I just finished this book as my reward for a long (and pleasant) convention and getting 5K or more words done as well. After I read the last page, I realized I had been putting it off because I didn’t wanted to get to the end. It’s so magical and sweet and faintly sad I loved being inside it.  It was deeply satisfying. Not in the way that I usually enjoy books. It has no real visible plot, no single protagonist. It is elegantly structured, and beautifully written, and tender. I might describe it as a prose version of one of those poems you read for pure pleasure and then suddenly realize was actually a sestina, and then you take a deep breath and appreciate the art of it.
If you like good literary fiction, I think you will like this one. It does have speculative and magical elements, although the center of this stage is the human sense of self.
I like your line of thinking.As we bemcoe more isolated online I think that libraries should be the place where to meet people and exchange ideas. Not just book clubs idea exchange hubs – discussions on TED talks, art and such. The focus should be away from storing information (which has largely been replaced by the internet) to communicating the information and using to in creative ways. Since creativity and innovation are always sighted as important to provide the next level of entrepreneur this should be seen as highly valuable. I am sure many ideas are lost because someone can’t figure out how to achieve some aspect of it – this could solve the dilemma.I love the idea of making them into creative spaces and innovation hubs so not just storing creative ideas but being a place where creative ideas can be dreamt up, nurtured shared and encouraged. The U3A movement has shown that people of all ages are keen to learn, express themselves and share insights.Libraries will need different zones. Quiet places to think and contemplate (hopefully with suitable art) and more noisy zones to exchange ideas. They should concentrate on adding the necessary tools to accomplish this. I think Lego is a good start!