An Afternoon in the Library

How surreal, sitting in the Bodelian library's reading rooms, reading from an architecture book that discusses the design and style of the Radcliffe Camera - and then looking through the window to see that very spectacular building towering outside. (Even if the library's policies are strict and its hours limited. Hey, with a copy of every book published in the UK, it has a right to be stingy.)


Many other buildings in Oxford are classic and oft-cited examples of British architecture. I realize how lucky I am to see them every day.


That said, some of the architectural details around here make me laugh. Besides quirky gargoyles, the library has carvings of literary characters. The architects of old must have had a sense of humor - or, at least, a flair for whimsy.