Go to the Library This Week
I probably needed therapy, but I went to the public library instead.
I was going to write you an ode to my favorite coffee shop, but then I actually went to the library last week for the first time in months, and holy shit, I’ve been sleeping on libraries.
Don’t get me wrong—I’m already obsessed with the Libby app and check out audiobooks constantly. But it had been months since I was physically inside the actual building, and I forgot how incredible these places are.
I walked in expecting to grab a book on hold and instead found myself wandering around like a kid in a candy store. People working on laptops everywhere. Students with textbooks spread out. Someone doing online job training. A guy editing video on a computer with better specs than mine.
The energy was incredible—focused, intentional, productive. Everyone there on purpose, doing something that mattered to them. It’s the perfect third space: not home (distractions everywhere) or coffee shops (commercial pressure), but neutral territory designed specifically to support whatever work you’re doing.
So I found a table and worked on promotion for my new novel To The Moon and Back: A Sapphic ‘60s Romance for three hours straight. No pressure to buy anything. No passive-aggressive table wiping. Just productive community energy.
Here’s what really got me: this place had a seed bank where you could get out seeds for your garden. Baking pans you could borrow like books. A zine collection celebrating local artists. Plus all the usual stuff—free WiFi, outlets everywhere, comfortable chairs, helpful librarians who genuinely want to support whatever you’re working on.
And right now, these incredible institutions are under attack. Books being banned. Librarians being harassed. Budgets being slashed by people who think free access to information is threatening.
As writers, this should terrify us. Libraries are where stories live, where research happens, where kids discover words have power. They’re free refuges for anyone who needs somewhere safe and quiet to work or just exist.
So here’s what I’m asking: go to your library this week. Actually stay for a while. See what I mean about the energy.
Don’t have a library card? Fix that immediately. Show up to library board meetings if you can. Vote for people who understand these aren’t optional luxuries but essential infrastructure.
I’m already planning my next library writing session. Join me?