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The Library Book
Whether brand new or steeped in history, real or imagined, libraries feature in everyone's lives. In memoirs, essays and stories that are funny, moving, visionary or insightful, twenty-three famous writers celebrate these places where minds open and the world expands.
Public libraries are lifelines, to practical information as well as to the imagination, but funding is under threat all over the country. This book is published in support of libraries, with all royalties going to The Reading Agency's library programmes.
Public libraries are lifelines, to practical information as well as to the imagination, but funding is under threat all over the country. This book is published in support of libraries, with all royalties going to The Reading Agency's library programmes.
182 pages, Hardcover
First published February 2, 2012
150 people are currently reading
5071 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 249 reviews
August 11, 2024
Sadly, as much as I want to rate this collection of library-inspired recollections from authors (mostly from Great Britain because it feels like it may have been a fundraiser kind of publication) a 5-star read, I could not. However, more than 80% of the stories were wonderful.
Essentially life without libraries is no life at all. Now that’s a 5-star sentiment!
Rather than say more, I’ll share my first library recollection. I had some early trauma in my life due to an unstable mother and my father (in the early 1970s) had full custody of my younger brother and me. Within a year or two, he’d remarried a woman who became my mother in every sense of the word.
I remember when she and her kids and my brother, Dad and I all finally moved into a home big enough for all of us (think Brady Bunch minus one kid). That first summer was an absolute blast but my favorite memory was when my new stepmom (calling her Mom from here out), my brother and I walked about a mile or so into town to visit the library. I was 7, my brother 5, and my mom insisted that I was old enough for my own library card. I don’t remember what books I borrowed, but I do remember that small little blue plastic card with a metal band with my library card number etched into it. Later that year I would discover E.B. White, Laura Ingalls Wilder and all those Nancy Drew books.
Somewhere I still have that little plastic card— it set me on a path very different than what I may have traveled. To this day, whenever I’m sad, overwhelmed or just need to escape the realities of life, I turn to reading. The legacy of that first library visit and my very own library card.
(Reviewed 6/2/24)
Essentially life without libraries is no life at all. Now that’s a 5-star sentiment!
Rather than say more, I’ll share my first library recollection. I had some early trauma in my life due to an unstable mother and my father (in the early 1970s) had full custody of my younger brother and me. Within a year or two, he’d remarried a woman who became my mother in every sense of the word.
I remember when she and her kids and my brother, Dad and I all finally moved into a home big enough for all of us (think Brady Bunch minus one kid). That first summer was an absolute blast but my favorite memory was when my new stepmom (calling her Mom from here out), my brother and I walked about a mile or so into town to visit the library. I was 7, my brother 5, and my mom insisted that I was old enough for my own library card. I don’t remember what books I borrowed, but I do remember that small little blue plastic card with a metal band with my library card number etched into it. Later that year I would discover E.B. White, Laura Ingalls Wilder and all those Nancy Drew books.
Somewhere I still have that little plastic card— it set me on a path very different than what I may have traveled. To this day, whenever I’m sad, overwhelmed or just need to escape the realities of life, I turn to reading. The legacy of that first library visit and my very own library card.
(Reviewed 6/2/24)
February 10, 2020
"A library in the middle of a community is a cross between an emergency exit, a life raft and a festival. They are cathedrals of the mind, hospitals of the soul, theme parks of the imagination. On a rainy island, they are the only sheltered public spaces where you are not a consumer, but a citizen instead. A human with a brain and a heart and a desire to be uplifted, rather than a customer with a credit card and an inchoate 'need' for 'stuff'."
~ Caitlin Moran
How apt it was that I came across this book and Improbable Libraries, while wandering through the shelves of my local library, without having any particular book title in mind to look for. I was fortunate enough to have access to a library when I was kid, even though it did not have all the books I was searching for then. Visiting the library formed some of my most fond memories from my childhood days, and even today the simple act of stepping into the library gave me a certain sense of comfort and indefinable joy. The essays in this book were delightful and while I may not identify or relate to some of them, there was no mistaking the mutual understanding that every contributor shared about the importance of the local library to a community.
And with this a seed of an idea is growing in my mind about what I would love to do for my community in the future.
~ Caitlin Moran
How apt it was that I came across this book and Improbable Libraries, while wandering through the shelves of my local library, without having any particular book title in mind to look for. I was fortunate enough to have access to a library when I was kid, even though it did not have all the books I was searching for then. Visiting the library formed some of my most fond memories from my childhood days, and even today the simple act of stepping into the library gave me a certain sense of comfort and indefinable joy. The essays in this book were delightful and while I may not identify or relate to some of them, there was no mistaking the mutual understanding that every contributor shared about the importance of the local library to a community.
And with this a seed of an idea is growing in my mind about what I would love to do for my community in the future.
Read
May 5, 2025We are fortunate to live in a large community that has first-rate libraries and new books flowing (flooding!) in every day. Almost every time I am there, there is something next to something else right by whatever it was we were looking for, that turns out to be some kind of hidden gem, or best-kept secret. If my daughters stumble across a great book, then discover it is one in a series of five or eight, then it will be a great day. What would we do without the open and calming, and stimulating and engaging presence of libraries?
"The libraries I love best are the ones that encourage readers to take this sort of chance. I worked for a while in Huddersfield Library and there staff regularly pulled books from their normal alphabetical order...and set up what they called the Serendipity Collection. This was a place to browse, to come upon a book to suit my mood, to fall for a new author."
This collection of essays felt like a shelf on its cover; one can pick and choose what to read, discover a new author, happily read what a favorite wrote about her childhood filled with books (Zadie Smith!), get a book recommendation or two and feel satisfied in the end. The purpose of this book seems to be to raise awareness about the value of libraries in the UK, but the concepts are the same no matter where you live.
"A library in the middle of a community is a cross between an emergency exit, a life raft and a festival. They are cathedrals of the mind; hospitals of the soul; theme parks of the imagination. On a cold, rainy island, they are the only sheltered public spaces where you are not a consumer, but a citizen instead. A human with a brain and a heart and a desire to be uplifted, rather than a customer with a credit card and an inchoate need for stuff."
Yes!
"The libraries I love best are the ones that encourage readers to take this sort of chance. I worked for a while in Huddersfield Library and there staff regularly pulled books from their normal alphabetical order...and set up what they called the Serendipity Collection. This was a place to browse, to come upon a book to suit my mood, to fall for a new author."
This collection of essays felt like a shelf on its cover; one can pick and choose what to read, discover a new author, happily read what a favorite wrote about her childhood filled with books (Zadie Smith!), get a book recommendation or two and feel satisfied in the end. The purpose of this book seems to be to raise awareness about the value of libraries in the UK, but the concepts are the same no matter where you live.
"A library in the middle of a community is a cross between an emergency exit, a life raft and a festival. They are cathedrals of the mind; hospitals of the soul; theme parks of the imagination. On a cold, rainy island, they are the only sheltered public spaces where you are not a consumer, but a citizen instead. A human with a brain and a heart and a desire to be uplifted, rather than a customer with a credit card and an inchoate need for stuff."
Yes!
October 25, 2016
I picked this up from the library, wonderfully enough. Ordinarily, I very much enjoy books about books, but I had a feeling that this could be overshadowed somewhat by Ali Smith's wonderful Public Library and Other Stories. There is some marvellous content here, granted, but as with a lot of anthologies, some of the essays were greatly overshadowed by others which were more engaging, or better written. Some of them I just didn't really enjoy; they were either too short or rushed, or failed to captivate me. The essays themselves are all different; some are informative, others filled with memories. Most are unfailingly enthusiastic, which is a wonderful trait in such a collection.
If I were rating this based solely upon Stephen Fry's essay, it would have received five stars; ditto Bella Bathurst's amusing effort. Susan Hill wrote (sadly not all that extensively) about King's College London, and the benefits of the (alas, too expensive to use for the majority of students!) London Library. Her work was particularly vivid to me as a reader, since I'm now a KCL alumni myself. What is clear though is that libraries are, and have been, so incredibly important to such a range of people - and long may they continue to be. The Library Book is quite a quick read, but rather an important one, I feel.
If I were rating this based solely upon Stephen Fry's essay, it would have received five stars; ditto Bella Bathurst's amusing effort. Susan Hill wrote (sadly not all that extensively) about King's College London, and the benefits of the (alas, too expensive to use for the majority of students!) London Library. Her work was particularly vivid to me as a reader, since I'm now a KCL alumni myself. What is clear though is that libraries are, and have been, so incredibly important to such a range of people - and long may they continue to be. The Library Book is quite a quick read, but rather an important one, I feel.
November 24, 2019
An impressive selection of well known authors and writers defend libraries, share their memories of what libraries have meant to them, and tell us why we all need to fight to keep our libraries open in the face of threats of closures.
Add a couple of short stories, one of which is wonderfully spooky, and lots of other interesting stuff about libraries, and you have a great read that surely can’t fail to appeal to book lovers.
Add a couple of short stories, one of which is wonderfully spooky, and lots of other interesting stuff about libraries, and you have a great read that surely can’t fail to appeal to book lovers.
June 25, 2012
I grew up with a mother who loved to read, and shared that love with her daughters. She wasn't a very big believer in TV as entertainment for her children, which meant my sister and I only had a handful of hours to watch TV when we were kids - usually Sesame Street and Batibot, a show similar to Sesame Street except in Filipino. On top of that, my mother had a shelf containing books she'd chosen for us, and was happy to let us go read whatever we wanted, anytime we wanted.
At the time, we were still living in the big house in North Greenhills with my grandparents, who had what I now know might be called a "private library:" a room set aside exclusively for the storage and reading of books. As a child I remember wandering into the room from time to time to stare at the shelves and inhale the scent of paper and dust, taking down a book every so often to see what was inside. I was, however, far too young to really understand what I was reading - as it turned out, most of it had to do with military history, biographies, and autobiographies: my grandfather's personal collection. Biographies and autobiographies were his preferred genre, and as for the military history, well, he was a retired brigadier general, so it stood to reason he'd have a lot of books related to his career.
Eventually, as I grew older and went to school, I realized that libraries were, hands-down, my favorite place at any educational facility I was at. At the preparatory school I attended prior to entering grade school, I experienced great frustration at not being allowed to read the research books that the school kept in the highest shelves - enough that I have a vague memory of my mother speaking to one of the administrators, reassuring her that I wouldn't chew on the covers or tear the pages. I was not an uncivilized savage, after all, and knew how to treat books with respect. I recall my mother's pride - clear in her tone and in the set of her shoulders - at the fact that she had raised her daughter properly in that regard.
When I entered grade school, the library made a great hiding place for dodging classes I didn't want to attend. Not only did my grades stay high (I regularly placed in first, second, or third on the honors' roll) because of all the reading I was doing, but I was able to dodge the bullies who made attending actual classes absolutely miserable for me. When I transferred to another school in fourth grade, I stopped dodging classes, but the library stil provided a refuge from bullies. The library was, for me, an escape from what troubled me, providing me with a multitude of avenues - via books, of course - that would help me forget everything that troubled me for an hour or so.
Libraries, therefore, have been crucial in my development into the person I am now. As a teacher, reader, and writer in my own way, I can say with great confidence that I wouldn't have become who I am now if it weren't for the libraries I'd entered, used, and continue to use throughout my life. It's because of this love of libraries that I picked up The Library Book, a collection of essays about libraries and how they have shaped and continue to shape the lives of the people who enter and use them.
Actually, to say that the contents of the book are all essays would be inaccurate: China Mieville's contribution is actually an excerpt from his book Un Lun Dun, while Kate Mosse's contribution is a short horror story. JUlian Barnes' piece might look like an essay, but it's actually more like a chunk of a longer fictional work. The rest are an interesting combination of memoir, humor, and prediction, but all of them are connected to libraries: what they were, what they are, and where they might be going. And, since it's such a grab-bag of genres and tones, the impact of the essays in question tends to vary.
The essays that I found the most touching were, in my opinion, the ones written by those who came from immigrant backgrounds, or for whom the library shaped them into who they are today - particularly if they are writers. Hardeep Singh Kholi's essay about how the library opened him up to the world in more ways than one was especially lovely to read, because it is impossible to be prejudiced when one is surrounded by the voices of humanity in a library (if it is, of course, a good library). Stephen Fry's essay, which I think is one of the best in the entire collection, is about how access to a library helped him to articulate his sexuality, and how that articulation led him to a wider world of reading.
There are also the really humorous ones. James Brown's essay, titled "This Place Will Lend You Books for Free," almost feels like it was written by a hopelessly addicted soul who has found the best, fastest, and least dangerous way to acquire one's drug of choice. This is a sentiment that, I think, is very much shared by voracious readers everywhere, who are constantly confronted with the issue of not having enough space or money for all the books they want to read. The library, James Brown declares at the end, is "cheaper than Amazon," and in the twenty-first century world of easy and relatively cheap online acquisition, this is really saying something - especially since borrowing books is, for the most part, free.
Lucy Mangan's essay is another gem of this collection. Titled "The Rules," it's about what kind of rules she would enforce if she were to have her own library. There's a bit of polemic at the start and in some of the rules, but the way they are articulated won't get in the way of the reader having a good giggle at what she's trying to write. It allows the reader to start up their own little fantasy about what they would do if they were in charge of their own libraries, what rules, and how many, they'd have. Those rules, after all, say a lot about what reading habits are most valued by the rule-maker, and are usually as unique as the rule-maker herself or himself.
Another really amusing essay is Bella Bathurst's "The Secret Life of Libraries," which is both informative and a little gossipy in a most entertaining way. It starts out with a discussion about what kinds of books get stolen from which libraries, and what those thefts say about the communities those libraries serve, but it also talks about the people in the libraries themselves, both the staff and the people they serve. There is talk about how the staff treat drunks or the homeless who walk in off the street looking for a warm place to stay; or how in one library a notable TV personality was found dead at his desk and how now the library regularly checks for and rouses sleeping people, just to make sure no one dies under their watch again. Libraries have their own characters of course, and that is what makes them unique and interesting places to be at - one never knows who or what is going to walk through those doors, or what they're going to do, or what they're going to read, or ask.
The rest are, as I said earlier, a grab-bag of memoir and polemic. One of the more beautiful memoir-style essays is "Baffled at the Bookcase" by Alan Bennett, who takes the reader through all the most memorable libraries in his life, and how each one was uniquely positioned to influence that particular point in his life. Some are politically-slanted, such as Zadie Smith's "Library Life," Nicky Wire's "If You Tolerate This...", and Karin Slaughter's "Fight for Libraries as You Do for Freedom" (which I felt was the best of those kinds of essays). That particular slant in these essays (and which are implied in the rest) are mostly because of why this book was made in the first place: to keep libraries in the UK open against further closure thanks to shifts in government policy.
The only pieces I had an issue with in this entire book were the pieces that were actualy fiction: Julian Barnes' "The Defence of the Book," China Mieville's "The Booksteps," and Kate Mosse's "The Lending Library." I picked this book up because I saw Mieville and Fry's names as contributors, and while I was entirely happy with Fry's essay, I was disappointed to see that Mieville's contribution actually came from a book of his that I'd already read, instead of saying something new or personal about what libraries meant to him as a writer and a reader. Mosse's story, on the other hand, was meant to be a horror story with a library at its heart, but the library didn't turn out to be that vital, and the story itself was, frankly speaking, a bore. As for Barnes' piece, it was an interesting attempt to project a future where libraries no longer exist, but it was too short, and frankly, had too many shades of Fahrenheit 451 for me to find it particularly interesting.
Overall, The Library Book is a touching, and oftentimes funny, look at why people love libraries, and why they should continue to stand despite, or because of, the rise of digital books - Seth Godin's essay "The Future of the Library" makes an interesting point regarding how we should define the words "library" and "librarian" in the twenty-first century. It is, however, a bit of a grab-bag of pieces, and the three fiction pieces I mentioned earlier will likely throw the reader for a somewhat unpleasant loop. Nevertheless, anyone who loves reading, and who loves libraries, wil find something to enjoy in this book, and will come away quite satisfied with it.
At the time, we were still living in the big house in North Greenhills with my grandparents, who had what I now know might be called a "private library:" a room set aside exclusively for the storage and reading of books. As a child I remember wandering into the room from time to time to stare at the shelves and inhale the scent of paper and dust, taking down a book every so often to see what was inside. I was, however, far too young to really understand what I was reading - as it turned out, most of it had to do with military history, biographies, and autobiographies: my grandfather's personal collection. Biographies and autobiographies were his preferred genre, and as for the military history, well, he was a retired brigadier general, so it stood to reason he'd have a lot of books related to his career.
Eventually, as I grew older and went to school, I realized that libraries were, hands-down, my favorite place at any educational facility I was at. At the preparatory school I attended prior to entering grade school, I experienced great frustration at not being allowed to read the research books that the school kept in the highest shelves - enough that I have a vague memory of my mother speaking to one of the administrators, reassuring her that I wouldn't chew on the covers or tear the pages. I was not an uncivilized savage, after all, and knew how to treat books with respect. I recall my mother's pride - clear in her tone and in the set of her shoulders - at the fact that she had raised her daughter properly in that regard.
When I entered grade school, the library made a great hiding place for dodging classes I didn't want to attend. Not only did my grades stay high (I regularly placed in first, second, or third on the honors' roll) because of all the reading I was doing, but I was able to dodge the bullies who made attending actual classes absolutely miserable for me. When I transferred to another school in fourth grade, I stopped dodging classes, but the library stil provided a refuge from bullies. The library was, for me, an escape from what troubled me, providing me with a multitude of avenues - via books, of course - that would help me forget everything that troubled me for an hour or so.
Libraries, therefore, have been crucial in my development into the person I am now. As a teacher, reader, and writer in my own way, I can say with great confidence that I wouldn't have become who I am now if it weren't for the libraries I'd entered, used, and continue to use throughout my life. It's because of this love of libraries that I picked up The Library Book, a collection of essays about libraries and how they have shaped and continue to shape the lives of the people who enter and use them.
Actually, to say that the contents of the book are all essays would be inaccurate: China Mieville's contribution is actually an excerpt from his book Un Lun Dun, while Kate Mosse's contribution is a short horror story. JUlian Barnes' piece might look like an essay, but it's actually more like a chunk of a longer fictional work. The rest are an interesting combination of memoir, humor, and prediction, but all of them are connected to libraries: what they were, what they are, and where they might be going. And, since it's such a grab-bag of genres and tones, the impact of the essays in question tends to vary.
The essays that I found the most touching were, in my opinion, the ones written by those who came from immigrant backgrounds, or for whom the library shaped them into who they are today - particularly if they are writers. Hardeep Singh Kholi's essay about how the library opened him up to the world in more ways than one was especially lovely to read, because it is impossible to be prejudiced when one is surrounded by the voices of humanity in a library (if it is, of course, a good library). Stephen Fry's essay, which I think is one of the best in the entire collection, is about how access to a library helped him to articulate his sexuality, and how that articulation led him to a wider world of reading.
There are also the really humorous ones. James Brown's essay, titled "This Place Will Lend You Books for Free," almost feels like it was written by a hopelessly addicted soul who has found the best, fastest, and least dangerous way to acquire one's drug of choice. This is a sentiment that, I think, is very much shared by voracious readers everywhere, who are constantly confronted with the issue of not having enough space or money for all the books they want to read. The library, James Brown declares at the end, is "cheaper than Amazon," and in the twenty-first century world of easy and relatively cheap online acquisition, this is really saying something - especially since borrowing books is, for the most part, free.
Lucy Mangan's essay is another gem of this collection. Titled "The Rules," it's about what kind of rules she would enforce if she were to have her own library. There's a bit of polemic at the start and in some of the rules, but the way they are articulated won't get in the way of the reader having a good giggle at what she's trying to write. It allows the reader to start up their own little fantasy about what they would do if they were in charge of their own libraries, what rules, and how many, they'd have. Those rules, after all, say a lot about what reading habits are most valued by the rule-maker, and are usually as unique as the rule-maker herself or himself.
Another really amusing essay is Bella Bathurst's "The Secret Life of Libraries," which is both informative and a little gossipy in a most entertaining way. It starts out with a discussion about what kinds of books get stolen from which libraries, and what those thefts say about the communities those libraries serve, but it also talks about the people in the libraries themselves, both the staff and the people they serve. There is talk about how the staff treat drunks or the homeless who walk in off the street looking for a warm place to stay; or how in one library a notable TV personality was found dead at his desk and how now the library regularly checks for and rouses sleeping people, just to make sure no one dies under their watch again. Libraries have their own characters of course, and that is what makes them unique and interesting places to be at - one never knows who or what is going to walk through those doors, or what they're going to do, or what they're going to read, or ask.
The rest are, as I said earlier, a grab-bag of memoir and polemic. One of the more beautiful memoir-style essays is "Baffled at the Bookcase" by Alan Bennett, who takes the reader through all the most memorable libraries in his life, and how each one was uniquely positioned to influence that particular point in his life. Some are politically-slanted, such as Zadie Smith's "Library Life," Nicky Wire's "If You Tolerate This...", and Karin Slaughter's "Fight for Libraries as You Do for Freedom" (which I felt was the best of those kinds of essays). That particular slant in these essays (and which are implied in the rest) are mostly because of why this book was made in the first place: to keep libraries in the UK open against further closure thanks to shifts in government policy.
The only pieces I had an issue with in this entire book were the pieces that were actualy fiction: Julian Barnes' "The Defence of the Book," China Mieville's "The Booksteps," and Kate Mosse's "The Lending Library." I picked this book up because I saw Mieville and Fry's names as contributors, and while I was entirely happy with Fry's essay, I was disappointed to see that Mieville's contribution actually came from a book of his that I'd already read, instead of saying something new or personal about what libraries meant to him as a writer and a reader. Mosse's story, on the other hand, was meant to be a horror story with a library at its heart, but the library didn't turn out to be that vital, and the story itself was, frankly speaking, a bore. As for Barnes' piece, it was an interesting attempt to project a future where libraries no longer exist, but it was too short, and frankly, had too many shades of Fahrenheit 451 for me to find it particularly interesting.
Overall, The Library Book is a touching, and oftentimes funny, look at why people love libraries, and why they should continue to stand despite, or because of, the rise of digital books - Seth Godin's essay "The Future of the Library" makes an interesting point regarding how we should define the words "library" and "librarian" in the twenty-first century. It is, however, a bit of a grab-bag of pieces, and the three fiction pieces I mentioned earlier will likely throw the reader for a somewhat unpleasant loop. Nevertheless, anyone who loves reading, and who loves libraries, wil find something to enjoy in this book, and will come away quite satisfied with it.
August 17, 2013
A great little gem of a book which has excerpts from 23 of the UK's most notable writers, including Zadie Smith, Julian Barnes and Stephen Fry, all reflecting on how libraries are used and why they are still important.
The book is first and foremost an anthology: of short stories, book excerpts, brief memoirs and rememberings of libraries past and present. It's pleasure is twinfold: as a slim volume it enables a reader to dip in and out as time wills or allows, while the selection of pithy narratives provides readers with the chance to perhaps discover their favourite authors' thoughts on libraries, whether public, private, mobile or historical.
In many ways this is both a worthy cause and tome for those who are consummate library lovers. In the UK as library closures and cuts unfortunately continue, the proceeds of this book supports The Reading Agency which organises reading schemes helping children and adults with low literacy levels.
For those less library enlightened, the inclusion of Tom Holland's essay is brilliant, while the fictional library narratives contributed by Julian Barnes, China Mièville, Kate Mosse and Susan Hill creates a well-rounded and agreeably easy to read anthology.
The idea of this book is rather simple: to celebrate libraries, as Karin Slaughter one of the many brilliant contributors so rightly says, "Reading is not just an escape, it is access to a better way of life."
The book is first and foremost an anthology: of short stories, book excerpts, brief memoirs and rememberings of libraries past and present. It's pleasure is twinfold: as a slim volume it enables a reader to dip in and out as time wills or allows, while the selection of pithy narratives provides readers with the chance to perhaps discover their favourite authors' thoughts on libraries, whether public, private, mobile or historical.
In many ways this is both a worthy cause and tome for those who are consummate library lovers. In the UK as library closures and cuts unfortunately continue, the proceeds of this book supports The Reading Agency which organises reading schemes helping children and adults with low literacy levels.
For those less library enlightened, the inclusion of Tom Holland's essay is brilliant, while the fictional library narratives contributed by Julian Barnes, China Mièville, Kate Mosse and Susan Hill creates a well-rounded and agreeably easy to read anthology.
The idea of this book is rather simple: to celebrate libraries, as Karin Slaughter one of the many brilliant contributors so rightly says, "Reading is not just an escape, it is access to a better way of life."
May 30, 2012
£0.99 until Jun 7, 2012 in UK Kindle Jubilee Sale. Worth every penny.
People should read this for Stephen Fry, Karin Slaughter and Julian Barnes's contributions, as these alone should convince EVERYONE, even cynical politicians, to preserve every single library, no matter how small. If you value books and are worried about their future, then this is a must read.
The Library Book is filled with essays, stories and autobiographical pieces by a range of authors and journalists from different backgrounds about the importance of libraries in the past, present (2012) and future. The proceeds of this book go to The Reading Agency, a UK charity which runs reading programmes in libraries, so even though it advocates using and preserving libraries, buying this will also have a beneficial effect.
Foreword by Rebecca Gray & Afterword: The Reading Agency by Miranda McKearney
This Place Will Lend You Books For Free by James Brown 4★
As this dude says "it's cheaper than Amazon." In my case, I spent £0.99 buying the Kindle edition and my library would've charged £0.70 to reserve the dead tree edition so for me this was true.
Character Building by Anita Anand 2★
Anand recalls herself as a voracious reader as a child, leaning to one side as she struggled to carry home piles of books.
The Defence of the Book by Julian Barnes 5★
A previously unseen extract from England, England. *adds to shelf*
A dystopian view of future England and the role of the library. Having dead tree books makes it harder to control the truth whereas with a few clicks digital information can be distorted. Could've done without this cliffhangering mid-sentence though. I wanna know the rest!
The Punk and the Langside Library by Hardeep Singh Koli 2★
This personal experience shows the diverseness of the people that use and intermingle inside the walls of libraries and how it strengthens communities.
The Rules by Lucy Mangan 4★
A charmingly funny list of rules in Mangan's library.
Baffled at a Bookcase by Alan Bennett 1★ [unfinished]
Tedious and over-long, I lost interest.
The Future of the Library by Seth Godin 5★
I'd love to see Godin's ideas come to fruition on libraries teaching how to find and use information efficiently rather than just being repositories, encouraging a far more active role in communities.
Going to the Dogs by Val McDermid 3★
Ah, the ingenuity of children. In order gain access to the world of adult books the young McDermid tells the librarians her mother is bedridden and must supply her with books. They fall for it -hook, line and sinker.
I ❤ Libraries by Lionel Shriver 4★
Shriver argues libraries support publishers and writers when unless something is a bestseller a book may only remain on shelves for 6 weeks after release, and publishers refuse to keep backlists in print. She concludes with: 'I am bequeathing whatever modest estate I accumulate by my death to the Belfast Library Board.' I respect her reasons for doing this. Kudos.
Have You Heard of Oscar Wilde? by Stephen Fry 5★
Amazing. People should get this book just for this. The autobiographical piece explains so much about this man and his obsession with Oscar Wilde, his idol. (He even plays him in the movie, Wilde.) This is incredibly moving and inspiring, and exactly why access to books is so important.
The Secret Life of Libraries by Bella Bathurst 4★
Interested in the miscellaneous oddities of libraries? What people choose to do in them other than the obvious? This is for you. They can be more licentious places than the stuffy, church-like atmosphere suggests. Very interesting.
The Booksteps by China Miéville 2★
An extract from Un Lun Dun.
A strange children's story of a crossover from real London to the mirror world of UnLondon.
Alma Mater by Caitlin Moran 3★
Moran argues that once you close libraries they will be too costly to reopen when things get better. So once they're gone, they're gone forever: 'Libraries that stayed open during the Blitz will be closed by budgets.'
The Library of Babylon by Tom Holland 3★
I skimmed this one a bit but it details the historical significance of libraries in the ancient world and how they were symbols of great power for many rulers: 'Knowledge was power - and power was barely worth having without knowledge.'
A Corner St James's by Susan Hill 1★
Apparently she met E.M. Forster and T.S. Eliot but that's all I remember about this one.
It Takes a Library... by Michael Brooks 1★ [unfinished]
Lost interest.
The Magic Threshold by Bali Rai 1★
Not that interesting. Best quote: 'Technology has its place, but it would not even exist without books and libraries.'
Libraries Rock! by Ann Cleeves 2★
The end of this piece is excellent: 'And if libraries don't support these writers, publishers won't commission them. Without money, libraries are tempted to buy what is certain to issue - and that's the material that you can find in every supermarket, the bestsellers, the easily promoted. Libraries aren't supermarkets; they're places of cultural importance, where magic happens and where dreams begin.'
The Five-Minute Rule by Julie Myerson 3★
About the role the library played as a child when Myerson was an exuberant young writer, plus some tips on how to get started.
If You Tolerate This... by Nicky Wire 2★
Nicky Wire as interviewed by Robin Turner for The Guardian
Wire's answer to the plight of libraries: 'higher taxation of wealthiest 10% of the country.'
Library Life by Zadie Smith 2★
Smith believes this shameful government is trying to hand off the burden of building and maintaining of infrastructure (like libraries and schools) to the people with the invention of the 'Big Society' so they're free to nationalise and save the private sector.
The Lending Library by Kate Mosse 1★ [unfinished]
I gave up on this one. I think it was a supernatural murder mystery set in the 1950s involving a library but my attention wandered. It was also longer than most of the other pieces.
Fight for Libraries as You Do Freedom by Karin Slaughter 5★
A powerful, passionate and well-researched essay by an internationally bestselling author all ready proactive in the fight to save libraries by founding the 'Save the Libraries' project which has so far raised $100k. I wholeheartedly agreed with her hard-hitting and direct arguments. I must read this author.
I have no idea what my average rating of these pieces is but I do believe this is an important, timely book. It depicts the current crisis, gives us the historical importance of libraries, divulges a broad range of positive life-changing personal experiences with libraries and the negative effects should libraries go into decline, and presents the need for libraries to evolve and stay up-to-date.
People should read this for Stephen Fry, Karin Slaughter and Julian Barnes's contributions, as these alone should convince EVERYONE, even cynical politicians, to preserve every single library, no matter how small. If you value books and are worried about their future, then this is a must read.
The Library Book is filled with essays, stories and autobiographical pieces by a range of authors and journalists from different backgrounds about the importance of libraries in the past, present (2012) and future. The proceeds of this book go to The Reading Agency, a UK charity which runs reading programmes in libraries, so even though it advocates using and preserving libraries, buying this will also have a beneficial effect.
Foreword by Rebecca Gray & Afterword: The Reading Agency by Miranda McKearney
This Place Will Lend You Books For Free by James Brown 4★
As this dude says "it's cheaper than Amazon." In my case, I spent £0.99 buying the Kindle edition and my library would've charged £0.70 to reserve the dead tree edition so for me this was true.
Character Building by Anita Anand 2★
Anand recalls herself as a voracious reader as a child, leaning to one side as she struggled to carry home piles of books.
The Defence of the Book by Julian Barnes 5★
A previously unseen extract from England, England. *adds to shelf*
A dystopian view of future England and the role of the library. Having dead tree books makes it harder to control the truth whereas with a few clicks digital information can be distorted. Could've done without this cliffhangering mid-sentence though. I wanna know the rest!
The Punk and the Langside Library by Hardeep Singh Koli 2★
This personal experience shows the diverseness of the people that use and intermingle inside the walls of libraries and how it strengthens communities.
The Rules by Lucy Mangan 4★
A charmingly funny list of rules in Mangan's library.
Baffled at a Bookcase by Alan Bennett 1★ [unfinished]
Tedious and over-long, I lost interest.
The Future of the Library by Seth Godin 5★
I'd love to see Godin's ideas come to fruition on libraries teaching how to find and use information efficiently rather than just being repositories, encouraging a far more active role in communities.
Going to the Dogs by Val McDermid 3★
Ah, the ingenuity of children. In order gain access to the world of adult books the young McDermid tells the librarians her mother is bedridden and must supply her with books. They fall for it -hook, line and sinker.
I ❤ Libraries by Lionel Shriver 4★
Shriver argues libraries support publishers and writers when unless something is a bestseller a book may only remain on shelves for 6 weeks after release, and publishers refuse to keep backlists in print. She concludes with: 'I am bequeathing whatever modest estate I accumulate by my death to the Belfast Library Board.' I respect her reasons for doing this. Kudos.
Have You Heard of Oscar Wilde? by Stephen Fry 5★
Amazing. People should get this book just for this. The autobiographical piece explains so much about this man and his obsession with Oscar Wilde, his idol. (He even plays him in the movie, Wilde.) This is incredibly moving and inspiring, and exactly why access to books is so important.
The Secret Life of Libraries by Bella Bathurst 4★
Interested in the miscellaneous oddities of libraries? What people choose to do in them other than the obvious? This is for you. They can be more licentious places than the stuffy, church-like atmosphere suggests. Very interesting.
The Booksteps by China Miéville 2★
An extract from Un Lun Dun.
A strange children's story of a crossover from real London to the mirror world of UnLondon.
Alma Mater by Caitlin Moran 3★
Moran argues that once you close libraries they will be too costly to reopen when things get better. So once they're gone, they're gone forever: 'Libraries that stayed open during the Blitz will be closed by budgets.'
The Library of Babylon by Tom Holland 3★
I skimmed this one a bit but it details the historical significance of libraries in the ancient world and how they were symbols of great power for many rulers: 'Knowledge was power - and power was barely worth having without knowledge.'
A Corner St James's by Susan Hill 1★
Apparently she met E.M. Forster and T.S. Eliot but that's all I remember about this one.
It Takes a Library... by Michael Brooks 1★ [unfinished]
Lost interest.
The Magic Threshold by Bali Rai 1★
Not that interesting. Best quote: 'Technology has its place, but it would not even exist without books and libraries.'
Libraries Rock! by Ann Cleeves 2★
The end of this piece is excellent: 'And if libraries don't support these writers, publishers won't commission them. Without money, libraries are tempted to buy what is certain to issue - and that's the material that you can find in every supermarket, the bestsellers, the easily promoted. Libraries aren't supermarkets; they're places of cultural importance, where magic happens and where dreams begin.'
The Five-Minute Rule by Julie Myerson 3★
About the role the library played as a child when Myerson was an exuberant young writer, plus some tips on how to get started.
If You Tolerate This... by Nicky Wire 2★
Nicky Wire as interviewed by Robin Turner for The Guardian
Wire's answer to the plight of libraries: 'higher taxation of wealthiest 10% of the country.'
Library Life by Zadie Smith 2★
Smith believes this shameful government is trying to hand off the burden of building and maintaining of infrastructure (like libraries and schools) to the people with the invention of the 'Big Society' so they're free to nationalise and save the private sector.
The Lending Library by Kate Mosse 1★ [unfinished]
I gave up on this one. I think it was a supernatural murder mystery set in the 1950s involving a library but my attention wandered. It was also longer than most of the other pieces.
Fight for Libraries as You Do Freedom by Karin Slaughter 5★
A powerful, passionate and well-researched essay by an internationally bestselling author all ready proactive in the fight to save libraries by founding the 'Save the Libraries' project which has so far raised $100k. I wholeheartedly agreed with her hard-hitting and direct arguments. I must read this author.
I have no idea what my average rating of these pieces is but I do believe this is an important, timely book. It depicts the current crisis, gives us the historical importance of libraries, divulges a broad range of positive life-changing personal experiences with libraries and the negative effects should libraries go into decline, and presents the need for libraries to evolve and stay up-to-date.
January 19, 2018
In praise of libraries (mostly).
A slender volume containing a selection of pieces by well-known writers in praise of libraries. They tell us about their early experiences of their local library, Seth Godin (alone worth the price of admission) talks about the future of libraries, a few use the opportunity to sound off about politics and one or two cheeky authors fob us off with an extract from their previous work (I’m looking at you, China Miéville and Kate Mosse.) The one glaring omission is any contribution from library users who are not actual published writers. In other words, readers. How I wish they’d have asked me!
A slender volume containing a selection of pieces by well-known writers in praise of libraries. They tell us about their early experiences of their local library, Seth Godin (alone worth the price of admission) talks about the future of libraries, a few use the opportunity to sound off about politics and one or two cheeky authors fob us off with an extract from their previous work (I’m looking at you, China Miéville and Kate Mosse.) The one glaring omission is any contribution from library users who are not actual published writers. In other words, readers. How I wish they’d have asked me!
February 11, 2019
A lovely book with short stories, memoirs, essays about public libraries. A polemic against the closure of libraries, a tribute to reading.
March 31, 2012
I don't normally read non-fiction, but this came in new to the library last week, and as a member of library staff I was interested to see what all of these authors had to say about libraries and great to see such support for them, so important in the current climates when so many are threatened with closures.
This book has 24 'chapters', each one is written by a different author and tells of their experience with libraries, how they first fell in love with the world of books and there are a couple of extracts from books.
I found it fascinating to find out how they all first encountered a library, or first found their love for books. Some are funny, some more in depth and others captivating.
I loved 'The Rules' by Lucy Mangan, her idea of what she would enforce is she ran her own library made me laugh.
It's also interesting to hear how libraries have changed, many of them talk about big, important sometimes restricted buildings in which stern faced librarians ruled, or scholars ruled, the buildings large, intimidating. To think of the library I work in is like an entirely different world, gone is the days of silence in the libraries and children can have their choice of books, no rules on fiction/non-fiction.
This book is a great tribute to what we do and what we can offer, there are no limits to libraries, anyone can come in, borrow books, use computers, sit and look at papers, attend events. They have been around for years and should be round for many more.
Hopefully this book will make people re-think the way they look at libraries.
It's also great that profits from the book go straight back into library funds.
This book has 24 'chapters', each one is written by a different author and tells of their experience with libraries, how they first fell in love with the world of books and there are a couple of extracts from books.
I found it fascinating to find out how they all first encountered a library, or first found their love for books. Some are funny, some more in depth and others captivating.
I loved 'The Rules' by Lucy Mangan, her idea of what she would enforce is she ran her own library made me laugh.
It's also interesting to hear how libraries have changed, many of them talk about big, important sometimes restricted buildings in which stern faced librarians ruled, or scholars ruled, the buildings large, intimidating. To think of the library I work in is like an entirely different world, gone is the days of silence in the libraries and children can have their choice of books, no rules on fiction/non-fiction.
This book is a great tribute to what we do and what we can offer, there are no limits to libraries, anyone can come in, borrow books, use computers, sit and look at papers, attend events. They have been around for years and should be round for many more.
Hopefully this book will make people re-think the way they look at libraries.
It's also great that profits from the book go straight back into library funds.
April 30, 2013
This is a book published by the reading agency, as an eulogy to the institution that is the public library system. All the authors in this book are fans of libraries, either because they have fond memories of them as children, or they were pivotal in their life. It has a couple of fictional extracts, and the remainder are essays on the reason that we cannot let national government abolish these essential parts of the community.
I am a complete library addict. I see them as a free bookshop, and normally visit once a week.
I am a complete library addict. I see them as a free bookshop, and normally visit once a week.
September 6, 2012
The Library Book is a collection of library-themed bits of writing, fiction and non-fiction, some of them republished from elsewhere, some of them just extracts from something else. It's an interesting enough little collection to flip through, and I rather liked Kate Mosse's story -- and given I paid 99p for it, it wasn't a waste of money. I would recommend it more to flip through than to read cover to cover, though. A reader's interest in each part will probably vary quite a bit.
February 18, 2012
This is a collection of memoirs, essays and stories from twenty three well known writers, all written in defence of the library. All royalties go to the Reading Agency's library programmes, so a good read for a good cause.
December 4, 2017
3.5 helms
Please follow me on my blog :) Review originally posted on Vellum Voyages (www.vellumvoyages.com)
Who hasn't stepped into a library at least at one stage in our life? A library has almost definitely helped us achieve something, be it research, printing, a study area and of course access to a plethora of books. Me? I LOVE libraries! Ever since I was a kid, libraries have always played a huge part of my childhood. Each city I have lived in, the first thing I have ever done is join its public library. So far, I have library cards from Sydney, Edinburgh, Carmarthen (Wales) and two from London! Yes, I collect library cards :D I love them! I love the feeling of stepping into a building that pays respect to books, helps people and also brings a community together despite ethnicity, race, religion, sexual orientation or income. Libraries don't judge :)
"The Library Book" is a lovely mix of stories from various British authors mostly about their experiences with public libraries and how they have been influenced by them. As with any collection of stories, some stories are much more fascinating than others but they are all good reads in their own way. Some of the authors, also draw awareness to the importance of libraries and the critical role they play in communities. Just because a lot of printed media is going digital in our modern times, doesn't mean public libraries should become defunct and unusable. Public libraries should be cherished, maintained, used and supported as they are invaluable sources of information and facilities. Let's also not forget, for example, if you don't have a printer at home and you need something printed, the first thing you think of is the public library. It doesn't just help us in lending books and research but also provides everyday life resources that some may not have access to. Personally, I use libraries to help me find books and authors I normally don't buy but would still like to try!
I highly recommend this book to everyone who loves their public library, have been influenced by it and of course for those who love reading :D
P.S: I borrowed this book from the library!
Please follow me on my blog :) Review originally posted on Vellum Voyages (www.vellumvoyages.com)
Who hasn't stepped into a library at least at one stage in our life? A library has almost definitely helped us achieve something, be it research, printing, a study area and of course access to a plethora of books. Me? I LOVE libraries! Ever since I was a kid, libraries have always played a huge part of my childhood. Each city I have lived in, the first thing I have ever done is join its public library. So far, I have library cards from Sydney, Edinburgh, Carmarthen (Wales) and two from London! Yes, I collect library cards :D I love them! I love the feeling of stepping into a building that pays respect to books, helps people and also brings a community together despite ethnicity, race, religion, sexual orientation or income. Libraries don't judge :)
"The Library Book" is a lovely mix of stories from various British authors mostly about their experiences with public libraries and how they have been influenced by them. As with any collection of stories, some stories are much more fascinating than others but they are all good reads in their own way. Some of the authors, also draw awareness to the importance of libraries and the critical role they play in communities. Just because a lot of printed media is going digital in our modern times, doesn't mean public libraries should become defunct and unusable. Public libraries should be cherished, maintained, used and supported as they are invaluable sources of information and facilities. Let's also not forget, for example, if you don't have a printer at home and you need something printed, the first thing you think of is the public library. It doesn't just help us in lending books and research but also provides everyday life resources that some may not have access to. Personally, I use libraries to help me find books and authors I normally don't buy but would still like to try!
I highly recommend this book to everyone who loves their public library, have been influenced by it and of course for those who love reading :D
P.S: I borrowed this book from the library!
June 3, 2021
Reflections and lessons learned:
“...And a conversation about a book becomes one about life, and you leave feeling that you aren’t alone after all”
This is a book that I’ve longed to read for a long old time and the perfect busmans holiday - there aren’t enough exclamation marks in the Bodleian to express my love for this as a whole approach and facts featured - a library in an old Woolworths! The understanding of the tone of individual libraries! A librarian as a data hound, a guide, a sherpa and a teacher, a bookaneer even! The whole Caitlin Moran section from memories and visuals. Tom Holland talking sexily of Gibbon history? Phwoar! The difficulty of cuts and big society opportunities and weaknesses were tackled carefully but the anger reflected shows how precious these facilities and services are to so many.
“Next time you’re driving or walking past your local library maybe break the habit and step inside. It’s even cheaper than Amazon”
I knew that I’d love this collection of short love letter style anecdotes to libraries, but it even surpassed my heart for it all and made me glad that the support is there
“To reduce a library to simple architecture, bricks and mortar is a mistake. Similarly, to suggest a library is defined by the books on the shelf is erroneous. Libraries are very special spaces, spaces where people come together in separate but joint pursuits of knowledge, of learning. Libraries are the heartbeats of communities”
“...And a conversation about a book becomes one about life, and you leave feeling that you aren’t alone after all”
This is a book that I’ve longed to read for a long old time and the perfect busmans holiday - there aren’t enough exclamation marks in the Bodleian to express my love for this as a whole approach and facts featured - a library in an old Woolworths! The understanding of the tone of individual libraries! A librarian as a data hound, a guide, a sherpa and a teacher, a bookaneer even! The whole Caitlin Moran section from memories and visuals. Tom Holland talking sexily of Gibbon history? Phwoar! The difficulty of cuts and big society opportunities and weaknesses were tackled carefully but the anger reflected shows how precious these facilities and services are to so many.
“Next time you’re driving or walking past your local library maybe break the habit and step inside. It’s even cheaper than Amazon”
I knew that I’d love this collection of short love letter style anecdotes to libraries, but it even surpassed my heart for it all and made me glad that the support is there
“To reduce a library to simple architecture, bricks and mortar is a mistake. Similarly, to suggest a library is defined by the books on the shelf is erroneous. Libraries are very special spaces, spaces where people come together in separate but joint pursuits of knowledge, of learning. Libraries are the heartbeats of communities”
August 2, 2018
The Library Book was published to support The Reading Agency, whose website describes itself as "a charity whose mission is to inspire more people to read more, encourage them to share their enjoyment of reading and celebrate the difference that reading makes to all our lives." Rebecca Gray, author of the foreward, along with her colleague "John" appear to be the editors for the volume, although no formal attribution statement is made. The book consists primarily of essays written by various authors championing libraries and reading. A couple of selections were excerpted from published works, including a a fictional one in the case of China Mieville's contribution. My favorite contribution was Val McDermid's "Going to the Dogs." It described her experiences with libraries over the years, providing insight into why she chose the mystery genre. I'll let you read the essay to find out why she entitled her essay as she did. My next favorite was "Libraries Rock!" by Ann Cleeves. While her essay was different in nature, I found it to be written with a great deal of thought. In contrast, one or two of the contributions seemed to be written in haste and unedited, even by the author. It's a book those of us who love books and libraries should love, but it really encourages support for both reading and libraries.
November 7, 2019
The Library Book is a collection of essays from various authors, telling their stories of how library affected their lives. In libraries, they found solace, being a part of their childhood, helped their studies in college, changed their way of seeing the world etc etc. It's a book with library's love, stating their opinion against cutting funds/movement to close up some public libraries.
Reading the essays in this book, made me looked back in my own life. During my school years, the library has been a place where I can be alone in a crowd. It gave peace and calms me down. It's been almost 2 years since I rediscovered our local library (I had a bad experience with their collection years ago). My reading has improved and I read in a wide variety of genres too. Now, going to the library is something I look forward to every week. If you're someone who love library, I would recommend you to pick up this collection. And if you never use a library before, you definitely don't know what you're missing out on!
March 28, 2021
I never know what to expect when I pick up a collection like this. In this case, I was pleasantly surprised. This was a lot of fun and a very cozy read.
July 3, 2022
This has been my companion for the last 3 months as I slowly savor each story and each chapter by people who love and have loved libraries and the impact they’ve had on their lives.
Beautiful
Beautiful
June 26, 2024
I loved this book! Brilliant chapters by Stephen fry, Val McDermid, Susan Hill and many many more. Would recommend everyone reads it
February 25, 2012
A wonderful collection of essays by some successful and talented writers. All in defense and in aid of public libraries (in the UK), a truly laudable cause.
I particularly enjoyed the essays that were addressing the issue at hand (current UK government looking to close more than 10% of public libraries) and delivering strong and intelligent arguments in favour of keeping libraries open and accessible to everyone. Many contributors told personal (childhood) anecdotes about how libraries (and librarians) influenced and even shaped their lives, often very moving or funny stories that I just loved reading and could totally identify with. I'd have gladly given this collection five stars if it weren't for the dull / superfluous contributions by Seth Godin, China Mieville and Kate Mosse (some creepy ghost story that seemed completely pointless to me and was probably only in there because the protagonist does some volunteer work at a library.... come on!!), but most of the others were great and very enjoyable.
I will give my copy of this lovely book to our local library for their English language section and hope that back in the UK this book creates some serious buzz amongst people and encourage them to fight for their libraries. A most worthy cause.
I particularly enjoyed the essays that were addressing the issue at hand (current UK government looking to close more than 10% of public libraries) and delivering strong and intelligent arguments in favour of keeping libraries open and accessible to everyone. Many contributors told personal (childhood) anecdotes about how libraries (and librarians) influenced and even shaped their lives, often very moving or funny stories that I just loved reading and could totally identify with. I'd have gladly given this collection five stars if it weren't for the dull / superfluous contributions by Seth Godin, China Mieville and Kate Mosse (some creepy ghost story that seemed completely pointless to me and was probably only in there because the protagonist does some volunteer work at a library.... come on!!), but most of the others were great and very enjoyable.
I will give my copy of this lovely book to our local library for their English language section and hope that back in the UK this book creates some serious buzz amongst people and encourage them to fight for their libraries. A most worthy cause.
November 11, 2020
Not quite what I was expecting. My local library returned this title when I did a search for Ann Cleeves, making it look as if she were the editor. I went ahead and read it when I found that though Ms. Cleeves hadn’t edited it, the book contained offerings from some others of my favourite authors, including Val McDermid, Stephen Fry, Julian Barnes and Lionel Shriver, among many others. (It also turned out to have a rather creepy short story by Kate Mosse, whom I now must move higher in my TBR pile.)
Anyway, the book turns out to be not short stories (about which format I am already somewhat conflicted) but a series of more-or-less short essays, generally autobiographical, on the value of (small) community libraries and their librarians, and how dreadful it would be if they were to disappear. The book was published in 2012, at a time when the British government was apparently proposing to discontinue or at least diminish funding for public libraries, and comprises a highly literate outcry against that policy. At the time, I was unaware that this was happening. I don’t know if it did happen. I hope it didn't.
I am fortunate to live in a city with an excellent public library system, and in a province that shares the holdings of other cities’ public libraries, and in a time when Inter-Library Loan from all over the continent and possibly even the world is readily available. We recently built a new central library which is an architectural marvel, while retaining all twenty neighbourhood branches. Throughout the city, many pocket-sized parks host little closed-in cupboards where consumers can deposit books they’ve purchased, read, and no longer want, so that others may freely take them away to repeat the cycle. And of course there’s always bookcrossing.com. So I have enormous access to free books. I too would be bitter if that access were threatened.
Lately it seems our public library has been spending most of its allowance on electronic media, accessed via the internet. This is hugely popular – every new license that they acquire is immediately swamped with holds. Almost all of my reading friends (and some of the writers in The Library Book) decry this trend, saying they can’t give up the heft of a “real” book, the sound and feel of turning the page, the ease of finding out how close they are to the end, the smell. For some reason they always mention the smell. They probably have more storage space for purchased tomes, and fewer dust allergies, than I. I generally counter with the weight when you’re traveling, the potential bedbug transmission, the pain when you’re reading in bed and fall asleep and it plonks down onto your nose. And of course the physical restrictions of Covid-19 lockdowns. But they won’t be moved. With my deteriorating eyesight, e-readers with their adjustable fonts and audiobooks that don’t require vision at all are my only comfortable options and my only likely future. Long live Project Gutenberg!
Anyway, the book turns out to be not short stories (about which format I am already somewhat conflicted) but a series of more-or-less short essays, generally autobiographical, on the value of (small) community libraries and their librarians, and how dreadful it would be if they were to disappear. The book was published in 2012, at a time when the British government was apparently proposing to discontinue or at least diminish funding for public libraries, and comprises a highly literate outcry against that policy. At the time, I was unaware that this was happening. I don’t know if it did happen. I hope it didn't.
I am fortunate to live in a city with an excellent public library system, and in a province that shares the holdings of other cities’ public libraries, and in a time when Inter-Library Loan from all over the continent and possibly even the world is readily available. We recently built a new central library which is an architectural marvel, while retaining all twenty neighbourhood branches. Throughout the city, many pocket-sized parks host little closed-in cupboards where consumers can deposit books they’ve purchased, read, and no longer want, so that others may freely take them away to repeat the cycle. And of course there’s always bookcrossing.com. So I have enormous access to free books. I too would be bitter if that access were threatened.
Lately it seems our public library has been spending most of its allowance on electronic media, accessed via the internet. This is hugely popular – every new license that they acquire is immediately swamped with holds. Almost all of my reading friends (and some of the writers in The Library Book) decry this trend, saying they can’t give up the heft of a “real” book, the sound and feel of turning the page, the ease of finding out how close they are to the end, the smell. For some reason they always mention the smell. They probably have more storage space for purchased tomes, and fewer dust allergies, than I. I generally counter with the weight when you’re traveling, the potential bedbug transmission, the pain when you’re reading in bed and fall asleep and it plonks down onto your nose. And of course the physical restrictions of Covid-19 lockdowns. But they won’t be moved. With my deteriorating eyesight, e-readers with their adjustable fonts and audiobooks that don’t require vision at all are my only comfortable options and my only likely future. Long live Project Gutenberg!
February 7, 2023
Very nice short personal stories from great authors about the importance of libraries in communities and the world.
Favourite quotes:
“Books and bookcases cropping up in stuff that I’ve written means that they have to be reproduced on stage or on film.This isn’t as straightforward as it might seem.A designer will either present you with shelves lined with gilt-tooled library sets, the sort of clubland books one can rent by the yard as decor,or he or she will send out for some junk books from the nearest second-hand bookshop and think that those will do.Another short cut is to order in a cargo of remaindered books so that you end up with a shelf so garish and lacking in character it bears about as much of a relationship to literature as a caravan site does to architecture.A bookshelf is as particular to its owner as are his or her clothes; a personality is stamped on a library just as a shoe is shaped by the foot.” -Alan Bennett
“Post-Gutenberg,books are finally abundant,hardly scarce,hardly expensive,hardly worth warehousing.Post-Gutenberg,the scarce resource is knowledge and insight,not access to data.” -Seth Godin
“My own appetite for knowledge and reading and connection had led me, and that is how education works,not by spoon-feedin,but by stimulating the appetite so that children cannot wait to feed themselves.Between the ages of twelve and fourteen I read hundreds and hundreds of books, but more importantly I became ‘unafraid’ of reading.Great writers,I discovered,were not to be bowed down before and worshipped,but embraced and befriended.Their names resounded through history not because they had massive brows and thought deep incomprehensible thoughts,but because they opened windows in the mind,they put their arms around you and showed you things you always knew but never dares to believe.” -Stephen Fry
“It has always been, and always will be,very difficult to explain to people with money what it means not to have money.” -Zadie Smith
Favourite quotes:
“Books and bookcases cropping up in stuff that I’ve written means that they have to be reproduced on stage or on film.This isn’t as straightforward as it might seem.A designer will either present you with shelves lined with gilt-tooled library sets, the sort of clubland books one can rent by the yard as decor,or he or she will send out for some junk books from the nearest second-hand bookshop and think that those will do.Another short cut is to order in a cargo of remaindered books so that you end up with a shelf so garish and lacking in character it bears about as much of a relationship to literature as a caravan site does to architecture.A bookshelf is as particular to its owner as are his or her clothes; a personality is stamped on a library just as a shoe is shaped by the foot.” -Alan Bennett
“Post-Gutenberg,books are finally abundant,hardly scarce,hardly expensive,hardly worth warehousing.Post-Gutenberg,the scarce resource is knowledge and insight,not access to data.” -Seth Godin
“My own appetite for knowledge and reading and connection had led me, and that is how education works,not by spoon-feedin,but by stimulating the appetite so that children cannot wait to feed themselves.Between the ages of twelve and fourteen I read hundreds and hundreds of books, but more importantly I became ‘unafraid’ of reading.Great writers,I discovered,were not to be bowed down before and worshipped,but embraced and befriended.Their names resounded through history not because they had massive brows and thought deep incomprehensible thoughts,but because they opened windows in the mind,they put their arms around you and showed you things you always knew but never dares to believe.” -Stephen Fry
“It has always been, and always will be,very difficult to explain to people with money what it means not to have money.” -Zadie Smith
September 6, 2019
A collection of short essays by writers on their experience with libraries - mostly a place where they are able to access to free books from young and cultivated their interest in reading ever since; a place which acts as a bridge to the outside world in the past (especially in rural areas); free computers means a first time users of the Internet for the poor or a platform for the jobless to apply for jobs. Some side benefit of libraries are homeless or jobless tend to congregate there due to the free heating space, so long as they don't sleep, and libraries can also act as a place for skill development for them too.
The authors have voiced their disappointment towards the government's plan to close down and to cut funding to libraries. Reading this book feels like reading through article after article on pleads to not close the libraries.
This book has certainly inspired me to read more. It feels good to be able to listen to the voices of people who shares the common interest - the love of books, and I too, would love to be part of them. Besides, they have inspired me to expose and send my future kids to the library and the joy of reading and learning from a really young age.
"The Library Book began with a simple idea: to celebrate libraries. As the book took shape, it became clear that the value of public libraries transcends the books on the shelves. Books and stories are lifelines, and libraries house those lifelines, making them available to all. They are important not just for the books, but for the space and freedom they provide, as well as the navigation and advice provided by librarians."
The authors have voiced their disappointment towards the government's plan to close down and to cut funding to libraries. Reading this book feels like reading through article after article on pleads to not close the libraries.
This book has certainly inspired me to read more. It feels good to be able to listen to the voices of people who shares the common interest - the love of books, and I too, would love to be part of them. Besides, they have inspired me to expose and send my future kids to the library and the joy of reading and learning from a really young age.
"The Library Book began with a simple idea: to celebrate libraries. As the book took shape, it became clear that the value of public libraries transcends the books on the shelves. Books and stories are lifelines, and libraries house those lifelines, making them available to all. They are important not just for the books, but for the space and freedom they provide, as well as the navigation and advice provided by librarians."
April 4, 2019
I’m proud to have checked this fantastic collection of essays on the importance of libraries in society out from my local library (yay - Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh)! If you love books - and importantly stories about books - I highly recommend it!
This collaboration was created in response to the drastic cuts in funding that libraries have seen in recent years. Authors and musicians plead the case for books, libraries, & education. I’ve copied in just a few of the quotes that really stuck out to me.
“you might not understand the point of such lowly gateways, or be able to conceive why anyone would crawl on their hands and knees for the privilege of entering one. It has always been, and always will be, very difficult to explain to people with money what it means not to have money. If education matters to you, they ask, and if libraries matter to you, well, why wouldn’t you be willing to pay for them if you value them? They are the kind of people who believe value can only be measured in money, at the extreme end of which logic lies the dangerous idea that people who do not generate a lot of money for their families cannot possibly value their families as people with money do.”
“Perhaps it’s because they know what the history books will make of them that our politicians are so cavalier with our libraries: from their point of view, the fewer places where you can find a history book these days, the better.”
“Reading develops cognitive skills. It trains your mind to question what you are told, which is why the first thing dictators do when they come to power is censor or ban books. It’s why it was illegal for so many years to teach slaves to read. It’s why girls in developing countries have acid thrown in their faces going to school.”
This collaboration was created in response to the drastic cuts in funding that libraries have seen in recent years. Authors and musicians plead the case for books, libraries, & education. I’ve copied in just a few of the quotes that really stuck out to me.
“you might not understand the point of such lowly gateways, or be able to conceive why anyone would crawl on their hands and knees for the privilege of entering one. It has always been, and always will be, very difficult to explain to people with money what it means not to have money. If education matters to you, they ask, and if libraries matter to you, well, why wouldn’t you be willing to pay for them if you value them? They are the kind of people who believe value can only be measured in money, at the extreme end of which logic lies the dangerous idea that people who do not generate a lot of money for their families cannot possibly value their families as people with money do.”
“Perhaps it’s because they know what the history books will make of them that our politicians are so cavalier with our libraries: from their point of view, the fewer places where you can find a history book these days, the better.”
“Reading develops cognitive skills. It trains your mind to question what you are told, which is why the first thing dictators do when they come to power is censor or ban books. It’s why it was illegal for so many years to teach slaves to read. It’s why girls in developing countries have acid thrown in their faces going to school.”
September 4, 2018
Anita Anand was on The Guilty Feminist promoting her OTHER book, but this came up for the e-reader from the library, so I read her chapter and saw Caitlin Moran and Lucy Mangan had also written a chapter, so hey, why not?
These stories were largely amusing, personal, interesting-ish, thoughtful and most importantly pleasant.
I liked the bit about older libraries and how everything was written on clay and when some power set it on fire, it meant that they were preserved, lol.
It made me wonder what the role of libraries is going to be in the future. I use them, but SHOULD I be using them? As there were a lot of stories about being too poor to get books from anywhere else. And while books are as cheap as ever, they aren't as cheap as free. I also use the library for rhythm and rhyme, so perhaps that is the future? Apparently in Norn Ir there are no more librarians.
Is this sad? Are libraries adapting? Are we less connected than before or more? These are the questions I was asking myself.
I loved my library growing up, I hope my children will like theirs. Nothing is as nice as a book in one's hand. And being surrounded by books. Books for days.
These stories were largely amusing, personal, interesting-ish, thoughtful and most importantly pleasant.
I liked the bit about older libraries and how everything was written on clay and when some power set it on fire, it meant that they were preserved, lol.
It made me wonder what the role of libraries is going to be in the future. I use them, but SHOULD I be using them? As there were a lot of stories about being too poor to get books from anywhere else. And while books are as cheap as ever, they aren't as cheap as free. I also use the library for rhythm and rhyme, so perhaps that is the future? Apparently in Norn Ir there are no more librarians.
Is this sad? Are libraries adapting? Are we less connected than before or more? These are the questions I was asking myself.
I loved my library growing up, I hope my children will like theirs. Nothing is as nice as a book in one's hand. And being surrounded by books. Books for days.
May 8, 2019
It is rare for me to score a book as a five star read. Rare too for me to decide that a book will stay on my shelves rather than be moved on. This one is a must-have for bibliophiles and library lovers everywhere. Easy to read; a testament to the good that libraries have done, and still do - if only they are given a chance. Definitely my sort of book. Personally I enjoyed it far more than Ali Smith's Public Library and other Stories, and felt it was more relevant.
January 11, 2024
Stars of the literary world gather together to share their love of libraries and celebrate the joy of books, and what a delight it is. It comes with a warning too of course, surrounding the future stability of the library institution itself.
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