Check This One Out!

I’ve been on a non-fiction roll recently and been really digging it. A good non-fiction book has a way of creating a type of nostalgia for a place you’ve never been to, it’s such a weird feeling. This entry’s deja-vu/nostalgia trip comes to us from Susan Orlean and it’s about some of my favorite places in the world, libraries. Specifically, this book focusses on the Los Angeles Central Public Library. Central is the hub for all of the other LA branches. It also basically burned to the ground (ish. The inside was completely burnt out, although the building remained standing) in 1986.

The book starts out a blistering (hah) pace, going into the fire, who might have started it, and the immediate aftermath. The chapters that follow are then a history of the library, along with various chapters from current library employees. It serves as both a modern and historical tour, which works very well with the thesis Orlean puts forth that libraries are important gathering places of knowledge, people, and progress. She writes about how Central was one of the first libraries to digitize, and how libraries are adjusting to that modern problem called the internet.

She also writes about how most librarians and library directors see the library as a place not to check out books, but as a place for the community to gather. All of her points ring extremely true, and while I could see an argument that the historical segments of the book seem out of place and like filler, I would argue that the history is part of what makes the fire in 1986 so devastating. By learning the history of the place, you learn what it contains, if that makes sense. It also makes it’s revival that much more heartening.

For the most part, I found this book excellent. Maybe because I’m the target audience for this type of book, but I think most people will find it endearing and interesting. The only part that really lagged for me was the investigation into the potential arsonist, but that might just be because of the lack of closure in that story. Even so it wasn’t bad at all, just not on the same level of the rest of the book. Don’t want to write too much about this book because I think it’s worth finding out for yourself, but let’s just say if you’ve ever loved a book, you’ll appreciate what Orlean has to say about books, libraries, the people who work in them, and how they affect their communities.

Overall this is something that is worth your time, even though you might not expect it. Like how Shake Milton went off today. Gonna call it a 5/5 right now (I’m still wondering if the lag is enough to drop it to a 4.5/5 but for now we’ll stick with a 5/5).

PS: This might be my favorite cover of the year. So simple, but the shiny gold really plays well with the red. My leader in the clubhouse so far!