Maybe this goes against our self interest, but we think you should take a break from reading the news.

Inside your phone is a global tally of horror and injustice. It’s difficult to think of a recent moment, outside of the pandemic, when the prospects of our republic appeared so grim. And even if President Trump weren’t drooling over adding Portland to his national revenge tour, the Rose City still wouldn’t be having its best year.

On the one hand, it feels impossible—and perhaps irresponsible—to look away. But the other hand is holding a book. Those pages contain what the latest headlines never will: solace, perspective and even joy. When the going gets tough, the tough go to a library. (By the way, for all the bad press the Central Library has received of late, some 20 branches of the

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