After falling out with his father over the time he spends in his room on his XBox, Tom discovered that the library could offer him some respite from the hours he spends at home alone. He is by nature very shy and awkward around people and prefers to stay at home where he feels safe. Because of this he doesn’t make friends, but he does feel the need for company sometimes. The titular library does have an important role to play in the book but it is not the central focus point of the book. Instead, the story focusses more on the personal lives of Tom and Maggie, and even the people in the village where they all reside. I think the title creates different sort of expectations in your head, and when the book doesn’t match up to them, you feel let down, even though the book does its job pretty well. I must say, I loved all the book references scattered throughout the story. (Thankfully, I’ve read most of them and have the rest in my TBR. Else, this book would have made a big dent in my reading plans!) However, while more and more towns seem to finally modernize their libraries and work hard to make more people want to come, some threats have never truly gone away:

The authors begin with a discussion of the fabled Library of Alexandria, which is appropriate given its mythical place in the history of libraries... and ALSO that there's some attempt to do something similar in the Alexandria of today, which is, let's say, not the Alexandria of yesteryear. contrarian idea that people don’t associate libraries with L.A., which made it kind of delectable. That said, the 1986 fire ( forgive me), was a spark! I'm happy to report that there could be a revolution brewing about Germany's public libraries at last. Only last week, I read an (admittedly older) article about the transformation of German libraries into places where people can connect, linger and spend entire days doing all kinds of things. For those of you who are now scratching their heads going "yeah ... aren't they already?!" I can only say that you obviously come from a much better place than me (library-wise). *lol* I paired my reading with the wonderful audio narration by Julia Franklin and Harry Lister Smith who made the story and the characters come alive.Point is.....I didn’t come close to having the experience that Susan Orlean had - with books and reading- as she did. I don’t have ‘mom & me’ reading memories to draw on and my dad died when I was 4.

Paul is insistent that Tom begins earning money as soon as possible and begin to pay his way, and to this end, wants him to begin an apprenticeship at a local dog food factory. Tom wants more, and dreams of going to university, but has concerns about how well he will do in his exams. He is drawn to the popular, beautiful and bright girl at school, Farah Shah, who likes reading romantic fiction. After his father breaks his Xbox, Tom finds himself going to Compton Mallow Library, and begins reading romance novels, and it is where he meets Maggie, a group member of the weekly book club discussions. After trying to help Maggie when she gets mugged, the two of them start to become closer, each needing the other, a relationship that develops around their campaign to save the library from being closed. However, there are personal challenges to overcome for both of them. It then went into the impact on the Printing Press / Guttenberg and how that exploded the number of books and divide between Printed and transcribed. Interesting stories of how some of the early public collections were from private gifts at death and/or private collection used to pay off debt at death. I thought one of the key thoughts (and I'll butcher the exact quote) was that "no matter how Passionate the Collector, the collection/library was a mere burden to its recipients upon his passing". (This makes me thing of all the things I collect, books, sports memorabilia, etc that will probably just end up in the trash.)

Discover

We all judge a book by its cover. (Don’t deny it!) We also judge books by their titles at times. So if you see this book, you will certainly go for it because it is about the magical place we all love: the library. But does the content do justice to this title and cover? Not exactly. What I might have enjoyed more would have been if the authors had mentioned truly modern forms of the book. It seemed as if the authors weren't too impressed or in favour of ebooks and audiobooks weren't mentioned at all despite their influence on both literature and libraries. Pity. And this is exactly when libraries the way we think about them today were born. The libraries housed in monasteries or universities as well as the subscription libraries made way to the public libraries that allowed access to all citizens, who could either read there or take a book home. A principle which has remained the same ever since. A heavy but very worth read that should definitely be of interest to the ones who would love to have a book about the history of books.

Maggie is in her 70s, and lives alone on a smallholding with just her animals for company. The highlight of her life is the weekly book club at the library. She is an extraordinary character with hidden depths and a tragic secret. Now for the book: At the heart of it, it’s less about saving the village library, though that’s the plot device that introduces characters and moves events along, but more about the unlikely friendship between Tom, a 16-year-old socially awkward boy who lost his mother, and Maggie, a spunky, independent 72-year old widow who lost her son. These are two people who, each in their own way, desperately need the other. I recived a copy of The Library from NetGalley and Aria & Aries in exchange for an honest review, Bella Osborne's book is beautifully written, it made me cry in a good way, my heart feels full of hope, and five big stars from me.

This story is less about the library and more about Tom and Maggie’s friendship and their individual struggles. Tom feels anxiety whenever he is at home and tries to avoid his alcoholic father whose addiction is worsening everyday. Since losing her family, Maggie has built a fortress of walls around her and hardly allows anyone to get close to her. The library is a fascinating account the history of libraries and books through the ages. The chapters span from the ancient library of Alexandria to libraries in this day and age. The writing of the library is pretty accessible but it is clearly a scholarly read. The amount of research the authors put in write this book is evident throughout book and manifests itself in an impressive number of references (many of which seem worthy to read on their own).

This is not a cursory glance or an overview. It is a caring, in depth exploration into the history of collecting words on whatever material was used by human kind. And then how these collections of materials containing words were organized or managed, be it in a box, a trunk or, eventually a shelf or shelves or a room or a building. This book is a different approach to history. In addition to loaning books, music and movies, some libraries have a library of things, which enable people to borrow items such as sewing machines or specialty tools, which they wouldn't ordinarily have access to. Overall, this was a good reading experience, though it could have worked even better had I not gone in expecting something else. The story is sweet and the main characters are loveable. And that makes up for the other shortcomings to a great extent.Famed across the known world, jealously guarded by private collectors, built up over centuries, destroyed in a single day, ornamented with gold leaf and frescoes or filled with bean bags and children's drawings - the history of the library is rich, varied and stuffed full of incident. Tom Harris feels as though he is invisible. “Not actually invisible – that would make me interesting and I’m not. I’m the person others find easy to forget. The one who is lost in the crowd.” When he encounters that certain girl in the library, he manages to chat about books without being wholly overcome by the embarrassment that usually plagues him. Later, they learn that the library is under threat of closure and, together with Maggie’s book group and other library patrons, they vow to fight the council’s short-sighted plan. Meanwhile, Maggie calls on Tom’s assistance more often, glad that he is both willing and interested in farm work, and she’s happy to have someone else to cook for. They open up more to one another, and Maggie has sound advice about study and further education. On the farm, Tom finds himself involved in tasks he could never have anticipated, and enthralled by newborn animals. Tom discovers the joy of reading, he gains confidence, he starts to apply himself to his studies, he wants to pass high school and go to university. When they threaten to close the library, Maggie, Tom, Farah, Christine and the members of Maggie’s book group start a petition and come up with ideas to save the library. An emotional story about an unlikely friendship, Maggie gives Tom the love and attention he desperately needs and she has a new lease on life. Tom learns valuable life skills from Maggie, and also people do make mistakes and you can’t hold their past against them.