Latvian National Library

I posted a while ago about running a reading group at the Latvian National Library in Rīga for the U.S. Embassy, a program under the direction of Nils Students. Here are some photos of that event that have appeared on the U.S. Embassy's Facebook page. You can see that Nils bought some nibblies to eat, and these are all things that were mentioned in the book: Russian chocolates, Georgian mineral water, and clementines, which were a once-a-year treat in the Soviet Union -- if even that often. The woman to me left in the second photo is a Latvian lawyer who loves to read. It's really gratifying that this program has a set of regulars who will read any recommendation that is put out there. And, again, I make the plug: Anya von Bremzen's Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking is the best memoir that I have read in recent memory. (Actually, that is not quite true. Equal to it is Richard Blanco's The Prince of Los Cocuyos, his growing up gay and Cuban memoir set in post-Castro Miami. Read them both!) 

For those of you who are interested in the interior of the Latvian National Library, here are couple of shots taken by Lee. The building is spectacular, made to resemble a mountain of crystal that appears in Latvian folk tales. And as cool as it is from the outside, it's really cool from the inside -- a gorgeous interior space. I would have written my dissertation a lot faster if I could have worked in such an inspiring space as this. (More likely, I would have wasted even more time gawking at and poking around all the books.) The visible stacks are in particular wonderful, as is all the sleek, blond wood. I understand that the Library has a project calling for all Latvian citizens to send it a favorite book which they may inscribe if they like about why it's a favorite. The Library will then create a collection of favorite Latvian books, as chosen by its own citizens. What a wonderful idea!