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Title details for The Library Book by Susan Orlean - Available

The Library Book

by Susan Orlean
Susan Orlean
Audiobook
3 of 8 copies available
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3 of 8 copies available
Susan Orlean's bestseller, New York Times Notable Book, and Reese's Book Club Pick is "a sheer delight...as rich in insight and as varied as the treasures contained on the shelves in any local library" (USA TODAY)—a dazzling love letter to a beloved institution and an investigation into one of its greatest mysteries. "Everybody who loves books should check out The Library Book" (The Washington Post).
On the morning of April 28, 1986, a fire alarm sounded in the Los Angeles Public Library. The fire was disastrous: it reached two thousand degrees and burned for more than seven hours. By the time it was extinguished, it had consumed four hundred thousand books and damaged seven hundred thousand more. Investigators descended on the scene, but more than thirty years later, the mystery remains: Did someone purposefully set fire to the library—and if so, who?

Weaving her lifelong love of books and reading into an investigation of the fire, award-winning New Yorker reporter and New York Times bestselling author Susan Orlean delivers a "delightful...reflection on the past, present, and future of libraries in America" (New York magazine) that manages to tell the broader story of libraries and librarians in a way that has never been done before.

In the "exquisitely written, consistently entertaining" (The New York Times) The Library Book, Orlean chronicles the LAPL fire and its aftermath to showcase the larger, crucial role that libraries play in our lives; delves into the evolution of libraries; brings each department of the library to vivid life; studies arson and attempts to burn a copy of a book herself; and reexamines the case of Harry Peak, the blond-haired actor long suspected of setting fire to the LAPL more than thirty years ago.

"A book lover's dream...an ambitiously researched, elegantly written book that serves as a portal into a place of history, drama, culture, and stories" (The Minnesota Star Tribune), Susan Orlean's thrilling journey through the stacks reveals how these beloved institutions provide much more than just books—and why they remain an essential part of the heart, mind, and soul of our country.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    October 16, 2018

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781508266488
      • File size: 349931 KB
      • Duration: 12:09:01

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      July 9, 2018
      New Yorker staff writer Orlean (Rin Tin Tin) doubles as an investigative reporter and an institutional historian in this sprawling account of the 1986 fire at the Los Angeles Central Public Library. On April 29, 1986, just before 11 a.m., a fire broke out in the stacks of the main branch and burned for seven hours, destroying 400,000 books and damaging hundreds of thousands more. Harry Peak, the man police believed started the fire, was arrested but never charged. Orlean’s investigation into the fire—Was it arson? Why would Peak, a struggling actor and frequent patron of the library, want to burn it down?—leads her down the library’s aisles of history, as she seeks out books on the flawed science of arson forensics along with titles from California serial killer Richard Ramirez’s reading list to better understand the minds of psychopaths. Along the way, she introduces readers to California Public Library system staffers, among them Arin Kasparian, on the circulation desk; Kren Malone, director of the main branch; and Glen Creason, a senior librarian whose tenure spans “the fire the AIDS crisis, which killed 11 librarians.” Midway through, Orlean reveals her own motivation for her return to long-form journalism: her mother’s dementia has made her acutely aware of how memories are doomed to be forgotten unless they’re recorded. This is a persuasive reminder of the importance of libraries, whose shared spaces house historical treasures built with the common good in mind.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Susan Orlean is a wonderful narrator for her terrific new book--part memoir, part paean to libraries and librarians, with a focus on the Los Angeles Public Library and the unusual man who may or may not have caused the library's catastrophic 1986 fire. As she has proven in such books as THE ORCHID THIEF, and in her work for THE NEW YORKER, Orlean is an amazing writer. At first, I was less sure about her reading. Her Midwestern voice is flatish and somewhat nasal. But it's well modulated and unique, and the narration is well paced. Soon, I relished her sound as much as her words. The audiobook is addicting--full of intriguing, sometimes bizarre factoids, with a beautiful story arc, and lots of humor. Enjoy. A.C.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine
    • Good Reading Magazine
      There is passion and an abiding affection for all libraries in this new work by the author of the bestselling book about orchid obsession, The Orchid Thief. Susan Orlean has childhood memories of borrowing many books from her local library in Cleveland, so when her own son wanted to interview a librarian for a school project after the family moved to Los Angeles, Orlean rediscovered the magic of libraries. That led to several years of research about the great Los Angeles Public Library, with its Central Library and 72 branches. She realised she knew little about the great fire at the Central Library in 1986 that destroyed more than 400 000 books as well as priceless manuscripts, patents, magazines and microfilm. The community efforts to rescue books damaged by water and how they were dried and salvaged makes riveting reading. Despite intensive investigation, nobody was ever charged with the crime of arson. One young man, a known fabulist, who had bragged about setting the fire was arrested, but released without charge and later died from AIDS. Orlean researched not only the great fire and the suspected arsonist but her tangential account reveals a world-wide history of burning books for political purposes, and how libraries around the world now provide wide community services and mobile book services. So this account of the unsolved Los Angeles fire is stitched together with fascinating stories of the early days of the library, and the many people and departments that make a modern library more than just a place to borrow books. The LA Central Library opens its doors freely to homeless people and provides services for them. This is challenging sometimes for staff but is part of the commitment by libraries around the world to be open to all people. Reviewed by Jennifer Somerville

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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