3 . Unusual Libraries Around the World

There are 2.7 million libraries spreading across the globe, and while there are many beautiful ones, there are also a number of unique ones.

The Haskell Free Library and Opera House, a special library spanning two countries, is stationed on the border between Canada and the United States and serves people from both countries. The main entrance is on the American side, but the majority of collection of the books are in Canada. There’s even an official American-Canada borderline running right across the library’s floor.

Praised by many as a library of the future, the Deichman Bjørvika, city of Oslo’s new main library, has one hundred unread and unpublished texts. They are stored in a specially designed room lined with wood from the forest, making the library the world’s most secretive one. It witnesses different authors add their works to the collection that will not be available for reading until 2114.

Quietly sitting on an isolated (孤零零的) stretch of beach of Qinhuangdao in northern China, the Seashore Library has been called the world’s loneliest library. People have to walk across the sand to reach the doors. The building is designed to promote people’s connection with ocean, so the main reading room features a layered design to ensure that everyone has a good view of the sea.

Bíbliotheca Alexandrina is considered as a revival (复兴) of an ancient library in the Alex-andria 2,300 years ago or so. Characterized by its circular, tilting form, the building spans 160 meters in diameter (直径) and reaches up to 32 meters in height, while also diving some 12 meters into the ground.

4 . If you are having trouble in finding suitable books for your kids to read, or would like to try some new ones, maybe you can take advantage of the following passages to see what’s around.

5 . How to Choose a Good Book

I’m a slow reader. In general, I can only finish two books in a month.    1    Instead, I used to spend the time necessary to get the most out of the book without getting lost in details. But now I emphasize (重视) quality over quantity. How can we do that? How can we choose a good book to read?    2    

Be curious. I believe that having the right attitude is the starting point. What is the right attitude to have? When it comes to self-education, the right attitude is curiosity. Because unlike formal education where external (外部的) factors push you to learn, with self-education you need to motivate yourself.    3    

Find potential books. To find a good book to read, you should collect potential books to read. In my case, I usually put them on my Amazon wish list. How do you find these potential books? Well, my first source is bestseller lists.    4    I can then decide whether or not the book is a good one for me. If it is, then I’ll add it to my list of potential books to read.

    5    With a list of potential books to read, how do you choose which one to read? In my case, I ask myself a question. Which book would make the most difference in my current situation? This question might seem simple, but if you use it, it can make a big difference in your personal growth.

6 . When I was about 10 or 11 years old, I received a gift from my grandfather. I can’t   ______ what the exact occasion was when he gave me the ______ . All I can remember is that he went to the town for a week for his business and when he ______ he gave me a book with an ______ cover picture. I ______ the book on my desk for a while and one day he asked me whether I liked the ______ of the book he gave me. I was a bit ______ to hear that as I have not ______ the book at all. He smiled and told me that he ______ this story. The next day morning I started reading this book. To my ______ , I was so absorbed in the story that I ______ to go outside to play with other boys. After reading this book, I had a(n) ______ in reading more storybooks like this one for the first time in my life. That was just the beginning and after that, I become a regular ______ .

This book has an excellent story that taught me the ______ of loving others. ______ ,I ______ my mother more than my playmates after ______ her true love for me. This book opened a new ______ for me and made me believe that a reader leads many lives and can think from many ______ perspectives (观点). All this have been possible only because the gift and ______ that my grandfather gave to me.

8 . My favourite Books

—Posted by Catherine Chung.a great writer

This collection contains several maths stories. The one I recommend is Division By Zero,about Jane Parkinson,a brilliant German mathematician.To her great despair,she ends up proving that mathematics is inconsistent and is able to prove that any two numbers are equal.A beautiful,thought-provoking(发人深省的)story about belief,understanding，and faith.

It's about a woman who comes to work for a once-great mathematician.Due to a brain injury,he has only 80 minutes of short-term memory available to him before he forgets everything. It is filled with beautiful maths,simply and clearly described alongside finely drawn relationships between the characters.

Kovalevskaya was a 19th-century mathematician at a time when women were not allowed in most of Europe to attend university. She married a man who promised to take her to Germany to study. She made major contributions to the field and became the first woman in Russia to obtain a doctorate in mathematics.

It is about a miner who thinks he's discovered the proof to the problem: construct a square,equal in area to a given circle. His wife, not knowing what has suddenly taken his attention and his time, fears he is being unfaithful. A moving exploration of the joys of entering a problem whole and the desire and impossibility of truly knowing those we love.

9 . Even as e-readers become common, nothing will ever compete with a good old-fashioned book. Explore some amazing bookstores and libraries around the world that make reading a truly artful experience.

Boekhandel Selexyz Dominicanen

The Boekhandel Selexyz Dominicanen in Maastricht, the Netherlands, is a bookstore built in a church. Instead of allowing this old Gotliic church to fall into disrepair, it was   purchased by a bookseller and restored to its original glory. It might be the world’s most beautiful bookstore. The walls, arches and ceilings of   the original building are restored, while the bookstore rises from its center.

El Ateneo Grand Splendid

A historical theater in Buenos Aires is now one of the city’s most exciting bookstores, the El Ateneo Grand Splendid. While it no longer houses performances of Argentina’s national dance, the tango, it is now home to thousands of books. The character of the original architecture remains while the red theater curtains still hang at stage left and right. It keeps a strong sense of Argentina’s history while still selling culture, book-by-book.

Liyuan Library

In a village outside of Beijing, China, a small library hides amongst the trees in a quiet setting. The Liyuan Library is wrapped in recycled branches. Indoors, three levels of books and reading spaces are available for the occasional guests. Perhaps the most impressive thing is the open design that allows in light from nearby every direction.

A47 Mobile Library

Why will you go to the library when it can come to you? The A47 Mobile Library is a library on wheels that travels around Mexico City bringing books to the public. Just keep your eye on the late fees, as this is one library that can actually track you down for late payments.