Yesterday after the storm of the night before it was beautifully clear and I took my afternoon walk to Union Square maybe 10 minutes from where I live. It’s where I saw the young man on the left with two stacks of books each bound with some straps. He was there to see if someone might want to buy any of them. 

 

Bleak House Books an independent English-language bookstore in Hong Kong is closing next month. Here is a piece explaining why:

https://apple.news/AYzm4DEVGQ7KsiDvjM6zW4w

 

‘What if there was a disease in Alexandria, she thought, and everybody died but me? 
I’d go live at the library, she told herself. The notion was cheering. She saw herself reading by candlelight, shadows flickering on the ceiling above the labyrinth of shelves. She could take a suitcase from home–peanut butter and crackers, a blanket, a change of clothes–and pull together two of the big armchairs in the Reading Room to sleep on…’
           ― Donna Tartt, The Little Friend

There are a few libraries and bookstores around the world where you can stay the night. Here are eight of them:

 https://apple.news/ATx7yQ5iOQDWHSD1GQMQgNQ