Review #15: The Library Book by Susan Orlean

Book Review #15

Title: The Library Book

Author: Susan Orlean

Genre: Non-Fiction

# of Pages: 310

Format: Paperback

Part of Series? No

 Rating: 3/5 stars (high 3)

Source: susanorlean.com

Thoughts: Interesting book about the 1986 Los Angeles Central Library fire, the history of the library system in the US, and a thought piece on the role of libraries in society. I will say it is not a fast pace, engrossing story, but it is well researched, and you will be smarter for reading it. Orlean starts each chapter with a list of real “library” books (including their ISBN – international standard book number) that relate to the chapter. To really prove to the reader that there is a book about literally everything. The work discusses the 1986 LA library fire, which damaged over one million books and its main suspect, Harry Peak. This fire is somewhat of an unsolved mystery. If you were looking for Orlean to break the case, don’t. The author also goes into great detail about the origins of the LA library system – the first central branch, its expansion, and the history of the librarians in the system. The reader also is taken along Orlean as she interviews different employees of the library and we learn about the important role libraries play in each and every community. There is also an interesting bit about how and why librarians today are mostly women! If you are a bibliophile, it is a must read.

You will like this if you like: to read, history, true crime, libraries, sociology