"Happiness is a dangerous word"

A fine essay by Joan Bakewell about reading, the work of contemplation, and the precarious situation of public libraries in the UK. A BBC podcast available for the next seven days here.

Dreams of the Library in the West

From On Bones and Libraries, a meditation on Libraries by Colin Dickey -- the totalized book of Jerome, the illimitable books of men:

Every librarian, every book collector, finds him or herself between these two mythical places—the Perfect Library of God and the Infinite Library of Babel, the one transcribed by Jerome, the other by Borges.  

via wood s lot, one of the great transcultural blogs.