Palaces for the People by Eric Klinenberg

Finally, a book that praises the power of libraries! Now this is quite an intellectual book, and not one I would normally find myself reading. But I have a friend who works for a non-profit, and the employees at her organization are reading the first two chapters of this book together. I'm a fan of group reading, so I decided to read this book, too. After the first chapters, I was intrigued so kept on reading. The premise is quite simple but powerful: One of the ways to heal society is to build more gathering places to create a stronger sense of belonging and community. Klinenberg, a best-selling author and sociologist, has done research on how such places as libraries, community centers, parks, gardens and swimming pools can bring people together. He maintains that in a country where people are divided over religious, class and political issues, creating more places to gather will help enlighten and educate people to each other's beliefs. In addition to U.S. libraries, he talks about swimming pools in Iceland. These are not pools for warm weather or summer activities but pools where people gather all year long. The price of admission to the pools is very inexpensive in order to encourage more people to use them. This creates a gathering place for people to connect with each other every day. Jeff and I saw one such swimming pool on our visit to Akureyri, Iceland. It is ideas like these that permeate the pages of Klinenberg's book, and make it a very thought-provoking read. My vote is yes for "Palaces for the People." To buy this book on Amazon click here.