Search by Vibes

This week, we want to celebrate a truth that many of you have helped us understand: you don't always know what you're looking for until you find it.

"Where do I start?" It's the single greatest question we hear. The classics can feel vast and intimidating. You might not know the exact title or author, but you know the feeling you're after: inspiration for a difficult conversation, wisdom for a new venture, understanding through a life event.

That's why we built vibe search.

Now, you can simply ask. "Help me build a vertical SaaS company." Okay, okay, jokes aside. How about, "I need courage to make a hard decision"? The library listens, understands, and guides you to the books and ideas that speak to your moment. Because the greatest books aren't always the ones we set out to find. They're the ones that find us when we need them most.

It may seem like a new idea, but this is how our heroes have always searched. Borges wandered library stacks for decades. Coleridge pulled books off shelves almost at random, reading across disciplines. Umberto Eco called it "the anti-library". He described the books you haven't read yet that inspire you by their presence. They all trusted the wandering, the serendipity, the vibe. What will you search for next?

Virginia Woolf once wrote, "The only advice, indeed, that one person can give another about reading is to take no advice, to follow your own instincts, to use your own reason, to come to your own conclusions."

With vibe search, we're honoring that instinct. Your questions, your curiosity, your unique path through the library. That's what matters most.

Together, we're proving that the classics aren't meant to be distant monuments. They're living companions, waiting to meet you wherever you are. We're so glad to be on this journey with you. As always, the library grows stronger with your feedback. Send us a note with your inspiration.