The Library Book in Around the World in 80 Books

Feb 12, 2019 Nancy rated it did not like it

Shelves: too-fishy-to-finish, worst-of-2019, california, books-about-books, disaster

A high-concept book that I thought would be a winner for me turned out to be dreadful. Disorganized, shallow, condescending to working class interviewees and characterized by purple, cliché-ridden prose, the breaking point was chapter five, which was entirely the author's self-indulgent witterings about the difficulty of bringing herself to burn a book, just to see how it feels. Wish she'd burned this one. ...more

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Feb 20, 2019 Wes F rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Wow!--this was a great book. All connected with the Great LA Library Fire of 1986--the worst of its kind in US history. Over 400,000 books destroyed. But that's just the central hook upon which all kinds of stories of peoples' lives and books hang. Loved Orlean's rabbit-trail-writing style that is so informative, interesting, and engaging. She's a very good writer and does a great job of capturing so many facets of the story connected with libraries, librarians, books, arsonists, investigators, ...more

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Jun 04, 2019 Daina rated it liked it

Shelves: non-fiction

This is a really well-written book. It tells the mystery of the devastating Central Library fire, in the greater context of the Los Angeles County Public Library system's history. It shares with the reader the importance of a library, and highlights all of the offerings that make libraries what they are today. Orlean truly captures the magic of a library and informs the readers why they're so critical in this day and age.

All that being said, would I recommend this book to a friend if they asked ...more

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