Susan Orlean first learned of the devastating fire in the Los Angeles Central Library in 1986 years after. Living in New York where the news of the Chernobyl disaster dominated the news, a library fire in Los Angeles didn't get much coverage. As with other library arsons, it was not an act against a person or people, but for reasons unknown, since libraries are burned because of problems with the ideas that might be contained therein.

Library visits were an important part of her life growing up, but she was now a purchaser rather than a borrower, but once started, she knew she'd found her subject for her new book, one that would provide many avenues to explore. On a personal note, those of us who love to read probably first discovered that love in a library. As Orlean describes it, "... 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." I remember the light coming through the windows that Rhode Island summer of 1949, when my mother first took me to a library, and the books she chose for me. We had 2 weeks to read and return the books, but I wanted to rush back after two days and get more. The love of books was already in my DNA as part of my heritage, but it was fostered and nurtured in the various libraries I haunted growing up.

As with her other books, Orlean leaves no avenue unexplored in covering her subject, whether it be the fire itself and its possible origins and the methods employed by arson inspectors, the person charged with the arson, but also the characters who played a large part in the development of libraries and of this one in particular, the architecture, the art, the efforts at reconstructing the collection lost in that fire. But most importantly, the role of libraries in communities worldwide and their changing roles in this age of instant information via a handheld device. New library buildings are replacing outdated ones, serving their communities in updated ways, and attracting a new generation of librarians who can envision the future ("A number of them had tattoos. Many said they were drawn to the profession because it combined information management with public good.") In the final analysis, this is Susan Orlean's love letter to libraries and what they represent beyond their role as depositories of paper and ink. The importance of the nonjudgmental openness of their nature, their availability to all and the help they can provide for those who have no other recourse, the shelter some seek within their walls, the peace one feels on walking in the door.

Only Susan Orlean can write a book about the history of a library and make a reader not want to put the book down. To some degree, a very small degree, the book is a bit of a mystery; Who is responsible for the LA library fire? Orlean begins and ends the book with this question, but in between this question, we learn about the first librarians and their quirks and how they impacted the library. For those of us who love visiting the library, the book is creates a rather personal experience. The book is fascinating because it covers so many years, so many people, not only staff, but others who use the library. We watch the library transform into both a shelter for the homeless and for the long standing visitors of the library. Throughout the book, we are reminded of the vital role libraries have for communities.

This book is mildly interesting. The Central Library fire is interesting for the descriptions of the fire and its terrible consequences. After that are many chapters related to the people involved in the fire and its aftermath. Some are interesting, but since I love books and libraries I kept reading. However, I felt the book was too long and too involved.

Central Library in downtown LA is the library. There was a large mysterious fire in the 80's that led to an arson investigation, but was it arson? The library fire and aftermath, the building's history, the librarians, the patrons: all of this is described in this love letter to all libraries. Such an enjoyable book!

I adore Susan Orlean and her circuitous way of telling a story. Usually. But . . .

The Library Book tells the story of a fire at the Los Angeles Public Library in 1986. Fire investigators ruled it an arson and a court case followed. The facts and mysteries surrounding the fire lead Orlean to discussion of the library which include the founding of the first library in Los Angeles, the naming of the first head librarian, which leads to a discussion of every head librarian to follow up to the present day. Because the building itself becomes a character in the story (although not to the extent that I would have expected or hoped), the reader learns about every iteration of home to the LAPL. Orlean introduces us to many of the varied departments in the library from maps, to teen books to music. We meet the patrons, the librarians, the homeless and the security that pass through the doors. I love books. I love libraries. But . . . And, that's the rub. This book explores just too much of everything to be the love letter I hoped and wished it would be.

A fascinating and thorough history of the Los Angeles Public Library and the fire that nearly destroyed it in 1986. The narrative meanders a bit to peripheral topics but it is always relevant and interesting. Very well done.

There is just so much that is packed into this wonderful read. Using the fire of 1986 at the Central Library as the foundation, Orlean covers among many other things:

- The curious arson case that followed the ravaging fire
- The history of the LA Public Library and the large cast of fascinating characters that were instrumental in its founding and development
- The myriad of services currently provided at the Central Library and many of the women and men who work hard day in and day out to provide them
- Book burnings throughout history
- Different ways that public libraries are actively working to understand and meet patron needs of today and the future

To understate things a bit, as a librarian I enjoyed this all immensely. However, thankfully you do not need to be actively employed as such in order to adore "The Library Book." Any frequent or infrequent library user will both delight in this work and gain newfound appreciation for these public hubs of information, learning, and community.

[The Library Book] by [[Susan Orlean]] will be released in October 2018. I was fortunate to receive an ARC from Net Galley.

The book is, superficially, the fascinating story of the 1986 fire that essentially destroyed Central Library in Los Angeles. Orlean discusses the fire itself and the damage it caused to collections, first from smoke and flame, and then from water hoses. Paid staff and volunteers made heroic efforts to save as many books, maps and other materials as they could both from the immediate fire and then later, as the wet books, which had been frozen, were brought back to life.

Orlean also pursues the mystery of who started the fire. A suspect was arrested but there simply wasn't enough evidence to convict Harry Peake, a sometime actor whose story of that April day changed often and in startling ways but Peake admitted to setting the fire in at least one or two versions.

But, the heart of the book is the story of the libraries in general and the Los Angeles County Public Library,in particular. She traces the history of the Central Library up to the fire, through to the present day and then imagines a bit of the future. Overdrive might change the nature of libraries, making it easier to access digital resources, but the story of the library throughout its history was and is one of service that goes beyond caretaking and dispensing materials. Orlean visits various departments including those who answer the phone and answer questions that, as one of them points out, could often be easily answered using Google. Not everyone goes online and some people just want to talk with a human being.

The Los Angeles library system, along with many urban libraries, is on the front line of the homeless crisis. Beyond being a shelter during the day, the library connects homeless people to information and resources in both informal and formal ways as Orleans describes a program in which the librarians invited service providers to an organized fair where homeless patrons could be directed to the services they needed. Librarians carry a strong sense of social justice, deeply embedded concern for the "whole" person.

Orlean begins each chapter with four book titles related to the coming text, including their Dewey Decimal number. And, throughout, her own love of books and libraries shine through. We sense a fellow traveler who wrote this book out of love and gratitude. The most touching parts of the book, I think, are the interviews with those who were at the library the day of the fire, whether librarians, patrons or firemen, and those who lived through the years of restoration of both the building and the books.

Susan Orlean, staff writer for THE NEW YORKER and author of seven books, centers THE LIBRARY BOOK on the catastrophic fire at the Los Angeles Central Library on April 29, 1986 that destroyed 400,000 books and damaged 700,000, burned for seven hours and reached a temperature of 2000 degrees. More than one-quarter of the way through the book, she notes that, before learning about the fire, she had decided that she was done with writing books because of the commitment involved, but was hooked by the sense of familiarity she felt when visiting a branch library with her first-grade son in 2011. Orlean unsentimentally describes her love of books and libraries bequeathed to her by her mother and goes on to examine the cause of the fire (arson?), the inner workings of the Los Angeles Public Library, and the role of libraries yesterday, today and tomorrow.

This book was beautifully poetic. It shows a behind the scenes look into the world of being a librarian. It shows a blend of historical events, the librarians who work there, and how some of the most tragic events have occurred and the things they did to save books. This novel was a gem to me! The novel was intense at times as I read through some past events and horrified at some of the history I've missed out on learning in school. I did some of my own research after reading this and was amazed at some of the tragic event that took place here. Susan really spins out a tale you wont want to miss. All in all 5 stars from me!

Using the devastating 1986 fire as the center, Orlean spins out the weird and wonderful existence of the LA library--its founding and series of later 19th century women librarians, adaptation to new technology and library uses, the oddball who probably set the fire but who could never be prosecuted successfully for it, the role of libraries as social service providers, the history of downtown LA, librarianship as a refuge for LGBTQ people from the beginning (and how the AIDS crisis was a catastrophe for the library staff), the art of freeze-drying the water out of the salvaged books, radical librarianship in an age of civil liberty crises, bookmobiles, city budgets and the bizarre questions people ask the reference librarians.

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for giving me the chance to read this upcoming non-fiction by Susan Orlean. I’m in love with this book! It’s like a love letter to libraries, specifically to the Los Angeles Library, but really to all and all the wonderful people who work in them. It’s a mix of history, current events, some gender observations, all with a bit of mystery thrown in. I have not read anything by Susan Orlean previously although I am familiar with who she is. Her research and writing are great and the description of the fire at the library was beautiful and horrifying and intensely immersive. Amazing descriptive talent. I recommend this title wholeheartedly.

Anyone who loves to read and loves just spending time browsing through the library will also love this book.

“The Library Book” focuses on the devastating fire at the main branch of the Los Angeles Public Library in 1986. But it is so much more than a simple story about the fire and whether it was accidental or arson. Chapters jump between the story of the fire, the suspected arsonist, the history of the library and the colorful librarians, and current activities at the restored library.

One of my criteria for a good book is whether I learn something new, no matter how small and this book passed the test. I was educated on how a fire starts and spreads, what happens when you burn a book and how fires are analyzed to determine the ignition point. All things that I have never had a need to know but found fascinating none the less. And all of this was offered without being dry material or too scientific.

The author’s writing translates perfectly into storytelling and she offers such vivid descriptions that you can visualize something as complex as a smoldering flame that develops into a raging fire. She describes how the smoke changes color and offers lyrical sentences like, “It gathered into soft puffs that bobbed and banked against shelves like bumpers.”

I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Library Book. It was a great story with interesting characters and it made me want to explore other books by this author.

A very interesting story of the LA library fire and the importance of libraries in contemporary society. A must have fore libraries.

Orlean, who wrote The Orchid Thief, one of the best pieces of narrative nonfiction of the twentieth century, now turns out what will surely be considered one of the best of the twenty-first. If you are an avid reader, library lover or librarian (like me), you will be captivated by the story of the tremendous fire that tore through the Los Angeles Public Library, destroying and damaging over 1 millions books. Orlean takes readers behind the scenes at the library to explore the mundane, unusual and sometimes downright bizarre workings of the library. She also takes time to build a portrait of the arsonist, a man set of leaving his mark on the world. Highly recommended