Louise Penny's Library

   Many of the libraries about which I have written are private ones. To date, they have all been collections of books gathered by men and none of the collectors are Canadian. I am pleased that I learned about Louse Penny who has both written and collected many books, and is Canadian.

  Her house and books are found in the Eastern Townships of Quebec. I was also pleased to learn that her collection is not organized, as a recent interviewer reported:

   "Louise Penny was eager to show me an important book — the one she said is at the core of her wildly successful Armand Gamache mystery series — but she couldn’t find it. The floor-to-ceiling shelves in her bright, fluffy living room are tidy and filled with fascinating works, but they aren’t organized by author, title or certainly color.  
    “And that’s part of the fun,” she explained during a tour this past summer of her spacious and welcoming home, where she lives with her beloved golden retrievers, Charlie and Muggins. “For me part of the joy of not having an order to the shelves is that it’s like going into a used-book shop. You end up finding things you weren’t looking for, that you didn’t even know you wanted.”

   Although I worked in libraries and write about them, the books in my own are randomly arranged, but I can't say that was planned.  Again, I am pleased that she also cannot quickly locate the book she is looking for. 
   Her name was recognized by me, but I confess to having none of her books since I don't read many mystery novels. The public libraries close by have many titles by Penny and most of them are on loan.
   The Haskell Free Library and Opera House, which is on the Canadian/American border not too far from Knowlton, Quebec where Penny lives also has many of her books. Given the recent regime changes to the south, access to the Haskell became problematic and Penny donated a considerable number of Canadian dollars to build a new entrance. She also cancelled her U.S. book tour. 
   

That Penny is successful and has written many books is proven when one takes the underground tunnel from the house to her writing studio and sees the framed covers lining the wall.  
Sources:
   The pictures and the quotation are from: "Louise Penny Gives Us a Tour of Her Book Collection," Nora Krug, Washington Post, Nov. 15, 2025.
    If you are unfamiliar with her books, but interested in them see: "I’ve Read Every One of Louise Penny’s Gamache Novels. Here’s What to Read, and What to Skip," Sarah Zlotnick, Country Life, Oct. 29, 2024. 
    About the border hassles at the Haskell see: "U.S. Limits Canadian Access to Iconic Stanstead, Que., Border-straddling Library," Benjamin Shingler, CBC News, Mar. 21, 2025.
   About Penny's involvement see: "Dismay as Cross-border Library Caught in US-Canada Feud: ‘We Just Want to Stay Open’," Leyland Cecco, The Guardian, April 13, 2025.

   "The tour for Penny’s forthcoming book Black Wolf, which coincidentally imagines plans to force Canada into becoming the 51st state was due to start at the Kennedy Center in Washington. But a recent decision by Trump to fire the previous board of the Kennedy Center for its support of “woke” programming, and to install himself as board chair, has prompted widespread artistic backlash.

   That move and a broader call for Canadians to boycott travel to the United States amid annexation threats and tariffs from the president, led Penny to scrap all of her American tour dates. She plans to conclude her book tour at the Haskell.

   Penny made headlines in recent weeks after donating C$50,000 (US$36,000) to help fund a new entrance to the library, an “elegant” solution to the diplomatic snafu created in wake of new restrictions."

   If, like Penny, you do not plan to travel to the U.S., Knowlton and the Townships are an option. These are some suggestions for book lovers: Brome Lake Books and the Café Three Pines.
The Bonus - For Women Book Collectors:
  The bookstore Honey & Wax, sponsors a contest for women collectors: Women and Books.