The Library Book
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Narrated by:
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Susan Orlean
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By:
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Susan Orlean
About this listen
Susan Orlean, hailed as a “national treasure” by The Washington Post and the acclaimed best-selling author of Rin Tin Tin and The Orchid Thief, reopens the unsolved mystery of the most catastrophic library fire in American history and delivers a dazzling love letter to a beloved institution - our libraries.
On the morning of April 29, 1986, a fire alarm sounded in the Los Angeles Public Library. As the moments passed, the patrons and staff who had cleared out of the building realized this was not the usual false alarm. As one fireman recounted later, “Once that first stack got going, it was good-bye, Charlie.” The fire was disastrous: It reached 2,000 degrees and burned for more than seven hours. By the time it was extinguished, it had consumed 400,000 books and damaged 700,000 more. Investigators descended on the scene, but more than 30 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 with the fascinating history of libraries and the sometimes eccentric characters who run them, award-winning journalist and New York Times best-selling author Susan Orlean presents a mesmerizing and uniquely compelling story as only she can. With her signature wit, insight, compassion, and talent for deep research, she investigates the legendary Los Angeles Public Library fire to showcase the larger, crucial role that libraries play in our lives.
To truly understand what happens behind the stacks, Orlean visits the different departments of the LAPL, encountering an engaging cast of employees and patrons and experiencing alongside them the victories and struggles they face in today’s climate. She also delves into the evolution of libraries across the country and around the world, from a metropolitan charitable initiative to a cornerstone of national identity. She reflects on her childhood experiences in libraries; studies fire 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 library more than 30 years ago. Along the way, she reveals how these buildings provide much more than just books - and that they are needed now more than ever.
Filled with heart, passion, and unforgettable characters, The Library Book is classic Susan Orlean and an homage to a beloved institution that remains a vital part of the heart, mind, and soul of our country and culture.
©2018 Susan Orlean (P)2018 Simon & SchusterListeners also enjoyed...
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Lois Gibbs, Luella Kenny, and other mothers loved their neighborhood on the east side of Niagara Falls. It had an elementary school, a playground, and rows of affordable homes. In the spring of 1977, pungent odors began to seep into these little houses, and it didn’t take long for worried mothers to identify the curious scent. It was the sickly-sweet smell of chemicals.
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Incredible work of everyday people
- By J. C. Edens on 11-20-24
By: Keith O'Brien
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Oracle Bones
- A Journey Through Time in China
- By: Peter Hessler
- Narrated by: Peter Berkrot
- Length: 18 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
A century ago, outsiders saw China as a place where nothing ever changes. Today, the country has become one of the most dynamic regions on earth. In Oracle Bones, Peter Hessler explores the human side of China's transformation, viewing modern-day China and its growing links to the Western world through the lives of a handful of ordinary people.
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Great Book, except for the narration.
- By DMH on 11-09-10
By: Peter Hessler
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The Girls of Atomic City
- The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II
- By: Denise Kiernan
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 12 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
At the height of World War II, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, was home to 75,000 residents, consuming more electricity than New York City. But to most of the world, the town did not exist. Thousands of civilians - many of them young women from small towns across the South - were recruited to this secret city, enticed by solid wages and the promise of war-ending work. Kept very much in the dark, few would ever guess the true nature of the tasks they performed each day in the hulking factories in the middle of the Appalachian Mountains.
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Important story of this secret city
- By CBlox on 11-14-13
By: Denise Kiernan
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Age of Ambition
- Chasing Fortune, Truth, and Faith in the New China
- By: Evan Osnos
- Narrated by: Evan Osnos, George Backman
- Length: 16 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
As the Beijing correspondent for The New Yorker, Evan Osnos was on the ground in China for years, witness to profound political, economic, and cultural upheaval. In Age of Ambition, he describes the greatest collision taking place in that country: the clash between the rise of the individual and the Communist Party’s struggle to retain control.
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Come back when you have a warrant!
- By Neuron on 11-06-15
By: Evan Osnos
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Fire in the Belly
- The Life and Times of David Wojnarowicz
- By: Cynthia Carr
- Narrated by: Cynthia Barrett
- Length: 25 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
David Wojnarowicz was an abused child, a teen runaway who barely finished high school, but he emerged as one of the most important voices of his generation. His circle of East Village artists moved into the national spotlight just as the AIDS plague began its devastating advance, and as right-wing culture warriors reared their heads. Fire in the Belly is the untold story of a polarizing figure at a pivotal moment in American culture - and one of the most highly acclaimed biographies of the year.
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Why did they let this person read?
- By Wendell Ricketts on 12-11-18
By: Cynthia Carr
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American Fire
- Love, Arson, and Life in a Vanishing Land
- By: Monica Hesse
- Narrated by: Tanya Eby
- Length: 7 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Shocked by a five-month arson spree that left rural Virginia reeling, Washington Post reporter Monica Hesse drove down to Accomack County to cover the trial of Charlie Smith, who pled guilty to 67 counts of arson. But Charlie wasn't lighting fires alone: he had an accomplice - his girlfriend, Tonya Bundick. Through her depiction of the dangerous shift that happened in their passionate relationship, Hesse brilliantly brings to life the once-thriving coastal community and its distressed inhabitants.
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Narration is horrible
- By Bryan Campbell on 08-17-17
By: Monica Hesse
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Bad City
- Peril and Power in the City of Angels
- By: Paul Pringle
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 9 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
On a cool, overcast afternoon in April 2016, a salacious tip arrived at the L.A. Times that reporter Paul Pringle thought should have taken, at most, a few weeks to check out: a drug overdose at a fancy hotel involving one of the University of Southern California’s shiniest stars—Dr. Carmen Puliafito, the head of the prestigious medical school. Pringle, who’d long done battle with USC and its almost impenetrable culture of silence, knew reporting the story wouldn’t be a walk in the park. USC is the largest private employer in the city of L.A., and it casts a long shadow.
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Wow.
- By Anna on 07-22-22
By: Paul Pringle
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The Gardner Heist
- The True Story of the World's Largest Unsolved Art Theft
- By: Ulrich Boser
- Narrated by: Stephen Graybill
- Length: 8 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
After the death of famed art detective Harold Smith, reporter Ulrich Boser decided to take up the case. Exploring Smith's unfinished leads, Boser travels deep into the art underworld and comes across a remarkable cast of characters, including a brilliant rock 'n' roll thief, a gangster who professes his innocence in rhyming verse, and the enigmatic late Boston heiress Isabella Stewart Gardner herself. Boser becomes increasingly obsessed with the case and eventually uncovers startling new evidence about the identities of the thieves.
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Loved it!
- By Amanda D. on 05-21-19
By: Ulrich Boser
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Shortest Way Home
- One Mayor's Challenge and a Model for America's Future
- By: Pete Buttigieg
- Narrated by: Pete Buttigieg
- Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Once described by The Washington Post as "the most interesting mayor you've never heard of", Pete Buttigieg, the 36-year-old Democratic mayor of South Bend, Indiana, has improbably emerged as one of the nation's most visionary politicians. First elected in 2011, Buttigieg left a successful business career to move back to his hometown, previously tagged by Newsweek as a "dying city", and transformed it into a shining model of urban reinvention.
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Reveals a Person Wise & Experienced & Literate
- By dbbks3 on 03-17-19
By: Pete Buttigieg
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Inside Scientology
- The Story of America's Most Secretive Religion
- By: Janet Reitman
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 15 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Scientology, created in 1954 by a prolific sci-fi writer named L. Ron Hubbard, claims to be the world's fastest-growing religion, with millions of members around the world and huge financial holdings. Its celebrity believers keep its profile high, and its teams of "volunteer ministers" offer aid at disaster sites such as Haiti and the World Trade Center. But Scientology is also a notably closed faith, harassing journalists and others through litigation and intimidation, even infiltrating the highest levels of government to further its goals.
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My cup of tea.
- By MWMcCabe on 08-09-11
By: Janet Reitman
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If the Devil Had a Wife
- By: Frank Mills
- Narrated by: A.T. Chandler
- Length: 8 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Once upon a time. Happily ever after. Such are the classic promises of fairy tales. Yet in Texas we find a twist to the familiar storyline. In If the Devil Had a Wife, there is still the battle of Good vs. Evil, a beautiful maiden, a wealthy suitor, a kingdom of riches and the wicked witch, but any similarity with Cinderella and Snow White ends there. With the help of her life partner and an attorney (always necessary in these modern times), Nelda Stark executes a devious plan that elevates fraud and theft to a new high.
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What a Tale!!
- By Texas Native on 09-28-16
By: Frank Mills
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Dreamers and Deceivers
- True and Untold Stories of the Heroes and Villains Who Made America
- By: Glenn Beck
- Narrated by: Jeremy Lowell
- Length: 9 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The new nonfiction from number-one best-selling author and popular radio and television host Glenn Beck.
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Astounding History stories gather life
- By Gil on 11-13-14
By: Glenn Beck
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Provenance
- How a Con Man and a Forger Rewrote the History of Modern Art
- By: Laney Salisbury, Aly Sujo
- Narrated by: Marty Peterson
- Length: 8 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Here is a tautly paced investigation of one the 20th century's most audacious art frauds, which generated hundreds of forgeries - many of them still hanging in prominent museums and private collections today. Provenance is the extraordinary narrative of one of the most far-reaching and elaborate deceptions in art history.
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Fabulous story, terrible narration almost ruined
- By Sharonia on 02-24-13
By: Laney Salisbury, and others
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Emmeline lives on a remote island with her father, who teaches her about the natural world through her senses. What he won’t explain are the mysterious scents stored in glass bottles that line the walls of their cabin, or the origin of the machine that creates them. As Emmeline grows, however, so too does her curiosity, until one day the unforeseen happens, and Emmeline is vaulted out into the real world—a place of love, betrayal, ambition, and revenge. To understand her past, Emmeline must unlock the clues to her identity.
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Long & Tedious. If Only She'd Had a Good Editor.
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Smile
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With a play opening on Broadway, and every reason to smile, Sarah Ruhl has just survived a high-risk pregnancy when she discovers the left side of her face is completely paralyzed. She is assured that 90 percent of Bell’s palsy patients experience a full recovery—like Ruhl’s own mother. But Sarah is in the unlucky ten percent. And for a woman, wife, mother, and artist working in theater, the paralysis and the disconnect between the interior and exterior brings significant and specific challenges.
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Synkinesis: I am there
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When Abby signs up for a DNA service, it’s mainly to give her friend and secret love interest, Leo, a nudge. After all, she knows who she is already: Avid photographer. Injury-prone tree climber. Best friend to Leo and Connie...although ever since the B.E.I. (Big Embarrassing Incident) with Leo, things have been awkward on that front.
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Daughter Loved It
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On the Rooftop
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At home they are just sisters, but on stage, they are The Salvations. Ruth, Esther, and Chloe have been singing and dancing in harmony since they could speak. Thanks to the rigorous direction of their mother, Vivian, they’ve become a bona fide girl group whose shows are the talk of the Jazz-era Fillmore.
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Basic
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The Jetsetters
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
When 70-year-old Charlotte Perkins submits a sexy essay to the "Become a Jetsetter" contest, she dreams of reuniting her estranged children: Lee, an almost-famous actress; Cord, a handsome Manhattan venture capitalist who can't seem to find a bride; and Regan, a harried mother who took it all wrong when Charlotte bought her a Weight Watchers gift certificate for her birthday. Charlotte yearns for the years when her children were young and she was a single mother who meant everything to them. When she wins the cruise, the family packs all their baggage - literal and figurative....
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Calm down
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Infinite Country
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Overall
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Performance
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Talia is being held at a correctional facility for adolescent girls in the forested mountains of Colombia after committing an impulsive act of violence that may or may not have been warranted. She urgently needs to get out and get back home to Bogotá, where her father and a plane ticket to the United States are waiting for her. If she misses her flight, she might also miss her chance to finally be reunited with her family.
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Disappointed
- By Josh on 04-06-21
By: Patricia Engel
What listeners say about The Library Book
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
- G Goodwin
- 12-10-18
Love Letter to Libraries
Such a worthwhile read.
Good storyteller
Quirky and interesting characters
Uplifting and hopeful
Highly recommend
I listened at 1.25 speed and that was just right.
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27 people found this helpful
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
- DFK
- 01-04-19
Interesting, but all over the place
I decided to listen to this book based on the review and added mentions (New and Noteworthy, and the best seller sidebar) in The New York Times Book Review. I love books and I love libraries, and it seemed like I’d enjoy it. I did enjoy it, but found it not as great as I expected given what was written about it. The main thrust was, apparently, the fire in the LA library, but this theme was used as a way to detour back and forth to the history of the LA library, library functions, and go off on tangential topics like political book burnings. All the material was interesting, and clearly researched well, but it was really all over the place. I found the constant jumping around in time - early history of the library, the fire and the salvage, recent history of the library, homeless people in the library, book burnings, etc. - to have no reasonable organization. Given that one of the characteristics of libraries - and this is described in the book too - is organization and cataloguing, this book in some ways was not in character. It was almost a book written by a process of free association. The author’s reading of her own work was adequate, but nothing outstanding. I found it a bit slow and moved to the 1.25 speed, something I rarely do, but it was an improvement.
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19 people found this helpful
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- Meghan Goodrich
- 02-13-19
Fascinating story; Unfortunate narration
This audiobook unfortunately suffers from unpolished narration by the author. Although hard to imagine an author bored of her own material, it seems so at certain points of the book. I'm glad I powered through. It is really well researched and presents a breadth of perspectives surrounding the library. At points, little gems and love letters to libraries that all book lovers will appreciate appear.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Jillian
- 01-17-19
Interesting Information- Tough Listen
The author put together a very interesting semblance of facts, tidbits, overall book history. Things I'd never have known and did find beneficial to learn. I got a 3rd of the way through though and realized I could no longer listen. I realized the author's "reading voice" was actually bothering me. The author is a talented author. Narration may be a whole other ball game and explains why it is a professional field all is own.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Annette C. Fuschini
- 01-19-19
It's History
This does center around the Los Angeles city Library, however the book is rich in history and it makes you want to do your research to find out more about the events and people in the book. It reminded me of how much time I spent in my library's as kid. Makes me want to go my local library since it's been a while.
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- ian
- 02-19-19
Fantastic book. Who knew this library had such a story. One if the great nonfiction books I’ve read / heard.
The fire, the library’s history and libraries in general are made so interesting by this veteran writer. I loved this book. Who knew a library could be so interesting? Great great book.
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1 person found this helpful
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- A. Sharp
- 12-08-18
A book about books
What's more fun to read than a book about books? But it's also a book about Los Angeles, libraries, librarians, library patrons, architecture, women's rights, AIDS, and occasionally what's supposed to be its subject - the Los Angeles Central Library fire of 1986. There doesn't seem to be an organizing principal, just a lot of wonderful stories about unforgettable people. But I was always happy to be reading whatever she wanted to write about.
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- torie
- 02-17-19
Wonderful! Perfect!
Enjoyed this book more than any other in recent memory. So surprising, a roller coaster of information, story telling, history and humor. This book is perfect for any reader regardless of literature preference.
I’ve found myself recommending The Library Book over and over. Wish there were 6 stars to give. Author does a wonderful job reading as well.
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- L. Young
- 12-11-18
super account of everything to do with libraries
yes it is a super account of everything to do with libraries. listen to it.
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- Kelly
- 01-26-19
Not what I expected
Although the story about the library fire was interesting, I could have done without all the other history stories (some were too drug out). Also, would have liked a different performer. Might not have felt so long if the reader had better inflection and tone.
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