Did you know?

Long before she became an award-winning and distinctly American author and beloved writer for The New Yorker, Susan Orlean spent her childhood in Cleveland, Ohio and studied literature and history at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. After college, she decided to abandon her plans to go to law school to fulfill her dream of being a writer, living in Oregon and writing for an alternative newsweekly in Portland, then for Rolling Stone and The Village Voice. She moved to Boston in 1982, and wrote for the Boston Globe, starting her first book, Saturday Night, in that historic city. Four years later, she moved to New York, wrote The Orchid Thief, became a staff writer at The New Yorker, got married, and added a Welsh Springer Spaniel to her family. These days, she lectures teaches, and writes pieces for The New Yorker and other magazines, while working on books. Her meticulously researched and artfully crafted book about the Los Angeles Public Library and the arson fire there in 1986, The Library Book, was published in October, 2018, by Simon and Schuster,  and catapulted her into the ranks of the most loved authors in the nation. She now splits her time between Los Angeles and the Hudson Valley of New York, with her husband, son, and menagerie of animals.

Find out more...

Join us for a very special celebration of libraries on May 8

Songbirds are chirping, sunlight is streaming through cloudless blue skies, and flashes of yellow and pink are starting to peek through the fertile soil. New life is coming to central Pennsylvania and the Dauphin County Library System!

Springtime promises to be especially sweet after this unique year of illness and isolation. Joining us to celebrate these resurgent times and the books that helped us endure is the prolific storyteller Susan Orlean, a New Yorker writer, former Boston Globe journalist, and best-selling author of The Library Book, The Orchid Thief, Rin Tin Tin, and numerous other literary favorites.

In The Library Book, which chronicles the devastating 1986 fire at the Los Angeles Public Library and what it meant for readers everywhere, Orlean recalls her childhood visits to the library with her mother as a time of “enchantment.” As they drove home with their stacks of books, they would converse with joyful anticipation about the order in which they would read their selections, “through this charmed, evanescent period of grace until the books were due.”

How fortunate that this rich voice is now coming to our capital city on Mother’s Day weekend to celebrate the transformational power of libraries.

Orlean will also help us announce the new life coming to our downtown library, as we transform McCormick Riverfront Library’s adjacent Haldeman Haly House into cherished public space that promises to hold a magic all its own.

She will highlight “A Place to Belong,” our endeavor to expand our footprint and our impact in the city of Harrisburg and the minds of our community.

You can connect with Orlean in a free virtual event at 7 pm on Saturday, May 8, just in time for Mother’s Day. Hear her thoughts as NPR’s Scott Detrow asks her probing questions about life, literature and libraries. Orlean closed out her “Acknowledgements” in The Library Book with this: “Mom, I made a book for you.” Join us May 8 to hear how she actually made a book for all of us.

>> Register Now - you will receive access information via email prior to the event.

The Library Book: Book Discussion
Thursday, April 22
4:00 p.m. on Zoom
60 minute program

Susan Orlean re-opens the unsolved mystery of the most catastrophic library fire in American history and delivers a dazzling homage to a beloved institution – our libraries. On the morning of April 29, 1986, a fire alarm sounded in the Los Angeles Public Library. Raging through the stacks, the fire reached 2000 degrees and burned for more than seven hours. It was the largest library fire in the history of the United States: it destroyed four hundred thousand books, damaged seven hundred thousand more, and shut the library down for seven years. The mystery remains: did someone purposefully set fire to the library—and if so, who?

Weaving her life-long love of books and reading with the fascinating history of libraries and the sometimes-eccentric characters who run them, award-winning journalist and New York Times bestselling author Orlean presents a mesmerizing and uniquely compelling story. With her signature wit, insight, compassion and talent for deep research, she investigates the legendary Los Angeles Public Library fire to showcase the larger, crucial role that libraries play in our lives, and reveals how these buildings provide much more than just books and are needed now more than ever.

>> Register Now

Lazy Little Loafers: Love, Laughter, and a Good Internet Connection: Supporting the Socioemotional Development of Young Children 
Thursday, January 21
7:00 p.m. on Zoom
60-minute program

In January, we are spotlighting Susan Orlean’s picture book Lazy Little Loafers which is an illustrated lament from the viewpoint of a disgruntled older sibling who wonders, “Why don’t babies work?”

We know that babies are, in fact, working cognitively all the time, absorbing everything their little eyes can see, and that some of the most important developmental years happen early. It’s no secret that we are currently living through unprecedented times and have had to find new ways to engage the young children in our lives. Dr. Hannah Mudrick, Assistant Professor of Human Development and Family Studies at Pennsylvania State University – Harrisburg, will help participants navigate social and emotional development of young children during the ongoing pandemic.  

The Bullfighter Checks Her Makeup: Book Discussion
Thursday, March 25
4 p.m. on Zoom
60 minute program

Published in 2002, Susan Orlean’s The Bullfighter Checks Her Makeup: My Encounters with Extraordinary People is a collection of Orlean’s best profiles. Each piece focuses on people – from the well-known Bill Blass and Tonya Harding to a ten-year-old boy and an unemployed Hollywood agent. This book explores the stories of a diverse cast of individuals, full of their passions and eccentricities. 
 

The Orchid Thief: Book Discussion
Thursday, February 25
4:00 p.m. on Zoom
60 minute program

In 1994, John Laroche and three Seminole Indians were arrested with rare orchids they had stolen from a wild swamp in south Florida that is filled with some of the world’s most extraordinary plants and trees. Laroche had planned to clone the orchids and then sell them for a small fortune to impassioned collectors. After he was caught in the act, Laroche set off one of the oddest legal controversies in recent memory, which brought together environmentalists, Native American activists, and devoted orchid collectors. The result is a tale that is strange, compelling, and hilarious.

Rin Tin Tin: DIY Dog Toy
Wednesday, September 9
7:00 p.m. on Zoom
60-minute program

Upon realizing that Rin Tin Tin was a real dog and not simply a TV character, Susan Orlean sought to learn more about the dog’s legacy. Rin Tin Tin is a beloved icon and in her book Rin Tin Tin, Orlean explains dogs’ roles in American popular culture, and the bonds created between humans and animals. 

Grab an old t-shirt and join The Library to learn how to make a homemade dog toy! Together, we will walk step-by-step through the craft that your dog is bound to love. You can still join us even if you don’t have a dog – donate your finished toy to a pup in need!

Rin Tin Tin: DIY Dog Toy
Wednesday, September 9
7:00 p.m. on Zoom
60-minute program

Upon realizing that Rin Tin Tin was a real dog and not simply a TV character, Susan Orlean sought to learn more about the dog’s legacy. Rin Tin Tin is a beloved icon and in her book Rin Tin Tin, Orlean explains dogs’ roles in American popular culture, and the bonds created between humans and animals. 

Grab an old t-shirt and join The Library to learn how to make a homemade dog toy! Together, we will walk step-by-step through the craft that your dog is bound to love. You can still join us even if you don’t have a dog – donate your finished toy to a pup in need!

The Next Chapter Book Club
My Kind of Place

Thursday, October 29
4:00 pm
(60-minute program)

Susan Orlean takes readers on a series of remarkable journeys in a uniquely witty and sophisticated travel book. In this collection of adventures far and near, Orlean conducts a tour of the world via its subcultures, from the heart of the African music scene in Paris to the World Taxidermy Championships in Springfield, Illinois – and even into her own apartment, where she imagines a very famous houseguest taking advantage of her hospitality.

Throw Me a Bone: Pet Nutrition Class
Tuesday, October 13
7:00 pm on Zoom
60-minute program

In Throw Me a Bone, Susan Orlean’s dog, Cooper, shares with his readers 50 of his favorite healthy, homemade snacks, meals, and treats. From pancakes to pizza, Cooper (with the help of Susan Orlean, a cookbook author, and a dog trainer/nutritional consultant) includes a variety of recipes that your own pooch is bound to enjoy.

Want to learn more about pet nutrition? Join The Library for an informational virtual class with the Humane Society of Harrisburg Area to learn how to navigate pet nutrition and keep your furry friend healthy.

The Bullfighter Checks Her Makeup: Book Discussion
Thursday, March 25
4 p.m. on Zoom
60 minute program

Published in 2002, Susan Orlean’s The Bullfighter Checks Her Makeup: My Encounters with Extraordinary People is a collection of Orlean’s best profiles. Each piece focuses on people – from the well-known Bill Blass and Tonya Harding to a ten-year-old boy and an unemployed Hollywood agent. This book explores the stories of a diverse cast of individuals, full of their passions and eccentricities. 

The Orchid Thief: Book Discussion
Thursday, February 25
4:00 p.m. on Zoom
60 minute program

In 1994, John Laroche and three Seminole Indians were arrested with rare orchids they had stolen from a wild swamp in south Florida that is filled with some of the world’s most extraordinary plants and trees. Laroche had planned to clone the orchids and then sell them for a small fortune to impassioned collectors. After he was caught in the act, Laroche set off one of the oddest legal controversies in recent memory, which brought together environmentalists, Native American activists, and devoted orchid collectors. The result is a tale that is strange, compelling, and hilarious.

>> Register Now

Registrants will be emailed a Zoom link, password, and further instructions.