A friend and I were talking about the kind of libraries we would like to have if we ever owned a house one day. This is something of a pipe dream, as property prices in Singapore are always through the roof and shoebox apartments are at a premium, even if they are perfect for yuppies or whatever.
If I had boundless space, or the kind of apartment that looks small but has endless space, sort of like a Doraemon type apartment, then I could have the library of my dreams. Inspired by Borges’ Library of Babel, it will be this labyrinthine beast, with winding shelves along the way. As the owner, I would never get lost in it. If I do, I will revel. The library will have books on everything and anything I want to know. I will know the shelves by heart because I have arranged them according to non-fiction and fiction, and according to genre.
There will be reading nooks in the library. There will be beanbags in one corner, hammocks in another, and a window ledge to sit by and gaze out of. Another area will have a plush velvet Victorian sofa with what they call a single-end show frame (I googled this to find the exact kind of chair I wanted).
It looks like this, by the way:
It will be a sanctuary. I would retreat to it to do writing and research. Naturally, there will be a large desk with drawers for me to put in my stationery and technological bits and bobs. There will also be another desk somewhere for me to do calligraphy and shut the world out. Hopefully with that space, I will be one with the universe.
But if I had a small room in my apartment, three out of the four walls will be shelves and there will be a window. There will be a desk with lots of stationery and tech in the middle of the room. Somehow, I imagine this to be on a high floor, and I will live with my head in my clouds for a while, until it is time to go to work.