On libraries

The library has always been one of my favorite places, since I was in the 4th grade at least, and spent an entire summer going back and forth, checking out as many books as I could carry on my bicycle.

When I was trying to choose colleges, it was the library that made the difference for me, in terms of which college made it to the top of my list. The library at UC Berkeley just amazed me, and I always look forward to days when I can go there and read. There is a weighty silence in the air that I can feel at a good library, and it helps me concentrate. It is a combination of architectural grandure mixed with the absolute freedom to read anything on the shelves that is both humbling and empowering at the same time.

Neither Landsbókasafn Íslands nor Arnastofnun give me quite that same feeling, but still a bit more so than my own apartment, so off I go to Reykjavík tomorrow, in hopes of getting in some good concentrating time.

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