Like most people in the library world, I read Susan Orlean’s book, The Library Book, when it came out in 2018. I think that maybe I’d vaguely heard about the LA Public Library fire back, but I hadn’t really thought about it much beyond, “Oh yeah that would be tough” (little did I know). However, I enjoyed her take on the subject.

Recently, Orlean released her latest book that is more of a memoir called, Joyride. Since it has a picture of her in a car on the front, I naturally assumed that it was about a road trip she had taken. I was intrigued, but kept pushing it to the bottom of my TBR pile because I just read a great road trip book by Lindy West (Adult Braces) and wasn’t ready for another one.

But I finally got curious enough to pick it up the other day and I discovered that I was wrong (I seem to be doing that a lot lately). This was not a road trip with her favorite cousin or dog. Instead, it was about her writing journey. That pulled me in enough to have me turning the first page and settling in. Good thing I got comfy because once I started reading, I didn’t want to put it down. I ended up finishing it in a couple of days.

Susan Orlean has always been a writer. She didn’t start out on Wall Street or at Google and then transition to writing after the dotcom bust. She has been, and always will be (so she says) , a writer. I very much enjoy her writing style. She is very journalistic, which means there’s not a lot of fluff and fancy language.

Reading about all of Orlean’s past work made me want go back and get caught up. I remember all the fuss in the early 2000’s when her book, The Orchid Thief, was turned into the Kaufman juggernaut Adaptation, starring Nicholas Cage. I watched the movie, but remember thinking, “What in the world?” Apparently I’m not a fan of the Kaufman oeuvre, so I did not read The Orchid Thief. So now I must go down the rabbit hole that is the writings of Susan Orlean.

I liked this one. Partially because it started with a story set in Elkhart, IN - which is about 15 min from where I grew up. Partially because I usually enjoy different stories under one umbrella. This book was written in 1990, when I was in fifth grade (don’t do the math…) so it was nostalgic for me. I’m not the biggest Saturday night partier (she says knowing that she’s going a concert at the Ryman this coming Saturday…), but I still enjoyed reading about what folks do on Saturday nights. If you enjoyed this one because of the subject matter, you should also check out Up All Night: A World History of Nightlife. Not Susan Orlean, but still a good read.

So I finally read this and I have to say it stuck with me. Yes, the main human character of the story is John LaRoche, but the focus of the book is on the orchid itself. While I’ve never been the biggest fan of orchids, they are my mom’s favorite flower, so it was interesting to learn about them from that standpoint. Plus, I love when people geek out about things and this is definitely that. May need to go watch Adaptation again to compare and contrast, but I remember not liking it, so I may pass. Time will tell.

This is a collection of essays that was highly enjoyable. Orlean discusses several of these in Joyride, so if you are curious for the complete stories, don’t miss this one.

Orlean has written three more books that I am excited to read, but will refrain from going into detail about here to save some length on the post. Check them about below in the You May Also Like Section. If you are looking for a journalistic read about a vast array of topics, you don’t want to miss these. Am I most excited to read the book about Rin Tin Tin because I grew up watching the new version of Rin Tin Tin on the Family Channel in the 90s? Yes. Yes I am.

Ok friends, if you need a new author to explore, definitely check out Susan Orlean. She’s got something for everyone who wants a good nonfiction read.

Happy Orlean-ing…
:) Amanda