From the Bookshelf of Constant Reader…

The Library Book

Susan Orlean

Start date: December 15, 2019

Finish date: January 1, 2020

Discussion: Reading List

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Showing 2 of 429 topics — 16,899 comments total

Reading List

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What Members Thought

Feb 06, 2019 Katy rated it really liked it

Shelves: history, nonfiction-2015

I really enjoyed Susan Orlean's THE LIBRARY BOOK. Not too long ago The New Yorker ran a short excerpt which piqued my interest. She begins by explaining how she came to love libraries. As a child, she and her mother made weekly trips to the local library, and she was allowed to choose books for herself. I have similar childhood memories.
Here her main subject is the investigation of the arson started fire that devastated the Los Angeles Public Library in 1986. The fire and smoke damage was one ...more

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Mar 09, 2021 Laurel Bradshaw rated it really liked it

Shelves: audiobook, non-fiction, true-crime, books-bookstores-libraries, color-rating-red, themes-book-titles

4 red stars, though I wavered between 3.5 pink and 4 red. I love trivia and this book is full of it. But it got tiring at times and I struggled to want to finish it. It was not very cohesive, but it did manage to cover the entire history of the Los Angeles public library and bring to life some of its more interesting (peculiar?) library directors. As a librarian myself, I had to chuckle at her depiction of libraries, librarians, library patrons, and reference questions. Over all it was a reminde ...more

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Apr 14, 2020 Linda Aull rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction

This is my favorite book of 2020, thus far. It is also Book 4 of my 2020 challenge to read 12 high-quality non-fiction books.

I love libraries. My twice-a-week visits to my local library are the things I miss most during the CoVID-19 isolation.

I love books. I love this book.

This book is a great example of how an interesting true story becomes completely absorbing reading in the hands of a really great writer.

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Jan 01, 2022 Linda rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, memoir, audio, libraries, read-diverse-books-2021

In typical Orlean fashion, this is a meander through several genres: true crime, memoir, history... It's a love letter to libraries and librarians, and as such, it moved me to tears more than once. ...more

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