The Library Book

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Most of all , by empowering the digital revolution, librarians have given up the one unique selling point which they defended so tenaciously for almost as long as we have had libraries: the right to apply their knowledge, taste and discrimination to assisting the choice of their patrons. This has been the key to understanding so much in this book: the idea that in an age of plenty there will always be helpmates to assist readers in making the right choice of book. Can the internet, in all its enormous variety, ever replace this reflective process of deliberation, the slow choosing the eager anticipation, the slow unfolding of plot?" (and while impressive algorithms have made it easy to find "more of the same" - "What if we want something different, rather than more of the same? What if we do not know that we want something different, but a chance encounter sparks our interests?")

Susan Orlean was speaking with the Los Angeles Times about this book before its release....( I enjoyed listening to her speak on NPR as well). I wanted to end this review with a picture of the state library of Stuttgart (capital of my state) but when I showed it to a friend of mine and asked what he thought of it, he said it reminded him of a mall bookstore. I asked him if the US / Canada actually had bookstores that big and he said "several". Then he told be of the library of Chicago with its 7 stories and GARGOYLES. I feel … very small now and shall refrain from showing the picture. *lol*Tom Harris. Sixteen. Dead mom. Drunk dad. Bullied at school. Lonely. Discovers that he enjoys reading romance novels, much to his embarrassment. In this context, it was interesting to read of the emergence of publishers, the first of which was the Cambridge University Press, founded by Henry VIII in 1534. Around the same time but supposedly slightly later, the Schwabe Verlag in Switzerland and the House of Elzevir were also founded. In only 100 years since the invention of the printing press, more books had been produced than in the entire history of the written word up until that point! This also necessitated the regulation of the print trade.

As a big reader and user of libraries, this book called out to me. I was worried it might be a little too saccharine, but it wasn’t. The subtitle comes because the focus is on the tragedies of losing libraries. The loss of Alexandria is covered, of course; but the authors include other, less well known losses. The modern era could use a bit more development in terms of the section about the attempts of book challenges and bans that occur, not just in the US. It should be noted that bans and challenges are covered as are librarcides. The most impressive private collection and simultaneously the biggest private one in Germany was discovered only about a week ago and made at least national (I think even international) news: https://de.euronews.com/2023/02/02/gr... It is under these circumstances that Tom and Maggie are destined to meet in an even more awkward moment in the street near the library. This encounter heralds the beginning of a unique friendship that takes the reader on a fragile journey through love and all its guises. What I might have enjoyed more would have been if the authors had mentioned truly modern forms of the book. It seemed as if the authors weren't too impressed or in favour of ebooks and audiobooks weren't mentioned at all despite their influence on both literature and libraries. Pity.Maggie is 72 years young, she has been living alone for at least 10 years. She has a home and acreage with animals that she cares for. She keeps sheep for their fleece and enjoys caring for them. She likes her life but would like more people to interact with. Maggie is a pensioner and has been happily alone for ten years, at least that's what she tells herself. When Tom comes to her rescue, a friendship develops that could change her life. As Maggie helps Tom to stand up for himself, Tom helps Maggie realise the mistakes of her past don't have to define her future. Even someone as socially awkward as sixteen year old Tom can find a sense of equilibrium just entering the quiet, calming space of his local library. He can be comfortably invisible here whilst still interacting in social activities. Two people - Tom is a lonely teenager. Maggie is in her 70s and lonely as well. What brings them together? A library! The library is a fascinating account the history of libraries and books through the ages. The chapters span from the ancient library of Alexandria to libraries in this day and age. The writing of the library is pretty accessible but it is clearly a scholarly read. The amount of research the authors put in write this book is evident throughout book and manifests itself in an impressive number of references (many of which seem worthy to read on their own).

This story is less about the library and more about Tom and Maggie’s friendship and their individual struggles. Tom feels anxiety whenever he is at home and tries to avoid his alcoholic father whose addiction is worsening everyday. Since losing her family, Maggie has built a fortress of walls around her and hardly allows anyone to get close to her. The reason I find Susan’s comment about folks not associating libraries with Los Angeles....is because I never really thought about it, but she’s absolutely right. She’s so right - it wasn’t even in my consciousness, ‘at all’, and I live in California with family throughout L.A. I also never heard of this fire - shows you how asleep I was - and every L.A. person in my life too. My youngest daughter was a year old in 1986. When the library is threatened with closure, Tom and Maggie seek to help. But what can they do? And how can Tom get through to his father who is turning increasingly to alcohol? And how can he he get Farah’s attention without exposing himself to further bullying from Joshua Kemp? Much reference to wonderful food and baking and cakes and also fascinating snippets on farming life and lambing and puppies As a former librarian and student of library studies, this book needed to work hard to impress me. Unfortunately, it failed. I’m not doubting the scholarship and structure of the text, but I had some major issues.

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What a wonderful cast of characters Osborne gives the reader: appealing for all their very human flaws, growing and changing with the challenges they face. And there are quite a few: alcoholism, loneliness, grief, guilt, social isolation and low self-esteem. It’s lovely to see Tom and Maggie ultimately fighting for the library that brought them together when they most needed to meet. This is a delightfully funny, heart-warming feel-good story with a satisfying happy ending. Overall, this was a good reading experience, though it could have worked even better had I not gone in expecting something else. The story is sweet and the main characters are loveable. And that makes up for the other shortcomings to a great extent.