan Orlean's, newest nonfiction book, [book:The Library Book|39507318], is like shuffling through that file. All this centered around the infamous fire of the Los Angeles Central Public Library in 1986 and the on-again-off-again actor suspected at the time of the arson, Harry Peak. She writes about the broader meaning of libraries, who they serve and how, but she also writes about her own love of books, her mother's diminishing memory from dementia, and how important libraries are for our collective consciousness.

This was a very interesting book from a genre perspective. A blend between true crime, narrative non-fiction, and memoir, I was delighted to see that Orlean's writing is as lovely as I've always been told. That said, I just couldn't seem to fully get into this book's project. It was a book I ultimately admired more than enjoyed, but I would be interested in reading more from her in the futuer

The Library Book is history and a love story to books.

The Los Angeles Public Library sustained a devastating fire in 1986, damaging or burning more than one million books. Susan Orlean weaves the investigation and aftermath of the 1986 fire, along with alternating chapters providing the ongoing history of the library from its start.

The reader gets to experience the support of the Los Angeles community for its much loved library; we learn the stories of some of the librarians and the mental anguish caused by the wreckage of books. As we learn the overall history of the library, we are also introduced to the stories behind Los Angeles itself.

As a book lover, I avidly enjoyed Susan Orlean's writing and her deft handling of history and emotions. The Library Book is going to be a win for all book lovers.

This book details the events surrounding the fire that destroyed a major part of the Los Angeles Library in 1986 and recovery efforts in saving a large portion of the material damaged by smoke and water and those impacted by the fire who work at the library. The author also spends significant time covering the history of the library along with similar events of library/book destruction through the course of history. 

Her writing style is engaging and informative making this an enjoyable read that is hard to put down. That is impressive in considering that this is a work of nonfiction. She definitely has a passion for the subject about which she is writing.

I recommend this book for anyone with an interest in the story behind the Los Angeles Library or libraries in general.

I received a free Kindle copy of The Library Book by Susan Orlean courtesy of Net Galley  and Simon and Schuster, the publisher. It was with the understanding that I would post a review on Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazonand my fiction book review blog. I also posted it to my Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google Plus pages.

I requested this book as the description sounded interesting and I have always been fascinated with libraries.  This is the first book I have read by the author.

Susan Orlean's latest book, The Library Book, was a hot ticket at Book Expo this year. I didn't get a hard copy, which was a bummer, but I was approved for an electronic copy so I jumped for joy. And what a joy this book was.

One spring morning in 1986, a fire broke out at the main Los Angeles Public Library. It was so intense, so all-consuming that 30 years later, residents remember it well. No one knows exactly how or where it started, only that it was arson. A suspect began to emerge — a man named Harry Peak, an aspiring actor and a generally confusing man who lived to spin tall tales. Orlean, a recent Los Angeles transplant, hears about the story after re-finding her childhood love of libraries at the venerable Los Angeles institution. Part narrative non-fiction, part historical record of the Los Angeles Public Library, and part love letter to libraries everywhere, this book focuses in on a place we all know and love yet rarely dig deep into: the oublic library.

I wanted to read this book, but I can also say from looking into the rear view mirror that I wasn’t quite expecting what I got with this book. It was so much more than I was expecting, which was an historical account of this fire that destroyed millions of books and brought out the best in Los Angelenos. Orlean has put together a beautiful book that closely examines the history of libraries in general and the LAPL in terms of its origins, it’s sexist history, and the current societal position it holds as a welcome mat for the masses regardless of race, color, creed, gender, or even itinerancy. The library is open to all who can get through their doors while they are open. Orlean focuses on this and breathes life into a building that is so much more than that, as it is the lifeblood of the city to so many.

The trips that Orlean takes with the staff of the LAPL, to other branches both closed and in use; into meetings about how to better serve their constituencies; and to library conferences where staff from all over the world seek ways to improve what they do in a changing world all serve to elevate the story of the fire and give us, the readers, a full-bodied and overt understanding of why we need public libraries. This was an absolutely fascinating read, and I can’t recommend it highly enough. And if you aren’t already a partron of your local public library, make it a point to go before the month is out. See the good these places do for all of our communities, no matter where we are in the United States.

“All the things that are wrong in the world seem conquered by a library’s simple unspoken promise: Here is my story, please listen; here I am, please tell me your story.”

And that is the simple premise of a library’s place in society – and just why we need them. Stories to transport, inform, enlighten and perhaps even to start on that tricky path to building a community. I don’t know about you -but libraries have been a place in my life that have always felt like home – from working with my mother and the other ladies on the town’s library committee to clean, refresh and update the lending catalog in the little town library, to losing myself in the stacks at the university, Boston, New York and London public libraries, and always finding something to capture attention and imagination – I have memories of library withdrawals that haunt me.

Susan Orlean tells the story of a devastating fire in Los Angeles in the public library in 1986. Still questions (and effects) survive that fire- damaging or destroying over one million works. One Million. Let that sink in. My heart still hurts to think of the works lost – perhaps someone needed JUST that book at the moment to help answer a question, or propel them along a journey….. But this isn’t simply a book about the fire and an investigation – but a pointed (and often humorous) look at patrons and librarians, history of the prime suspect in the case, and details from different books that play a role in the chapter as well as the overall story arc. If you, like me, are still aggravated by the devastation of the Library of Alexandria, there is so much to love in this book – and taking this further out:, further fixing the need and place for libraries in today’s society.

Told with wit, humor, incredible research and a take on the function, form and place in the world as we live it today, this book manages to provide insight, new ‘oh I didn’t know” moments and celebrates the joy of literature in all forms. Perhaps this may even stir a new desire for you to avail yourself of the joys found in a library – bring your children and let them get a lending card – I know that my daughter could not wait until she was enrolled in first grade to get her card – in fact, we went as soon as her class assignment page was in her hand. Libraries provide words… and words are the key to everything in this life.

I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility

Review first appeared at <a href=”https://wp.me/p3OmRo-a44 /”> <a> I am, Indeed </a> .

This is a must read for a book lover and anyone who has used the library throughout their lives. Susan Orlean captures so much of how I feel about books and libraries from when I was a young child and my mother was constantly telling me to get my nose out of the book I was reading. I wasn't brought up in a home with books, so for me the local library was a place of wonder and comfort, and libraries have continued to be a well loved friend throughout my life, I am sure I would never have been the first person in my family to go to university without them. Orlean takes us through the story of the fire that consumed the Los Angeles Library and follows up on the suspected perpetrator. What shines through this book is the love of books, libraries, and reading!! This is my kind of book and I recommend it highly to all those to whom books and libraries play an integral part of their lives. Brilliant and Magical Thanks to Simon and Schuster for an ARC of this superb book.

Who would've thought that "delightful" and "deeply pleasurable" would be honest reactions to a book about -- LIBRARIES??? And yet, In Susan Orlean's capable hands, that is what happened as I read The Library Book.

It's part true-crime mystery, part sociological overview of 20th Century America, part literary travelogue and part oral history of the quirky people who staff and use libraries in countries around the world. These sections circle around each other, with a starring role given to the chief suspect for the disastrous 1986 fire at the Los Angeles Central Library.

I. LOVED. THIS. BOOK. Thanks to NetGalley for an advance readers copy.

I love Susan Orlean's writing. This was a fascinating look at libraries and the Los Angeles Public Library in particular. Very engaging. Really kept me turning pages. A fascinating history. I visited the main branch of the Los Angeles Public Library not that long ago. It was great to read this and be able to see in my mind what she was talking about. It is a beautiful library and this is a beautiful book to tell its story.

This is Banned Books Week. As part of my own personal Banned Books Week celebration I read and review at least one book about libraries, or books, or a book that has been banned. Or Fahrenheit 451 which kind of hits the trifecta.

The Library Book is not about book banning. Instead, it’s about book burning. Not the kind of book burning that occurs in Fahrenheit 451, but something less political but unfortunately just as deliberate.

It’s about a real-life case that definitely involved the perfect temperature, and conditions, for burning books. An awful lot of books.

But that’s not the only thing in The Library Book. A big part of the story revolves around that calamitous fire, the ultimately inconclusive investigation into its cause, and the massive amount of effort required in its aftermath for the Los Angeles Public Library’s Central Library to open for business once more.

In the process of investigating the fire, the author also took a deep dive into the current operations of LAPL. In the end, this book serves as a love letter to one of the great public libraries in the United States, and ultimately to all public libraries.

The process of looking at and into LAPL as it is today, the way that its mission has changed and adapted, and all of the many ways that it continues to serve its rich and varied community, showcases the vital work that libraries perform in the 21st century. And makes the case, yet again, that libraries are not dusty repositories of books.

That the author also rediscovered her own love of libraries, and the sweetness of the childhood memories she had wrapped around them, was the icing on the cake.

Reality Rating A: When I first picked this up I was expecting more than a bit of “insider baseball” – but I’m happy to report that is not the case. The author is looking at the library’s operation from the point of view of an interested bystander, a user of libraries, and not someone on the inside.

That being said, the operations she described will be familiar to anyone who has ever worked in a library, particularly those of us who have worked in some of the large urban libraries. While the Los Angeles community served by LAPL is different from Chicago, many of the internal workings of a large urban library seem to be the same.

The story of the fire is fascinating and heartbreaking. Like the author, I wondered why I did not remember the events when they occurred. I was a working librarian at the time. But the fire, as big as it was (and it was HUGE) could not eclipse the news of the Chernobyl disaster. Not much can compete with the potential end of the world as we know it.

Readers will find the investigation frustrating, as did investigators at the time. The story has all the elements of a true crime thriller – but with no definitive ending. Somebody set this fire, but we’ll never know who. This part of the story lacks closure but is true to life. There was a strong suspect with a weak alibi, but ultimately it’s a mystery.

What emerges from The Library Book, along with smoke that can still be sniffed between the pages of those books that survived the fire, is a portrait of libraries as community institutions, and just how vital they can be when they reach out and serve.

In the end, the story in some ways reminds me of the recent events in Brazil and the fire that consumed the National History Museum in Rio de Janeiro. Both fires were the largest of their kind. Both took place in buildings that were known to be firetraps – places where maintenance and prevention had been neglected for years. And both were conflagrations that caused incalculable losses of knowledge and history.

LAPL rose from its ashes, with a lot of blood, sweat, tears and above all, effort. Perhaps someday the National History Museum of Brazil will as well.