2019 June Meeting Notes - The Library Book by Susan Orlean

[Anita]

Going above and beyond, Marilyn prepared a lovely seasonal dinner for the nine of us who ventured out on a rainy Tuesday evening-lentil curry soup, homemade salade nicoise (with anchovies), cheese, french bread, with macaroons and mochi for dessert. We all enjoyed a relaxing meal, while learning how many of our number like anchovies. Many thanks to Marilyn.

The Library Book garnered ratings with a range from 7-9, and a mean and median of 8. All appreciated the tactile experience of holding the book and agreed that the hardback book was unusually beautiful, which enhanced the theme of the book. Everybody found (often different) aspects of the book very interesting and informative, particularly facts about the development and evolution of libraries, some of the quirky characters who served as librarians at the LA library, how books were saved after the fire, and the library's intertwining with the growth of Los Angeles. Anita described the book as long form journalism where the author pulls together different threads of information into a cohesive narrative, built around a hook (here the fire and suspected arson). Many thought the book successfully accomplished that purpose, while some thought the book could have been more effective if Orleans had been more judicious in culling her extensive research. There was some disagreement about whether the "hook" for the book--the initial (and seemingly debunked) belief that the fire was the work of an arsonist--was effective, and some sentiment that the details about the never-charged prime suspect were not all that interesting. We also discussed pros and cons of journalists inserting themselves into the story, as Orleans did here.

The book also led to a discussion of libraries and society--how the idea that everyone should have access to books was a startling and democratizing one, and what purpose libraries can and should serve now and in the future as books and information are so available electronically but people still want and need community centers.

Our next meeting is Tuesday, July 16 at 7:45 at my house-4610 Norwood Drive. We'll be discussing WASHINGTON BLACK by Esi Edugyan. Please let me know if you can make it.

For September we decided to read two plays--A Doll's House by Ibsen and A Doll's House, Part 2 by Lucas Hnath. The latter does not appear to be available in the library, but seems to be available at these links
https://www.dramatists.com/cgi-bin/db...
https://www.tcg.org/store/productdeta...
and possibly through Amazon (although that was a bit unclear to me)

Nicki will host the September meeting on Wednesday, September 11.

Possible book for future consideration (if we have two readers) -- There, There by Tommy Orange
Also, we can keep in mind Go,Went, Gone, by Jenny Erpenbeck. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/20...

And we'd like to look for a good graphic novel to read.

I look forward to seeing many of you in July.

Linda