summary of the library book by susan orlean

Which of these three aspects was the most interesting to you…and why?

The book covers roughly three topics: the fire and its aftermath, suspicion surrounding Harry Peak and the “business” of the library.

The lovely rotunda ceiling in the Central Library in LA.ġ0 Book Club Questions for The Library Book 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. 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. 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? By the time it was extinguished, it had consumed four hundred thousand books and damaged seven hundred thousand more. The fire was disastrous: it reached two thousand degrees and burned for more than seven hours. On the morning of April 28, 1986, a fire alarm sounded in the Los Angeles Public Library. This means that if you choose to purchase, I’ll make a small commission.) The Library Book Synopsis Take a look at the synopsis- does it reflect your experience of the book? And then move on to our book club questions for The Library Book along with some selected reviews.Īnd scroll to the bottom for some ideas on what to read next. Orlean’s well-researched book provides a wide range of topics to discuss and our book club questions for The Library Book will help you get started. But she adds a lot of interest with the history of the library, stories of its librarians and a profile of the evasive man who was accused of setting the fire. The story centers around the devastating 1986 that gutted a huge section of the library. In it, she covers the story of the creation and growth of the Central Library in LA. And Susan Orlean’s The Library Book sits at white hot center of that interest for any passionate book clubber. Because of course you like books and libraries or you probably wouldn’t be in a book club in the first place. Reading books about books and libraries is a very meta thing for any book club to engage in.

Summary of the library book by susan orlean