The Library Book

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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. A library lover's dream! Full of history, from the beginning of the beginning, and a careful tour through the libraries that have shaped our written record of humanity. An encyclopedic read, wrapping a reader roundabout with all those hours of research, the many crooks and crannies investigated and historical detective-diving obvious in every chapter. There is a particularly good section that discusses the rise in women readers as well as the popularity of romance novels. Considering how little respect the romance genre and romance readers do seem to get from various histories and commenters on books, it was a nice nod to see two authors highlight the positivity of the genre.

Regarding the suspected arson, Orlean traces the story of suspect Harry Peak, who was arrested but ultimately not tried in a criminal trial for arson, due to the weakness of evidence against him. Peak and the City of Los Angeles settled dueling civil suits shortly before Peak’s death from complications of HIV/AIDS in 1993.Such as the famed Library of Alexandria that burned down not just once but three times. Alas, while the book mentioned it, it was very brief and only about one of the fires. I imagine the authors had to trim down the history and therefore had to cut corners. When their beloved library is threatened with closure, they band together. While trying to save the library, they just may save each other in the process. However, while more and more towns seem to finally modernize their libraries and work hard to make more people want to come, some threats have never truly gone away:

Maggie and Tom meet at the library after Tom's dad smashes his x-box which seems like a tragedy at the time but which is probably the best thing that ever happened to him, because he starts reading again, something he hasn't done since his mum died. So lots of thought provoking questions here as well as history and bibliphilism (and as a true book lover and collector I also loved the portions about private collectors and the building of their collections). And let's not forget that royal patronage was as essential to the scholar as to the ruler (a kind of symbiosis) since the ruler profited from insights or even scientific breakthroughs that meant they could establish or even expand their rule while the scholar had the means to pursue the sciences and in relative safety. 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 mesmerizing and uniquely compelling book that manages to tell the broader story of libraries and librarians in a way that has never been done before. I was so excited to read The Library: A Fragile History! A book dedicated simply and wholly to the subject of libraries? Yes, please! This is an exhaustive, detailed dive into a subject that is dear to most book lovers: namely the history of libraries and the roles they have played over the years. I fully expected this to become a new favorite.

This book is about the history of libraries, mostly in the western world, from ancient times until the current era. The authors, I have found, specialise in the history of early printed books, Reformation Europe and the book trade. It seems to me that they have written a book focusing on these topics while presenting it as a broader history of libraries. Only the last part (of 6) was about the 20th century, which after the devastating impact of the Second World War on libraries, saw the biggest technological revolutions since the invention of moveable type and printing presses – that is, the provision of computers for library users, electronic library management systems, barcodes, radio-frequency identification, the internet, ebooks – and which gets so little attention. I really enjoyed the first half of this book, but as I continued, I began to get more frustrated. If you are curious about library history and the LA public library system, then I would definitely read this book, just to learn some history. Orlean's writing is strong and propels the book forward, at least making this a pleasurable read. I did really enjoy parts of this book, so I can't completely write it off.

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. The book's subtitle "A Fragile History" is especially poignant. The author really managed to show the difficulty of preserving books, especially entire collections through the ages. With all of the neglect, theft, war, elitism and censorship it is surprising there are any books older than 100 years left in the world. By the end I got a real sense of the libraries perseverance and the herculean effort needed to preserve them. We all judge a book by its cover. (Don’t deny it!) We also judge books by their titles at times. So if you see this book, you will certainly go for it because it is about the magical place we all love: the library. But does the content do justice to this title and cover? Not exactly. a b Lewis, Michael (2018-10-15). "The Library Fire That Ignited an Author's Imagination". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2021-09-27 . Retrieved 2022-02-01. Her interaction with others is mostly limited to her sharing some jobs with her grumpy but reliable old neighbour in return for the occasional assistance on some other job too big for one.It then went into the impact on the Printing Press / Guttenberg and how that exploded the number of books and divide between Printed and transcribed. Interesting stories of how some of the early public collections were from private gifts at death and/or private collection used to pay off debt at death. I thought one of the key thoughts (and I'll butcher the exact quote) was that "no matter how Passionate the Collector, the collection/library was a mere burden to its recipients upon his passing". (This makes me thing of all the things I collect, books, sports memorabilia, etc that will probably just end up in the trash.) A bibliophiles dream bound in a single edition! And while undoubtedly scholarly and historical this is the sort of book that can also be perused in small doses by any lover of books and libraries, whether they are regularly in pursuit of knowledge or entertaining escapism in their choice of reading material. **Thank you so much to both NegGalley and Basic Books/Hachette for an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review! I loved it so much I bought a hardcover copy the day it came out.**

The chapters alternate between Tom’s and Maggie’s POVs. Both characters felt fully realized and I was equally invested in both. Osborne does a great job of portraying Tom as a boy verging on manhood but not there yet. All of their issues (loneliness, alcoholism, money problems, grief and trust issues ) are handled sensitively and realistically. Flip side, Tom’s introduction to farming provided some comic relief. Many things happened along the way to change books and the way they are viewed. From papyrus and parchment to paper, from scrolls to books as we know them, from manuscripts to printing press, from storage in chests to lecterns to bookshelves, from items of wealth and status to mass produced items, from instruments of education to means of entertainment, from Latin to local languages, from serving select few to being available to the “unwashed” masses. What has never changed is the understanding of the power and danger of books — no wonder book burning (or its close cousin — book banning) are used to try to control add shape minds and attitudes.This book covers the evolution of the Library from the status symbol of the nobility, through professional personal libraries of scholars and merchants, subscription libraries and all the way to the public good that they are today, with additional insights of the value different people place on them. I find it quite surprising just how late fiction was allowed into the hallowed halls of libraries. What is so delightful about Tom and Maggie is the way they not only bring out the best in each other but support each other through difficult times. Tom needs someone to care and nurture him and help him deal with his Dad while Maggie needs company and the joy of having a boy around, experiencing the delights of a farm for the first time. It was also lovely to see Tom open himself to learning new things, like yoga and discovering the joy of reading, to the point of becoming confident in talking about books with Maggie and others. 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.