The Library Book
by Susan Orlean
Simon Schuster, 2018. 310 pgs. Non-Fiction.

On April 28, 1986 the LA Public Library caught fire. The fire reached a temperature of 2,000 degrees and burned for more than seven hours causing millions of dollars’ worth of damage and destroying or damaging more than a million books. It took years for the library to recover and rebuild, but with the support of the community, many volunteers, and generous donors they were able to.

This book is one part true crime, one part history of the LA Public Library, and one part love letter to the modern library. I really enjoyed the way that Orlean wove the three narratives together and I didn’t find one more engaging than the others. She starts each chapter off with a few book titles that relate to the chapter and their call numbers which I thought was a nice touch. I would recommend this for anyone who likes light true crime, LA, or libraries.

AU