The library is a sacred and celebratory place, filled with objects, yes — but inside those objects are imagination and possibility, heartbreak and triumph, silliness and seriousness and the whole range of human emotion and the entire history of science and art and philosophy... so far.

In this episode, we discuss some of the highlights and larger-than-life personalities of library history, then recommend books we love that put the library front and center. We've got two wonderfully nerdy nonfiction books that explore bookshelves and archives, a sweeping literary cycle centered around a magical library, a historical novel with dueling timelines, and an exuberant story about a secret library.

Books we cover include:

The Weight of Ink by Rachel Kadish
The Prisoner of Heaven by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
The Book on the Bookshelf by Henry Petroski
Mr. Penumbrass 24-Hour Bookstore: A Novel by Robin Sloan
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Library: An Unquiet History by Matthew Battles
The Labyrinth of the Spirits by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

For more on the books we recommend, plus the other cool stuff we talk about, visit show notes at http://strongsenseofplace.com/podcasts/2020-09-21-library.

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Ep 15 — The Library: Endless Books, Reading Nooks, and Lots of Possibility