3.5 stars



A fascinating look into the history of a beloved institution. [a:Susan Orlean|45374|Susan Orlean|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1316565913p2/45374.jpg] did an amazingly thorough job researching dates, contributions and even the Dewey decimal system! My favorite moments were near the beginning when Orlean describes her childhood visits to her hometown library. It was a beautiful parallel when she discussed taking her son to the library later. This book is clearly a passion project for Orlean and it's sure to enchant all the library lovers who read this.

My critiques have to do with the story structure. This book is half narrative, half historical accounts. All the chapters have something in common: they describe stories of libraries. However, the plot jumps around so I could never keep track of which library Orlean was referring to. For example, she jumped through hoops describing the library fire. She would discuss it one chapter, then maybe not mention it until another two chapters had passed. I would forget about it and lose track of the details. I believe it would have been better to arrange the story in specific sections and in order.