| Susan Orlean investigates the fire that swept through Los Angeles’ Central Library |
| The Thread's Must Read | | “A new Susan Orlean book” are magic words in some circles. If you love nonfiction packed with intricate detail and nearly unbelievable characters, Orlean has a history of delivering. “The Orchid Thief” is still a recommendation I make to people on a regular basis.
Her newest, “The Library Book,” looks at the catastrophic fire that raged through Los Angeles’ Central Library in the 1980s. And while it has its true-crime elements of unpacking the arson investigation, the book takes its time exploring the history of libraries themselves, and their role in culture.
If, like Orlean, and like me, you spent your formative years wandering among the books and marveling at the sheer volume of options in the library, this book will be a welcome read, especially as libraries continue to evolve.
-Tracy Mumford | |
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| | | In 'The Birds, the Bees,' teens take on sex ed | | "The Birds, the Bees, and You and Me" by Olivia Hinebaugh |
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In Olivia Hinebaugh's new novel, a girl gets fed up with her school's abstinence-only classes and sets herself up as a sex ed expert, handing out condoms and advice with help from her mom, a nurse.
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| | | 'Prisoner' is an intimate portrait of one journalist's captivity in Iran | | "Prisoner: My 544 Days in an Iranian Prison — Solitary Confinement, a Sham Trial, High-Stakes Diplomacy, and the Extraordinary Efforts It Took to Get Me Out" by Jason Rezaian |
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Writer Jason Rezaian is unsparingly personal throughout the telling of his arrest, imprisonment and trial, writing of his childhood, family, visits with his wife — and fears and insecurities.
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