Welcome to Quill Quotes Book Club, The Library Book Discussion #1! We hope you are enjoying the book so far. Please keep in mind this discussion is only for the first half of the book (Chapters 1-15). If you read ahead or finished the book, please keep any spoilers or thoughts on later parts for the next discussion. See The Library Book Summary Page for the reading schedule and other discussions.
Brooke’s Thoughts
I’m really enjoying the book so far, I honestly wasn’t expecting it to be so entertaining. It’s very factual and interesting which is hard to do. Who knew a library would have such a fascinating history?! I enjoy reading about the history more than who actually caused the fire. I’m also learning a lot too. I had no idea how libraries work, especially in big cities like LA. I’m excited to learn more about the history of LA and what happens with the library!
Favorite Quote
“Destroying a culture’s books is sentencing it to something worse than death: It is sentencing it to seem as if it never lived.”
– Susan Orlean, The Library Book
Kevin’s Thoughts
The LA library’s history is pretty fascinating even outside the fire! I think I’ve most enjoyed learning about the different city librarians and how they expanded and impacted the LA library’s collection and usage. The one thing I don’t like is how much the book jumps around. Each chapter/section is interesting but the different stories and time periods are kind of jarring and hard to follow at times. The stats on how many books have been destroyed throughout history were also pretty mind-boggling and make it hard to believe how many books we still have. We’re lucky that printing has become so accessible/cheap!
Favorite Quote
“The idea of being forgotten is terrifying. I fear not just that I, personally, will be forgotten, but that we are all doomed to being forgotten—that the sum of life is ultimately nothing; that we experience joy and disappointment and aches and delights and loss, make our little mark on the world, and then we vanish, and the mark is erased, and it is as if we never existed. If you gaze into that bleakness even for a moment, the sum of life becomes null and void, because if nothing lasts, nothing matters. It means that everything we experience unfolds without a pattern, and life is just a wild, random, baffling occurrence, a scattering of notes with no melody. But if something you learn or observe or imagine can be set down and saved, and if you can see your life reflected in previous lives, and can imagine it reflected in subsequent ones, you can begin to discover order and harmony.”
– Susan Orlean, The Library Book
The Library Book Discussion #1 Questions/Prompts
Feel free to comment whatever thoughts and questions you have! But if you aren’t sure where to start, consider some of the prompts/questions below:
- Do you think Harry Peak started the fire?
- Do you remember the Library burning?
- What is an interesting fact you learned from the book?
- Share a favorite quote!
Commenting
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We hope you enjoy this discussion and join us in 2 weeks for the discussion over the whole book! Check out The Library Book Summary Page for more details.
This book is very entertaining. I’m enjoying learning about the old librians, especially Charles Lummis he seemed like quite a character. I was proud they had a women in charge then took it away later for no apparent reason which was probably way women suffrage was a big campaign in the early 1900. I’m not sure if Harry Peak started the fire I think he just was getting attention however he could get it. I don’t remember the fire happening I would have been in college in Iowa at the time and did not read or watch much news so I never heard about the fire. I think the amount of books that are shipped around the city is very interesting and how many people in the city go to the library daily. My favorite quote was from Glen Creason who said “the breeze was filled with the smell of heartbreak and ashes.” It must have been awful to see the building burning knowing much of history is going up in flames. I really liked the quote Kevin picked too, it really makes you want to keep history alive.
I also enjoyed learning about Charles Lummis. It was pretty cool that they had a woman in charge when that was uncommon but sucks they took it away from her for no real reason.
I don’t know if Harry Peak started the fire but he definitely has some kind of mental problem even if he didn’t.
I agree about the quote. I think it would be terrible to see anything burn but especially the library with all the irreplaceable history, books, maps, etc.