in telling the story of this one library, Orlean reminds readers of the spirit of them all, their mission to welcome and equalize and inform, the wonderful depths and potential that they-and maybe all of us, as well-contain. Orlean’s lapidary skills include both unearthing the data and carving a storyline out of the sprawl, piling up such copious and relevant details that I wondered how many mountains of research she discarded for each page of jewels. Susan Orlean’s bestseller and New York Times Notable Book is a sheer delightas 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. In other hands the book would have been a notebook dump, packed with random facts that weren’t germane but felt too hard-won or remarkable to omit. Unexpectedly engaging sections are tied to architects and landscaping and budgets, plus the overwhelming modern challenges of homelessness and mental illness. As Orlean delves into Central Library’s history, she re-animates the lively characters who once dominated the scene. Bibliophiles will feel deeply understood from the start, when Orlean talks about bringing her young son to a branch library in Los Angeles, just as her own mother had taken her to one in the Cleveland suburbs.
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