Wilmette Library to host Susan Orlean, author of The Library Book

Esteemed author, journalist, and New Yorker staff writer Susan Orlean will talk about her New York Times bestseller, The Library Book, in a program sponsored by the Wilmette Public Library.
The event is free and open to the public, and tickets are not required. A book signing will follow, with copies of The Library Book available for purchase courtesy of The Book Stall.

In The Library Book, Ms. Orlean weaves her lifelong love of books and reading into an investigation of a devastating fire at the Los Angeles Public Library in 1986. Along the way, she delivers an enthralling book that tells a broader story of libraries while revealing how these beloved institutions remain an essential part of our nation’s heart, mind, and soul.

Called a “national treasure” by The Washington Post, Ms. Orlean displays her masterful hand and brilliant talent for deep research throughout The Library Book. Partly true crime and partly a valentine to libraries and librarians, The Library Book serves as a powerful and exquisite tribute to books, storytelling, and humanity’s deep desire for connection.

The Library Book was nominated for the Andrew Carnegie Nonfiction Prize and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and named a New York Times Notable Book of 2018 as well as a Washington Post Top 10 Book of the Year. It will be adapted by Ms. Orlean for a forthcoming television series with Paramount TV.

Erik Larson, author of The Devil in the White City and Dead Wake, wrote, “After reading Susan Orlean’s The Library Book, I’m quite sure I’ll never look at libraries, or librarians, the same way again. This is classic Orlean—an exploration of a devastating fire becomes a journey through a world of infinite richness, populated with unexpected characters doing unexpected things, with unexpected passion.”

The Library has copies of The Library Book in multiple formats, including print, audio, and digital. For more information, visit www.wilmettelibrary.info/meet-the-author or call (847) 256-6930.