My Pick of the Week!

Alberto Manguel loves books and reading and I love reading the books that he writes on the topic. The latest is called The Library at Night and it deals with - libraries! Manguel exhausts the topic: he looks at the outside and the inside of libraries, their history and their contents. He considers existing libraries comparing layout and comfort, discusses the architecture of both ancient and modern libraries and looks at how books are organized. He includes research libraries, public libraries, and even private collections, including his own, located in an old barn in the south of France. The library at Alexandria in Egypt was destroyed by fire (or fires) many years ago, but Manguel, through research, reconstructs a plausible version. He seems particularly impressed with the beauty of the library in Florence that was designed by Michelangelo. Since he lived in Canada for many years, he mentions the Research Library in Toronto. Although he refers to the Dewey Decimal System of classification developed by Melvil Dewey in 1876, he also talks about other systems that people have developed for their own needs. One can almost feel the pleasure with which he lovingly unpacks and arranges his books. Although the topic may not seem to exciting to some people, his excitement makes this a very engrossing book.

Have you read or are you reading this book? I would love to hear your reaction... The Book Psychic!