This month on Beyond the Shelves, Sarah and Jes unpack the idea of “third spaces” why we crave them, why they’re disappearing, and how libraries have stepped in to fill the gap. Stick around for the Book Bulletin, where they unpack everything from LGBTQ+ publishing setbacks to Shakespearean fan fiction, Bridgerton‑era romance trends, and the wild saga of a possibly‑AI‑written novel.
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SHOW NOTES
What We're Reading
- Back after this by Linda Holmes
- Magic Burns by Ilona Andrews
- Unlikely Animals by Annie Hartnett
- Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
To Be Read
- In the veins of the drowning by Kalie Cassidy
- Big in Sweden by Sally Franson
- Dominion by Addie E. Citchens
- The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore by Evan Friss
Books on Third Spaces
- The great good place by Ray Oldenburg
- Palaces of the People by Eric Klinenberg
- The Overlooked Americans by Elizabeth Currid-Halkett
- Meet me at the library by Shamichael Hallman
- Arbitrary Lines by Nolan M. Gray (zoning laws)
- The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein (redlining)
- Walkable City by Jeff Speck
- Why public space matters by Setha Low
- Finding your third space by Richard Kyte
- The death and life of the great American cities by Jane Jacobs
Book Bulletin
Published on February 11, 2026
Last Modified February 11, 2026
Last Modified February 11, 2026