Thread 010: The Library Between Worlds

On books that bridge gaps, stories that collapse distance, and building a collection that connects cities...

Books have a way of collapsing distance that nothing else quite manages. This morning, raindrops tapping against my Toronto window, I opened Colm Tóibín's Homage to Barcelona and felt myself instantly transported to the narrow streets of El Born. The scent of orange blossoms seemed to rise from the pages as his descriptions of the city's architectural evolution unfolded before me. This volume—dog-eared, underlined, coffee-stained—has become a passport of sorts, a bridge between my Canadian present and my Mediterranean dreams.

My shelves have been quietly transforming over these past months. What began as a casual collection of travel memoirs has evolved into something more intentional: a deliberately curated library that spans worlds. In one corner sits Robert Hughes' Barcelona: The Great Enchantress, its spine cracked from multiple readings, while nearby, Tomás Graves' A Home in Majorca offers glimpses of island life from the son of the poet Robert Graves, who made Deià his home. Thes…