Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
Profile Books(GB) (2012), Hardcover, 180 pages
Description
Literary Criticism. Nonfiction. HTML: From Alan Bennett's Baffled at a Bookcase, to Lucy Mangan's Library Rules, famous writers tell us all about how libraries are used and why they're important. Tom Holland writes about libraries in the ancient world, while Seth Godin describes what a library will look like in the future. Lionel Shriver thinks books are the best investment, Hardeep Singh Kohli makes a confession and Julie Myerson remembers how her career began beside the shelves. Using memoir, history, polemic and some short stories too, The Library Book celebrates 'that place where they lend you books for free' and the people who work there. All royalties go to The Reading Agency, to help their work supporting libraries..
Media reviews
The Guardian
A refrain runs through this essay collection, published to support the Reading Agency's library programmes: libraries made me what I am. Val McDermid, growing up in Kirkcaldy, made a "home from home" of her local library. Stephen Fry first read Oscar Wilde thanks to the mobile library near his home
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in rural Norfolk. For many contributors, personal recollection mutates into anger at the current government's library-closing tendencies: Zadie Smith mounts a scathing attack on the "shameful" dismantling of public services. Yet libraries are haunted by a spectre greater than cost-cutting: the rise of the ebook. What function will libraries have when books are downloaded? In one of the few forward-looking pieces, Seth Godin imagines the library of the future being "a place where people come together and do co-working and coordinating". Is this inspiring or depressing? Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member JBD1
A delightful little volume of short pieces about libraries and the important role they play in society. Julian Barnes' "The Defence of the Book" is a must-read, and several of the essays here are extremely funny and touching. I suspect that many of us for whom books are the stuff of life have a
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"library story," of that first library you knew and loved as a child (I know I do), and treasure the librarians you've known over the years. You'll probably find yourselves nodding along frequently as you read this. Show Less
LibraryThing member DebbieMcCauley
The Library Book is a wonderful collection of 24 essays, stories and memoirs by a range of authors and journalists from varied backgrounds. They discuss the importance of libraries in the past, present and future.
Some passages that touched me:
'To reduce a library to simple architecture, bricks and
'The librarian isn't a clerk who happens to work at a library. A librarian is a date hound, a guide, a sherpa and a teacher. The librarian is the interface between reams of data and the untrained but motivated user' Seth Godin (p. 45)
'I read voraciously, diving into the worlds of other people's imagination and emerging with my own vision enriched and inflamed. I could happily get through two books in a day. I read everywhere. At the table, in the street, in bed, at break time in school. Once I gave myself a black eye by walking into a castellated garden wall during my paper round while I was busily pouring over the hockey reports in The Scotsman' Val McDermid (p. 52-53).
'When you are researching a book these days, it's tempting to rely on the internet. It's certainly invaluable; a huge swathe of research literature is there at all our fingertips. But that's when you know what you're looking for. Every book I find via an internet search has something to say that I already know about. In a library, on the other hand, that book is only a starting point. That book is surrounded by books on a similar subject - books that I didn't know about. You pick them up, flick through them, and find treasures - and wisdom - you would never otherwise have found' Michael Brooks (p. 115).
'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 whey 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' Karen Slaughter (p. 166).
The Library Book celebrates 'that place where they lend you books for free' and the people who work there. Proceeds from the book go to The Reading Agency, a UK charity which runs reading programmes in libraries. This book is a wonderful tribute to libraries and librarians and a great advocate for their future
Some passages that touched me:
'To reduce a library to simple architecture, bricks and
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mortar is a mistake. Similarly, to suggest a library is defined by the books on the shelf is erroneous. Libraries are very special places, spaces where people come together in separate but joint pursuits of knowledge, of learning. Libraries are the heartbeat of communities' Hardeep Singh Kohli (p. 20)'The librarian isn't a clerk who happens to work at a library. A librarian is a date hound, a guide, a sherpa and a teacher. The librarian is the interface between reams of data and the untrained but motivated user' Seth Godin (p. 45)
'I read voraciously, diving into the worlds of other people's imagination and emerging with my own vision enriched and inflamed. I could happily get through two books in a day. I read everywhere. At the table, in the street, in bed, at break time in school. Once I gave myself a black eye by walking into a castellated garden wall during my paper round while I was busily pouring over the hockey reports in The Scotsman' Val McDermid (p. 52-53).
'When you are researching a book these days, it's tempting to rely on the internet. It's certainly invaluable; a huge swathe of research literature is there at all our fingertips. But that's when you know what you're looking for. Every book I find via an internet search has something to say that I already know about. In a library, on the other hand, that book is only a starting point. That book is surrounded by books on a similar subject - books that I didn't know about. You pick them up, flick through them, and find treasures - and wisdom - you would never otherwise have found' Michael Brooks (p. 115).
'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 whey 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' Karen Slaughter (p. 166).
The Library Book celebrates 'that place where they lend you books for free' and the people who work there. Proceeds from the book go to The Reading Agency, a UK charity which runs reading programmes in libraries. This book is a wonderful tribute to libraries and librarians and a great advocate for their future
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LibraryThing member LyzzyBee
(Kindle)
A set of pieces about libraries – memoir, polemic and fiction (and I’m not even sure it’s ‘by’ or edited by Godin, but that’s what comes up on my Kindle), of which the memoirs work best. I particularly liked Hardeep Singh Kholi’s piece about coming of age and Scottishness in
A set of pieces about libraries – memoir, polemic and fiction (and I’m not even sure it’s ‘by’ or edited by Godin, but that’s what comes up on my Kindle), of which the memoirs work best. I particularly liked Hardeep Singh Kholi’s piece about coming of age and Scottishness in
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the local library. Fairly slight, but good for a travelling read. Show Less
LibraryThing member adzebill
A compilation to raise awareness of potential cuts to UK libraries, it's weakest when it moves from a defense of the library system based mostly on nostalgia to disparaging the internet. Seth Godin's contribution is the exception—while his points are nothing new to librarians, none of the
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contributors are librarians. Most are British genre writers I've never heard of, who wax poetic on the nice smell old libraries had when they where children and a library was a gateway into a magical world of freedom etc etc. There are some lovely pieces in this vein from Zadie Smith, Alan Bennett, and Stephen Fry, as well as short fiction from Kate Mosse and China Miéville. But I was ultimately a bit disappointed that the 21st century didn't get much of a mention. Show Less
LibraryThing member PickledOnion42
The Library Book is a collection of 23 short pieces extolling the virtues of the public library. It is an easy and enjoyable read, however it was slightly more political than I had expected it to be – it is evidently a response to the current library closures throughout the UK and there is an
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obvious (yet unobtrusive) 'anti-Tory' sentiment running throughout which, although valid, did sometimes seem unnecessary. While the collection is relatively optimistic about the fate of our libraries, this confidence did at times seem forced, and I found myself wondering if this anthology is more of a eulogy than a defence. Show Less
LibraryThing member AnglersRest
This slender volume comprises of short writings from twenty five different authors. Each one sharing across the page why they love and value libraries and the importance that libraries have played in their individual literary careers.
Most of the authors I had heard of, some I had read books that
More surprisingly, one of the authors had focused their chapter on their childhood years in Surrey, and more importantly the town I still refer to as home. Furthermore, there was even a mention of the road that my family had links to for almost a century. Sometimes, things are meant to be and perhaps this little book which was the first I selected from the library after my Mum passed away, was meant to come into my life and link my present to my past.
It was a lovely book and I enjoyed reading it. I feel that we undervalue libraries in this age of smart phones and the internet and perhaps we need to take stock, just as these authors have done and remember the "good old days"!
Most of the authors I had heard of, some I had read books that
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they had penned and one in particular is a favourite of mine.More surprisingly, one of the authors had focused their chapter on their childhood years in Surrey, and more importantly the town I still refer to as home. Furthermore, there was even a mention of the road that my family had links to for almost a century. Sometimes, things are meant to be and perhaps this little book which was the first I selected from the library after my Mum passed away, was meant to come into my life and link my present to my past.
It was a lovely book and I enjoyed reading it. I feel that we undervalue libraries in this age of smart phones and the internet and perhaps we need to take stock, just as these authors have done and remember the "good old days"!
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LibraryThing member thornton37814
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
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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. Show Less
LibraryThing member PDCRead
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
I am a complete library addict. I see them as a free bookshop, and normally visit once a week.
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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.
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LibraryThing member Fliss88
I love going into my local library! I get something from being there that I don’t get anywhere else. All the contributors in this book feel the same way. Libraries are special places and if you think so too you’ll enjoy this lovely book about what makes them so special.
LibraryThing member secondhandrose
Mixed bag of mini essays on the role of libraries in communities.
LibraryThing member thorold
A pleasant little anthology of essays and stories celebrating the magic of public libraries, by everyone who was anybody in British literature in 2012, from Alan Bennett to Zadie Smith, published in aid of the literacy charity, The Reading Agency. Most of the contributors were doing more or less
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what we would expect from them, in some cases with pieces that have been anthologised quite widely elsewhere, but it’s all in a good cause and a reminder of how valuable libraries are and how essential it is to keep them going even in times of austerity. Although I can’t imagine that anyone who didn’t already understand that would end up reading this book… Show Less
Original publication date
2012-02-02
Physical description
180 p.
ISBN
1781250057 / 9781781250051
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