As anyone who knows me knows, I love books. I love their smell, their texture and their heft, but most importantly, I love their stories, their truths and their insights. As such, some of my favorite places in the world are monuments to books. Without any further ado, here are my top three:
3. Biblioteca Nacional do Brasil, Rio de Janeiro, RJ
Royal Portuguese Reading Room
Perhaps the prettiest library (okay, really just room of a library) that I’ve ever been in is the Royal Portuguese Reading Room of Brazil’s national library. Just look at it! From the calmingly perfect deep turquoise walls, to the intricate wooden arches, to the stunning stained glass windows, everything about it makes me want to peruse the shelves, seeing what hidden treasures are lurking. You know that sense of history you get when you find an old book at the library, the one with that slightly musty smell and the yellowing, brittle pages with the rectangular sticker on the back, which takes you back to a time before libraries tracked your reading habits with a barcode and you got to use that satisfying stamp to record the due date? This reading room is the embodiment of that feeling. I don’t know much about it beyond the feeling it gave me being there, but from what I understand, it functions roughly like the U.S.’s Library of Congress; publishers send all published books here and it houses great collections of culturally important heritage (oh, and it’s the largest library in Latin America!) A bit of history can be found here.
2. Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Thomas Jefferson Building
This, like the library above, is just a spectacularly beautiful building in and of itself. When I visited, I had a fabulous tour guide who told great anecdotes about the history of the building. For example, the artists who painted and sculpted the building, worked for 7 years without pay. I guess for the honor or the love or art? These long-unpaid creative souls are responsible for the rooms, most of which are themed, with stories on their ceilings and walls. The whole upper level, is a joy to walk around, with quotes about the importance of knowledge and literacy such as, “Words are also actions and actions are a kind of words.”
The building is beautiful, but the real reason this is my number two favorite literary-themed place I’ve ever visited are the incredible collections. The library is a huge complex with tons of buildings, warehouses, and librarians reviewing and cataloguing books, magazines, newspapers and pieces of music (I’m only stopping this list in the interest of space and not causing eye strain–the collections are huge). One of the real treats of the Thomas Jefferson building is (unsurprisingly) Thomas Jefferson’s personal book collection, which he organized according to three categories: Memory, Reason, and Imagination (basically, history, philosophy and fine arts. It’s confusing and made me appreciate the logical Dewey Decimal system, but it’s a definite window into Jefferson’s brain to see how he organized collection. I’m pretty sure knowing how anyone organizes their books would be a bit of a window into their thought process). It also houses a collection of Hitler’s personal library, an amazing collection of music and, my personal favorite, a collection of writings and artifacts from early American civilizations and the Europeans who encountered them.
1. Borders / My Local Library, Birmingham, MI
As much as I love a good national library, reading is an intensely personal experience. That’s why my number one has to go to the places that I have the most fond memories of–my local bookstore and public libraries! While they by no means have the architectural beauty of the other two places on my list, the contours of my mind are full of great memories in them. I can’t help but wish I had a good picture of the inside of them–their real soul is their book-filled interiors and the kind librarians who can always give me a good recommendation. I can remember summers spent checking out books, filling up bags so full that there was no way I could read all the books before they were due (as if I ever returned the books on time), trying to read enough books to get the summer prizes (the library had great programming!) and knowing my way around Borders like the back of my hand. It makes me sad to drive by Borders now and see it turned into Walgreens and realize it’s harder and harder by my house to find any bookstores.
So that’s my top 3 list of book-themed places I’ve been to so far! What am I missing? Where should I go next?
Megan's Wanderlust 