PRAISE FOR THE LIBRARY BOOK: "Moving . . . A constant pleasure to read . . . Everybody who loves books should check out The Library Book. . . . Orlean, a longtime New Yorker writer, has been captivating us with human stories for decades, and her latest book is a wide-ranging, deeply personal, and terrifically engaging investigation of humanity's bulwark against oblivion: the library. . . . As a narrator, Orlean moves like fire herself, with a pyrotechnic style that smolders for a time over some ancient bibliographic tragedy, leaps to the latest technique in book restoration, and then illuminates the story of a wildly eccentric librarian. Along the way, we learn how libraries have evolved, responded to depressions and wars, and generally thrived despite a constant struggle for funds. Over the holidays, every booklover in America is going to give or get this book. . . . You can't help but finish The Library Book and feel grateful that these marvelous places belong to us all."
--Ron Charles, The Washington Post "A sheer delight. . . . Orlean has created a book as rich in insight and as varied as the treasures contained on the shelves in any local library."
--Chris Woodyard, USA Today
"Exquisitely written, consistently entertaining . . . A loving tribute not just to a place or an institution but to an idea . . . What makes The Library Book so enjoyable is the sense of discovery that propels it, the buoyancy when Orlean is surprised or moved by what she finds. . . . Her depiction of the Central Library fire on April 29, 1986, is so rich with specifics that it's like a blast of heat erupting from the page. . . . The Library Book is about the fire and the mystery of how it started--but in some ways that's the least of it. It's also a history of libraries, and of a particular library, as well as the personal story of Orlean and her mother, who was losing her memory to dementia while Orlean was retrieving her own memories by writing this book."
--Jennifer Szalai, The New York Times
"For anyone who's asked--and haven't we all--'How does she write like that?, ' this wise and exuberant book is the answer. It's funny, as well. Just masterful."
--David Sedaris
"A celebration of a supremely accomplished writing life . . . The great value of this book is the MFA in nonfiction writing that Orlean packs into it, full of some of the most useful advice on craft that any budding (or long-practicing, for that matter) writer could ask for. . . . A spry, entertaining memoir/writing workshop by a nonfiction artist at the top of her game."
--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"An ebullient, frank, moving, and inspiring memoir. . . Orlean is always superbly good literary company, and here she deepens the intimacy, welcoming readers into the thoughts, feelings, and experiences of an exemplary and empathetic writer."
--Booklist (starred review)