The Library Book Audiobook By Susan Orlean cover art

The Library Book

 Preview

Get 30 days of Standard free

Prime logo Prime members? New to Audible? You receive a 2 month trial instead.
Auto-renews at $8.99/mo after 30-day trial. Cancel anytime
Try for $0.00
More purchase options

The Library Book

By: Susan Orlean
Narrated by: Susan Orlean
Try for $0.00

$8.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $20.24

Buy for $20.24

Prime Member Exclusive | $0.99/mo for 4 months + $20 Audible credit

$8.99/mo thereafter—terms apply.
Susan Orlean’s bestseller, New York Times Notable Book, and Reese’s Book Club Pick is “a sheer delight…as rich in insight and as varied as the treasures contained on the shelves in any local library” (USA TODAY)—a dazzling love letter to a beloved institution and an investigation into one of its greatest mysteries. “Everybody who loves books should check out The Library Book” (The Washington Post).

On the morning of April 28, 1986, a fire alarm sounded in the Los Angeles Public Library. The fire was disastrous: it reached two thousand degrees and burned for more than seven hours. By the time it was extinguished, it had consumed four hundred thousand books and damaged seven hundred thousand more. 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?

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.

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.

“A book lover’s dream…an ambitiously researched, elegantly written book that serves as a portal into a place of history, drama, culture, and stories” (The Minnesota Star Tribune), Susan Orlean’s thrilling journey through the stacks reveals how these beloved institutions provide much more than just books—and why they remain an essential part of the heart, mind, and soul of our country. Americas Art & Literature Authors Biographies & Memoirs Historical True Crime United States Exciting Fiction
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1
All stars
Most relevant
Ms Orlean wrote an interesting book but should have chosen someone else to read it.

New narrator needed

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Thank you for this book, Ms Orlean. Libraries do not need to be forgotten.
Compelling story and very well written. Loved it.

Makes me want to get a library card

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
As a former public library trustee, I found this book totally captivating. The many researched related topics were fascinating! So interesting to learn that our decisions were parroted across the land and we did not have a fire though had recently totally remodeled.

Love libraries? Read it!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This story is about so much more than just the fire at the LA library. The author did an incredible amount of research into the history of libraries, current state of libraries and the future of libraries. I found it utterly fascinating.

The author did an excellent job reading the book. Overall, great read/listen!

Excellent research about the world of the Library.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I would have never guessed by the title that I would love this book. I learned so much more than a story. It was about an event that really happened and several years of research and interviewing.

Great selection

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews