Over at BookRiot, they've recommended a few books about libraries:
I wasn’t after historically accurate, non-fictional fare. Instead, I looked for books that embodied the emotional resonance of the library, work that conjured the same aesthetic of literary appreciation and devotional reverence to the classics that I had always hoped to garnish by reading about them in the first place.
Which, of course, made me think back to some of the books I've liked that have dealt with libraries. And while I'm a sucker for pretty much any book in which a library plays a significant role (see Being Henry David or The Madness Underneath or Hattie Ever After), it's the SECRET LIBRARIES that kill me every time. I know I wouldn't have enjoyed Beautiful Creatures nearly as much without that secret library, and the discovery of the one in This Dark Endeavour was so fabulously creepy that it still gives me shivers.
My FAVORITE one, though, is Ursula K. Le Guin's Voices, which is the middle book in the Annals of the Western Shore sequence, which begins with Gifts and ends with Powers:
Ansul is a city once known for its great university, for its scholars, and for its books. You caught that, right? A city once known for its books. Because, you see, seventeen years ago, the Alds invaded and conquered Ansul, and the Alds believe that reading and writing are evil -- that they lead the way to demons.
I find it interesting, looking back at that old review, that I was so conflicted about the book: looking back on it now, I only feel affection. I'll have to re-read the series and see how it stands up!
What about you? What's your favorite library book, secret or not?
