Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Library Book | 2018 | Susan Orlean | Buy |
The Library Book (2018) is Susan Orlean’s account of the 1986 fire at the Los Angeles Central Library, one of the largest library fires in American history. The blaze reached temperatures of over 2,000 degrees and destroyed or damaged more than one million books. The fire’s cause was never conclusively determined, though a young actor named Harry Peak was the prime suspect.
Orlean uses the fire investigation as a frame for a much wider story about what libraries mean to communities. She follows the daily operations of the modern Los Angeles library system, interviews librarians and patrons, and traces the history of the institution from its founding. The book became a bestseller and renewed public conversation about the value of libraries.