JL SMITHER
  • Home
  • About JL
  • Blog
  • Writing
    • Short stories and poems
    • Novel (in-progress)
    • Nonfiction
  • Comic
    • Monster at the Institute
    • The Hunter

Blog.

Thoughts on The Library Book

4/2/2019

 
Picture
What I liked

The descriptions and characterization of suspected arsonist Harry Peak, especially as seen through the eyes of other unreliable characters. His sister especially dropped a few details that made the reader realize she either doesn’t know the whole truth or doesn’t want to.

Similarly, I enjoyed the characterizations of historical staff members at the Los Angeles Public Library, including those fascinating directors. Although the book focused on an event in a place, it’s the people that make the story relatable.

What I didn’t like

The lists, mostly. Granted, this is coming from someone who loved Moby Dick. But listing out the types of garbage strewed along a fence line, the books being transferred from one library branch to another, the history of bookmobiles, and on and on… didn’t contribute to my understanding of the topic. It didn’t keep me engaged in the narrative.

And why do they ever let authors read their own audiobooks?

Given my day job, I know more about libraries than the average bear, I suppose. But I found myself fluctuating between “Duh, of course,” and “No, that’s not right.” I found several instances in which she listed a “fact” that was simply incorrect, including some about the place where I work. Which was frustrating.

What I can learn

Stay on task. It’s probably impossible to write a book about a contemporary topic that you don’t live and breathe that will be accepted without issue from people who do live and breathe it. So it makes more sense to me to stay on a topic that very few people live and breathe. If this book had focused just on Harry Peak and the fire or even the history of the LA Public Library staff, and less about what libraries are like today, I would have stayed more engaged.

Comments are closed.

    Categories

    All
    Authors
    Classics
    Comic
    Fiction
    Five Stars
    Four Stars
    Non Fiction
    Novel
    Original Work
    Review
    Short Stories
    Thoughts
    Three Stars
    Two Stars

    Read my reviews on

    Picture

    Archives

    April 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    July 2018
    May 2018
    October 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    January 2017
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    October 2013
    February 2013

Creative Commons License
The writing made available on this site by JL Smither is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

  • Home
  • About JL
  • Blog
  • Writing
    • Short stories and poems
    • Novel (in-progress)
    • Nonfiction
  • Comic
    • Monster at the Institute
    • The Hunter