Lovely thank you for sharing

They post on r/books. You know the answer to that question

Mein Kampf is well beyond the reading level of the vast majority of elementary school kids (and those few who could read it probably aren't in a normal elementary school). Plenty of universities (and even some high schools) carry it for their history program though.

There's also an animated version with Martin Sheen and Kristin Bell that's really good too. It actually brought me to the book.

You can also try Tampa by Alissa Nutting. It's told from the perspective of a female teacher who grooms her 14 yr old male student. It's also a commentary on how female pedos aren't taken as seriously as male pedos, and shows that boys can be victims just like girls.

I remember really liking it, I think I gave it 4/5 stars! The only reason it wasn't a 5 is because I'm not a big horror fan so it didn't blow me away, but even so it was incredibly enjoyable. I loved the way the author made the ocean so unsettling and dangerous. I have no fear of water but this made me hesitate to go swimming again.

My choice is probably Beartown.

The library IS the public space. And the fact that this public space also provides access to a free source of information on just about any topic is great and should be kept that way.

Also, the sale of print books has been steadily on the rise, increasing every year since 2012. Books are not dead.

I think you don't understand what the library has been used for historically.

Wow I’m definitely outnumbered because I couldn’t make it past the first few chapters due to the poor writing style and predictability

Good list. I think The White Ship is underrated. At The Mountains of Madness is arguably the best story he ever wrote.

I did too about halfway. I was moving so slowly and I’ve read about what happens and I’m not upset I didn’t keep going. I wish I liked it though, very cool concept!

I'm going to be starting Lonesome Dove on my vacation later this week, for the first time.

Right!

>Your litany of reasons for having libraries has essentially nothing to do with libraries. You're not arguing for libraries - you're arguing for public spaces.

This has always been part of the purpose of libraries, especially since the 1960s or so. Why start some new type of public space when there already exists an institution that is supposed to do that? (I'll never argue against MORE public spaces but this is part of why libraries exist and ignoring that leads to less funding for libraries to do this type of community service.)

>Their training isn't in the logistical matters necessary for the tasks you describe but rather in the organization of information in a pre-digital age.

Uh. Nothing you said here is correct.... Current librarians are trained in organization of information in a DIGITAL age AND ALSO in the logistical matters that go into organizing community activities like the ones I described, with the exception of things like voting and disaster relief.

Munmun also does this. It's an alternate world where buying power determines your actual physical size. The littlepoors are the size of mice, while the extra rich are the size of skyscrapers. It's not an enormously popular book, but I like it.

[removed]

The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath has an army of cats come to the rescue. So there's that.

These are the four books of hers I’ve read and I really enjoyed all of them.

I track the books I read on GoodReads. I set a reading goal for the year. I can also see what other people are reading, and if any of their books interest me, I’ll add it to my want to read list. GoodReads also has giveaways for both print books and e books.

> Libraries provide community activities, summer reading programs for children, a place for the homeless to shelter (as well as serving as disaster relief shelters in some communities!), a place where people go to vote, storytime and activities for children, movie nights for families (btw, the only place you can rent movies for free in most communities is the library), game rentals, book clubs, language classes for adults, assistance with applying for jobs, a place for seniors to congregate and exist, a place for local historical archives and artifacts to be housed, digitized, and to SURVIVE....and who do you think organizes ALL of that? Couldn't be those useless librarians, could it? (I am aware that not all libraries have all of this. This is due to under-funding and under-staffing.)

Your litany of reasons for having libraries has essentially nothing to do with libraries. You're not arguing for libraries - you're arguing for public spaces. And, for that matter, why would you hire a librarian to oversee it? Their training isn't in the logistical matters necessary for the tasks you describe but rather in the organization of information in a pre-digital age.

I actually quite enjoyed The Nameless City, it was intriguing all the way through.

> School libraries serve so many other roles: meeting spaces, learning commons, exploration/maker spaces, and just a safe space for students.

This is really the point I'm making. Those 'other roles' are not inherently linked to the 'library' function. It's just that as libraries themselves declined in utility, the space was re-purposed to fill those roles. But there is no reason you can't fulfill those functions without the 'library' part - and, indeed, this is increasingly what you see on college campuses.

This is..... incredibly short-sighted. You think just because YOU don't need a library, NO ONE needs a library?

Libraries provide community activities, summer reading programs for children, a place for the homeless to shelter (as well as serving as disaster relief shelters in some communities!), a place where people go to vote, storytime and activities for children, movie nights for families (btw, the only place you can rent movies for free in most communities is the library), game rentals, book clubs, language classes for adults, assistance with applying for jobs, a place for seniors to congregate and exist, a place for local historical archives and artifacts to be housed, digitized, and to SURVIVE....and who do you think organizes ALL of that? Couldn't be those useless librarians, could it? (I am aware that not all libraries have all of this. This is due to under-funding and under-staffing.)

You don't have to personally care about libraries if they're not useful to you but if you like books they actually ARE important to the future of literacy and publishing and so what is happening to them matters. If you care about the less privileged members of your community libraries are important too.

My absolute favorite read in 2022! I love to see other people loving it.

I saw somebody else mention the Southern Reach trilogy by Jeff VanderMeer and I totally agree that there are similarities between those books and this one! Definitely check out Annihilation (the first book in the trilogy) if you want similar vibes!