Jill Orr’s Reviews > The Library Book > Status Update

"You don't need to take a book off a shelf to know there is a voice inside that is waiting to speak to you, and behind that was someone who truly believed that if he or she spoke, someone would listen. It was that affirmation that always amazed me. Even the oddest, most particular book was written with that kind of crazy courage --the writer's belief that someone would find his or her book important to read."

"The silence was more soothing than solemn. A library is a good place to soften solitude: a place where you feel part of a conversation that has gone on for hundreds and hundreds of years even when you're all alone. The library is a whispering post."

One of the singularly expansive books I've read on Los Angeles, and from a perspective that is near and dear to my heart: a library. This is more than a book about the LA library fire, it is also a love letter to books, librarians, and all the multitudes of people who find their way into a library and keep coming back. It is a read I'm savoring....