Library books we’re reading now
With libraries feeling fewer and reading books for pleasure becoming harder to make time for, it can feel like both are being given a due date. At Common Room though, we’ve always had our library dreams and a soft spot for finding a book, getting lost in its pages, and maybe, taking away something unexpected. These books from the Mess Studio library took us to different places—to sit with what we’ve lost, look closely at what we make, learn a new way of seeing, and sometimes find our way back to ourselves.
Stories I Forgot to Tell You by Dorothy Gallagher
Once somebody you love dies, you learn that grief can reside in the most ordinary moments and everyday objects. In Dorothy Gallagher’s Stories I Forgot to Tell You, she deftly reminds us of this truth. Captured in ten sections, Gallagher writes as if she is talking to her late husband (“conversationally, unpretentiously”), both about their past and her present, from the memories to the mundane. They’re stripped of sentimentality, but remain so personal, you can almost feel your heart breaking along with her as you read about calling old phone numbers, typewriters, or her husband on their second date.
We won’t blame you if you have to put this book down a few times because of a pesky lump in your throat or because you can’t possibly go back to casually sipping your flat white while sobbing. We will keep going back to this book, returning to these stories not just to sit with grief, but to appreciate how precious everyday life can be with people we love.
Just My Type - A book about fonts by Simon Garfield
For anyone who’s ever obsessed about typefaces and fonts at one point in their lives, this is a book you need to pick up at the Mess Studio library. Filled with many fascinating stories and sharp wit at every curve or stroke, Just My Type is required reading even for those who think they really don’t have any strong opinions on letter design. From Comic Sans, which “was never intended to cause revulsion or loathing” to Helvetica, which is “both ubiquitous and something of a cult,” the book has enough personal stories, extensive design info, and a smattering of “fontoversy” (Futura vs Verdana, anyone?) to fascinate anyone. By the end of it, you’ll likely have your own take on the best and worst fonts in the world, and you may also start asking yourself, what am I saying when I choose this font?
Hand-Lettering for Everyone - A Creative Workbook by Cristina Vanko
If you’ve always been curious to acquire a creative skill, the Mess Studio library has enough books on arts and crafts to feed your curiosity (you can also get a craft pass if you want). This hand-lettering workbook is just one of the number of creative guidebooks available that provides helpful advice and fun exercises for anyone interested to try hand-lettering. The art of drawing customized letter forms by hand (instead of using existing typefaces), hand-lettering lets you create your own style to the alphabet. Cristina Vanko provides beginners and experts engaging prompts, process ideas, and insights from other designers and illustrators to improve your lettering skills. Just have your own notebook ready where you can put all the lettering exercises to good use.
The Mountain Teaches - Pilgrimage to Sagada by LJ Baqutoy
Books always take us somewhere. The Mountain Teaches not only brings us to the quiet and remote Mountain Province town of Sagada, it also puts the reader in a spot where it asks what it means to let a place take you somewhere within yourself. Described as “a spiritual travel memoir and a seeker’s companion to sacred Philippines,” the book offers much more than a tourist’s gaze into the landscape of Sagada to be translated into an IG reel or TikTok video.
Born and raised in Sagada before spending decades in New York City, Baqutoy unapologetically writes how one ought to visit the place and the sacred spaces its communities have held for centuries, long before it became a tourist destination and long after one leaves it. It’s an insightful personal reflection as she discovers that Sagada, in its wisdom and patience, is no longer just her birthplace. Her writing allows anyone who leaves for a place to seek stillness, questions, or a bit of both, to embark on the same pilgrimage and maybe arrive at a clearer understanding of oneself.
Find these books and more waiting to be discovered at the Mess Studio Library at Common Room, The Atrium. Stop by, pick one up, and stay awhile.