Libraries That Won't Burn

I just read The Writer’s Library: a compilation of interviews in which a sample of modern American authors (Donna Tart, Madeline Miller, Louise Erdrich, to name a few) discuss the writers that have shaped their perceptions of storytelling and list the books that have made them think. The book opens with the claim: “In Senegal, when someone has died, you say that his or her library has burned.” The preface goes on to assert that people are an accumulation of the stories they’ve read; consciously or subconsciously, we retain the fiction we consume, developing mental libraries that follow us throughout our lives.

Since reading this book, I’ve been thinking about the libraries I’ve harbored in my own head, the stories that won’t burn (The Senegalese statement gives a whole new meaning to Fahrenheit 451, no?). No matter where I am in the world, no matter what happens outside of my mind, the books I’ve digested stay with me. As I look at my physical bookshelf, I see titles that span my childhood favorites — The Babysitters Club, Sarah Dessen — to more literary texts: a dust-collected copy of Ulysses I’ve never opened, Faulkner novels leftover from a college English course.

But I don’t see any of these stories as indicative of the ones in my mental library. Perhaps this is because I rarely add to my shelves, opting instead to go to my local library; I like to read books in one sitting and hate buying them only to finish them far too quickly. The idea that I have a more permanent collection in my head than in my room is comforting, and I’ve thought a lot about the kinds of books that have stuck with me.

In the spirit of escapism, I’ve listed what I’ve read in the last few weeks — each of which has had the power to transport me, if only for the duration of the pages, to someplace new. These libraries in my head have brought me all over the world and given me new perspectives worth considering.

Thought-Provoking Novels:

Girl, Woman, Other, Bernardine Evaristo — London, England

White Teeth, Zadie Smith — London, England

Pachinko, Min Jin Lee — Korea and Japan

The Valley of Amazement, Amy Tan — Shanghai, China

Such a Fun Age, Kiley Reid — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

IQ84, Haruki Murakami — Tokyo, Japan

Emotional Reading:

Conversations with Friends, Sally Rooney — Dublin, Ireland

The Lying Life of Adults, Elena Ferrante — Naples, Italy

Beartown, Frederik Backman — Sweden

Elinor Oliphant is Completely Fine, Gail Honeyman — Glasgow, Scotland

Whimsical, Fantastical Fun:

The Baron in the Trees, Italo Calvino (I HIGHLY recommend this book — A young baron, after a particularly disgusting dinner of escargot, rebels against his parents by moving into the trees and never stepping foot on the ground again) — Liguria, Italy

Circe, Madeline Miller — Greek Islands

Twisty-Turvy Suspense Stories:

The Scribe of Siena, Melodie Winawer — Siena, Italy

Waiting for Monsieur Bellivier, Britta Rostlund — Paris, France

Rebecca, Daphne Du Maurier (This is a re-read of my favorite book in high school — there’s a new movie interpretation on Netflix!) — Cornwall, England

Fun, Feel-Good Books:

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Ann Brashares (My physical bookshelf still includes all four of these books and I love them no matter if I’m 13 or 23) — Greece

Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour, Morgan Matson — American West and Midwest

The Paper Girl of Paris, Jordan Taylor — Paris, France