British Library

The British Library in London stores up to 200 million tomes and manuscripts and receives a copy of each publication to add to its vast collections. Its premises are suitably large but surprisingly modern, and a peculiar statue representing Sir Isaac Newton leans down from  a plinth, puzzling over some enquiry or problem.

The number of books on my own shelves which remain unread daunts and troubles me, but what of all those stuffing the shelves of my local branch library, never mind that vast rainforest’s worth of leafs and pages crammed into this British institution?? Randall Munroe answers ‘Was It Ever Possible For One Person To Read Every Book Ever Written (in English)?, and concludes:

'the date at which there were too many English books to read in a lifetime—happened sometime before the population of active English writers reached a few hundred. At that point, catching up became impossible.”

So I have no chance. The Apostle John rather charmingly observes in John 21:25:

And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written.

Thankfully, there is one book which contains all I need to know to get right with my Maker, to begin to understand His nature and character, and to give me hope. From it, I preach each Sunday, and, I trust, someone will come and read to me when my dying breaths I take.

For the word of the Lord is right; and all his works are done in truth. Psalm 33:4