This is a book that every Librarian should own, not because it is called the Library Book but the fact it is such an inspiring story how a well-known library came back from a devastating fire to establish one of the most well-known libraries in the country. Every Librarian can find something in this book they can relate to and also take with them and implement in their jobs such as me. Also, the community will also appreciate a book like this to see the value of libraries and what they provide for the community overall and not just books.

The Library Book tells the story of the Los Angeles Public Library (LPL) that had a devastating fire in one of their stacks that just grew and grew destroying every book and material the library had in their collection. The question still remains who set the library on fire? Susan Orlean takes it upon herself to investigate this atrocious event and get to the bottom of why someone would damage such a treasure to the city. Susan later finds from all the employees and members of the community that libraries are more than just books growing into a multimodal conglomerate.

This book was just so captivating and interesting that it just kept me glued to my seat. Not only will I consider purchasing this book for my collection, but I might end up buying a copy for myself! That is why I am definitely giving this book and the brilliant work of Susan Orlean 5 stars!

This book started out strong and really caught my attention with the true story of the Library Fire in Los Angeles. However, it meandered around a bit too much for me, and I lost interest.

Brilliant. I found this to be captivating and incredibly well written. The descriptions of how a fire burns and the spread as it encompassed the LA Library made my heart race with anxiety. Told in alternating chapters about the fire, about the author, the history of the LA Central Library and also about the arson investigation and it's ultimate target, each story line was interesting and well paced. As a librarian, perhaps I am biased, but Susan Orlean's excitement about libraries and their past and future feels contagious and certainly well placed. She outlines her reasons for writing so well at the very end of the book, I will leave you with her own words:
"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."

with thanks to NetGalley.com, the author (Susan Orlean), and the publisher, Simon & Schuster, for the Advanced Reader Copy.

The Library Book by Susan Orlean reads like a smooth beautifully written documentary on the background, building and almost desttruction in the fire of the Central Library in downtown Los Angeles on April 29, 1086. This was a horrifying event for all book lovers and readers - 400,000 books burned and 700,000 books were damaged. Ray Bradbury who started his writing career and wrote many books in this library was quoted "the library was my nesting place, my birthing place; it was my growing place. The story is gripping and full of wonderful information, written so well you smell the smoke. Ms. Orlean starts the story from her own growning up years at the library with her mother. She says' it was an indulgence in the library and the books" and 'I turned into a revenous buyer of books'along with this lovey phrase, "the library is a gathering pool of narratives and the people who come to find them. Absolutely lovely. Thank you to #netgalley and #susanorlean #thelibrarybook

"The Library Book" tells the story about a massive fire at the Los Angeles Public Library in 1986. Like the author, I had never heard about the fire, which destroyed 400,000 books and damaged 700,000 more. The description of the fire spreading is painful to anyone who loves books. Orlean looks at the case of the man suspected of starting the fire and what could possibly have motivated him. Besides covering the fire, the history and the rebuilding of the library, this book is also a love letter to libraries in general. At the start of each chapter, the author lists three or four books or other reading materials, including their Dewey decimal numbers, that relate to that chapter. It's very effective. I've already started recommending this book to friends and family.

(**I received my free advanced readers copy of this release at Book Expo**)
The Library Book by award-winning journalist and New York Times bestselling author Susan Orlean (releasing October 16, 2018 from @SimonandSchuster) tells the story of one of the most catastrophic library fires in American history, the 1986 Los Angeles Public Library fire.

This is a book for book and library lovers. Peek behind the scenes of some modern libraries and take a look at how they are vital to our communities. If you like this book, I suggest you also check out The Card Catalog: Books, Cards, and Literary Treasures by Library of Congress.

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.

Journalist and author Susan Orlean began investigating the devastating 1986 fire at Central Library in Los Angeles. By the time the fire was brought under control, half a million books were destroyed and 700,000 more damaged: "It was one of the biggest fires in the history of Los Angeles and the single biggest library fire in the history of the United States." Looming over this cultural and community tragedy was the implication that it seemed to be arson.

The culprit honed in on during the investigation was a young man named Harry Peak. Peak is a tricky character: he had trouble with the truth, spinning wild yarns for his friends and family and always seeming to prefer embellishments to truth. He went on acting auditions and despite claiming to have appeared on some TV shows, although Orlean didn't find much evidence to support this. He always had exciting tales from his auditioning and Hollywood life though, like becoming friends with Burt Reynolds after meeting him on an audition. Orlean's messages to Reynolds trying to confirm went unanswered, and sadly now we'll never know.

Harry was also a bit of a drifter, so in addition to his exaggerations and lying, he's a difficult person to pin down: "Large blocks of Harry's time during this period are unaccounted for and left no trace. He built no resume, had no steady employment. He was a tumbleweed, lifted and carried wherever the wind took him, alighting briefly in this job and that and then blowing along, leaving little behind as he rolled on."

In the course of following this story, paths suddenly branch out and new stories appear. In a delightful twist, Peak isn't even the quirkiest character to populate this story. Orlean has always had an eye for eccentric but fascinating personalities, and they're wonderfully in abundance here. Orlean also shows what libraries meant to her, covers library history, the lives and jobs of dedicated employees and librarians, and the part the library plays in the community, now and as it adapts for the future. The Los Angeles library is at the center of this story, but the book becomes about libraries themselves, worldwide, how much they contain and how much depends on them. As anyone who loves the library knows, it's never only been about book lending.

It seems simple to describe what a library seems to be - namely, it is a storeroom of books. But the more time I spent at Central, the more I realized that a library is an intricate machine, a contraption of whirring gears. There were days when I came to the library and planted myself near the center of the main corridor and simply watched the whirl and throb of the place.

In characteristic Orlean style, she lets her curiosity take her where it may and it results in so many fascinating tidbits that it's hard to absorb it all in a single read of the book.

In Senegal, the polite expression for saying someone died is to say his or her library has burned. When I first heard the phrase, I didn't understand it, but over time I came to realize it was perfect. Our minds and souls contain volumes made of our experiences and emotions; each individual's consciousness is a collection of memories we've cataloged and stored inside us, a private library of a life lived. It is something that no one else can entirely share, one that burns down and disappears when we die.

Despite this multitude of threads which could have been chaotic and catastrophic - at times it seemed like every chapter headed off in a new direction, this book is simply wonderful. I can't remember feeling so much pure joy while reading a book. I already know I love Orlean's detailed but effortless-seeming writing, as I'm a longtime fan of The Orchid Thief, the book behind the movie Adaptation and what helped solidify her place in creative nonfiction. But The Library Book surpassed that one for me.

I love that her storytelling here begins with one premise, and by the end I'd learned an astonishing amount about topics I wasn't anticipating encountering at all. I know for some readers this isn't preferable, and I've loathed it myself in other books that bait-and-switch, but here it feels instead like the natural extension of curiosity. She has an eye for the quirky but compelling in history and personalities, and always for what makes a good story. Her writing is what makes any topic readable - it's enveloping, detail-filled without being confusing, charmingly funny, smart, and personal without making the story about her.

It's impressive when an author can cover so much ground and still manage to keep it interesting. Whatever thread of the story Orlean tells, I was invested. Her descriptions are what I wish every nonfiction narrative was made of - a passage describing how the fire would've begun is one that will stay with me. Even when she gets into the mechanics of this particularly aggressive and well-conditioned fire, I was intrigued. "A stoichiometric condition is almost impossible to create outside of a laboratory. It requires such an elusive, precise balance of fuel and fire and oxygen that, in a sense, it is more theoretical than actual. Many firefighters have never seen such a blaze and never will."

Orlean is ever detail-oriented, and it even extends to the book's structure: each chapter begins with well-selected actual book titles, hinting and suggesting something of the content to come. These are delightful - Drunk, Divorced & Covered in Cat Hair: The True-Life Misadventures of a 30-Something Who Learned to Knit After He Split was a favorite.

I'm not sure how better to capture what I loved so much about The Library Book than to share some passages that spoke to me - especially those with the ability to tell a complete story in a single paragraph. It's hard to summarize this book succinctly since it's so varying and unusual. I think it's enough to say anyone who loves libraries, history, and a good mystery will connect with this material, and find the celebration of how much a library really means to be comfortingly familiar.

The library is an easy place to be when you have no place you need to go and a desire to be invisible.

It becomes harder all the time to think of places that welcome everyone and don't charge any money for that warm embrace. 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.

Other books have a tendency to be loaned out and never returned. The library has bought countless copies of Carlos Castaneda's books because so many of them journey out and never come back. Another author, David Icke, who writes about his global conspiracy theories and about a race of reptilian aliens he believes will eventually dominate Earth, has such acquisitive readers that for a while the library simply stopped ordering replacement copies of his books because it was costing too much to keep up. Icke's books are ranked - anecdotally, at least - as the books that most often disappear. The day Elvis Presley died, someone checked out all of the library's Elvis records and never returned them. The files about the Manson Family and about the Black Dahlia murder, which included clippings and ephemera, disappeared decades ago; they are essentially irreplaceable.

Library rules were schoolmarmish and scoldy...patrons were discouraged from reading too many novels, lest they turn into what the association labeled "fiction fiends."

On Charles Lummis, LA librarian, library advocate, all-round fascinating figure: The popularity of pseudo-science books, which he considered "not worth the match to burn them up," worried him. Instead of removing the books from the collection, he established what he called the "Literary Pure Food Act" to warn readers about them. He hired a blacksmith to make a branding in the shape of a skull and crossbones - the poison warning symbol - and used it to brand the frontispiece of the offending books. He also created warning cards to insert in the questionable books. He wanted to cards to say, "This book is of the worst class that we can possibly keep in the library. We are sorry that you have not any better sense than to read it," but he was persuaded to use a more restrained tone. 

People searching for missing loved ones sometimes scribbled messages in library books with the hope that the person they were looking for would see them - as if the library had become a public broadcast system, a volley of calls and wished-for responses. Page margins were dappled with penciled pleas tossed into the wide-open sea of the library. "Dear Jennie: Where are you keeping yourself?" said one note written on a page of a book in the Los Angeles library in 1914. "I have searched three cities for you and advertised in vain. Knowing that you like books, I am writing this appeal in every library book I can get hold of in hope that it may come to your eyes. Write to me at the old address, please."

In the end, coming back to the fire that sparked this story, Orlean admits to a vacillating opinion on Peak's guilt. It's hard not to feel the same, and to be disturbed at what might have motivated the act. As she puts it, "Taking books away from a culture is to take away its shared memory. It's like taking away the ability to remember your dreams." 

An ambitious blend of some Los Angeles history and social portrait of the community, centered around and branching from the library's role, sometimes circling back to the historic, mysterious fire that still haunts those who witnessed it, and an even more mysterious man who may or may not have been involved - all wrapped up in a love letter to libraries, librarians, and the institution's ability to adapt to the community's changing needs.

I read this book with no expectations. And my, was I surprised by how much it opened my eyes!

I'm a lover of books and a big believer of libraries. And Orlean not only did a thorough research on the history in the LA Public Library, what happened before and after it's been burned down and the impact it made, but she all also wrote it beautifully, and introduced us to the passionate and hardworking staff who work tirelessly in keeping the library as welcoming as possible to the public.

Highly recommend this book to all book lovers!

Thank you Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for an eARC of this book. Was so happy when I finally managed to DL it onto my kindle!

A full review will be posted on my blog closer to publication date.

The perfect book to finish reading as I celebrate one year of working within the outreach department of my local library. This book covers so much more than the devastating 1986 Los Angeles Public Library fire and the subsequent investigation of prime suspect Harry Peak; Orlean delves into many related topics to reveal how libraries have evolved from buildings providing a useful community service to a vital piece of our national identity. There are times that Orlean jumps around a little too often for my liking, but she never once loses the thread of her main focus and her writing is truly spectacular. Prefacing each chapter with a short list of library items related to the material covered is a nice, clever touch. Highly recommended for fellow librarians or anyone with a deep love of the library.

Orleans breaks the stereotype of the library being a dusty, staid silent environment - she establishes very early on that the library is NOT quiet. In addition to being a bustling center of activity in every corner, it is constantly re-innovating with the times, and sometimes ahead of them.
I appreciated the weaving in of history, while highlighting some of the library's less obvious services: literacy programs, homeless outreach, ESOL, tax preparation assistance (sometimes for drug dealers living off the grid), along with the characters who run and participate in the programs. And, the unexpected challenges that libraries face alongside these programs, bordering social services. Alongside were vignettes about the crazy, random questions patrons call with, many of them very Google-able, though clearly simply seeking human connection.
My favorite section was the day in the life of the current library director - an exhausting, but fascinating insight into the breadth of his responsibilities, and his passion is inspiring.
Perhaps purposely, the Harry Peak, who was the primary suspect in the 1987 Los Angeles Central Library fire, while the "hook" of the story, took a back seat much of the time. My one criticism was there were sometimes too many chapters between dropping in and out of his narrative, and I"d lose track of where we last left off.
I am a bibliophile and librarianship was my first career, so while non-fiction is not my usual choice, being familiar with Orleans' work and drawn to the subject, and hope it offers appeal to a wider audience, since it's a great story, and a PSA for the modern library.

Book #63 Read in 2018
The Library Book

This is a collection of short essays, written by authors or journalists, of what their libraries meant to them. It is a nice defense of why libraries are important and should be provided with adequate funding. I borrowed this book from the public library.

This book is mesmerizing. Whether you like reading about books or libraries, a good history tome, or intriguing (but weird_ people, The Library Book will keep you going strong from beginning to end.

Excellent read. The history of the fire and recovery is well written but also easy to read. The details do not make it dull reading.

The second half provides history of libraries and public reading. a must selection for anyone who loves books. Great gift for a professional.

I enjoyed this book overall. There were sections I loved. Many of the characters were interesting to learn about, especially those throughout the history of the library. I was engrossed by the portion describing the fire unfolding. I also appreciated how Orlean champions libraries. However, the order of the book did not make sense to me and felt as if I was jumping around randomly, both in the timeline and by topic. This would be a good fit for those looking to explore libraries, short character anecdotes of quirky individuals, and snapshots of history written in a compelling, detailed style. Those looking for a single cohesive story might not love it as much.

I enjoyed this work, and would recommend others give it a read. The author dreamily describes the importance of libraries, the impact of the Los Angeles Central Library fire, the investigation into the arsonist's life, really a mix of stories that jumps and skips between never really deciding exactly what it wants to be--maybe simply a library book to sit on a shelf, to be checked out because the blurb and title sound interesting. The nostalgia the book evoked- thinking about my small hometown library where I spent numerous hours as a child is a significant and probably a reason many will enjoy reading this book. Overall, I am thankful to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the egalley of this book, which I received in exchange for my honest review.

In The Library Book, Susan Orlean delves into the history of the Los Angeles Public Library before and after a huge fire in 1986. The book is an introduction to a historic fire that largely escaped national notice because it was overshadowed by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster that also occurred that day. It is also a fascinating story of the people associated with the library system throughout its history, not to mention a love letter to libraries and what they represent both to the community and to the author personally. The language is flowery, abundantly sprinkled with adjectives, and sometimes over-dramatic (things are often introduced as “something/someone so adjective that it shocking fact”). Then again, if you’re going to write flowery prose, a love letter would be the place to do it. This story would interest anyone who grew up loving books and libraries.

This book was an absolute joy to read. When Susan and I spoke about it on The Secret Library podcast, she mentioned that she worked very hard to keep the length reasonable, but I gladly would have gone on reading for many more pages. This book had everything a book nerd loves: libraries, kooky characters, history, and the thread of a love of books running through the entire story.

Susan weaves multiple threads together in this book: the mystery of the 1986 Los Angeles Public Library fire, the history of the LAPL and those who have run it, the story of the prime suspect for the fire, and our relationship to libraries as a whole. I gobbled it up and loved every minute. I felt like I was right in the action as I explored the library alongside Susan, met those who work there, and immersed myself in library culture.

I think this is the perfect holiday gift for the book lovers this year. I know everyone on my list will be getting a copy. Interview with Susan will appear on The Secret library podcast on 10/18.

3.5 stars

I, like many avid readers, love libraries. I also love reading about libraries, bookstores, librarians, booksellers ... you get the gist.

In Susan Orlean's book we enter the world of libraries through the traumatic fire at the Los Angeles library in 1986. What I loved about the book was how the author took a single event and from that branched off in different directions to paint us an incredibly detailed portrait of the Los Angeles library, its history, architecture, the colourful characters that worked there and visited, and so much more. We're also taken through the arson investigation, the stranger than fiction lead suspect, and the attempt to save the library books that didn't burn in the fire but instead had water damage.

The book is very dense, there's a lot being covered and Orleans jumps back and forth with her focus a lot. What enthralled me at the beginning of the book, getting a burst of this story then a snapshot of something else, caused me to lose a bit of interest in the book towards the end. I found myself wanting to stick to a certain storyline, mostly the arsonist, rather than reading about the modern library and the services it offers. I suppose Orleans realised while researching the book that the fire alone couldn't sustain a whole book and so the other elements needed to be added in.

I really enjoyed reading about the history of the head librarians at the Los Angeles library, the gender issues and imbalance, the journey across various locations and the evolution of the library system we know today. There's a lot to enjoy in this book.

As a librarian, I'm naturally drawn to all things library but this book could appeal to so many people. Whether you're a history buff, a lover of literature or interested in why libraries are a powerful institution in this country, I believe you will enjoy the book. I had no idea this fire even took place so it was eye opening to me. I really loved the intro to each chapter with the bibliographic entry for books related to the chapter's content. It was adorable. Susan Orlean definitely did her research and it's clear she holds libraries near and dear to her heart.

Thank you to Net Galley for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was indeed a love letter to libraries and library staff everywhere. I really appreciated the thought and research that Susan Orlean put into this book. So many interesting things I learned about crimes involving fire and arson, too.