From the Bookshelf of Closter Public Library…

[close] If this weren't a library book, there are so many wonderful things I would have underlined to revisit. Standing on the shoulders of Walter Benjamin's 1931 essay of the same name, Manguel also is packing up and leaving a beloved library. In the process he remembers books and libraries from the past- the many incarnations of his personal library from childhood on, the lost library of Alexandria, imaginary libraries. He writes about the meaning of books and reading through history and into the future (he is now the director of the National Library of Argentina). He brings his wide and deep erudition to his subjects of books, writing, reading, libraries, history, memory, and civilization, as well as the strong influence of Borges, who preceded him as Library Director. Despite what could be all this heavy freight, the book is a pleasure to read and think about.