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quasinaut's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
3.5
I wasn't expecting to learn so much about fire damage and arson from a book about libraries -- though I suppose that's because The Library Book centers around the devastating 1986 fire at Central Library in LA. I appreciate the depth and details about the library's history, including the many eccentric characters that have crossed paths with the library through the years, but most of the time, the book didn't hold my attention for long. Whenever I was reading it, I enjoyed it, but as soon as I put it down I didn't feel much incentive to pick it up again. But it was worth finishing (eventually)!
Content Warnings
Minor: Drug use, Homophobia, and Terminal illness
hmatt's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
3.0
This could have been a product of listening the audiobook or picking up and putting down the book over a 15 month period, but I didn't find this book very cohesive. Some chapters carry on from the previous one in a linear story, and some go off about random historical topics. I can see what the author was trying to do by "interweaving" the non-linear chapters into the narrative, but I don't think it was effective. These odd chapters didn't add any value to my reading of the book - in fact I felt like they distracted me from the narrative. I would have much rather read the fully linear account of the LAPL fire on its own - it was interestingly told, it just didn't need the weird bells and whistles.
Content Warnings
Minor: Drug use