Intisar Khanani writes: “As an inveterate reader, I more or less grew up in my local libraries—as many of you may have as well. There is something magical about libraries, as repositories of knowledge and story and hope. There’s even something magical about librarians, be they guardians or keepers or the ultimate hosts inviting you into a safe haven lined with stories that hum with life. It’s only fitting that libraries and their makers should show up in stories as well. Whenever I come across such a book, I sink into it with a certain measure of delight—even when those libraries are more sinister than not.”