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    I just want to listen to the sound of this 16th century book on loop.

    Jessie Gaynor
    By 
    August 27, 2020, 3:22pm

    If you’re in need of a moment of aural respite, here’s one courtesy of Marsh’s Library, a “perfectly preserved library of the early Enlightenment in central Dublin.” (Also known as “the library that put readers in cages.”) Marsh’s Library, which opened as Ireland’s first public library in 1707, facilitated the research of Bram Stoker and James Joyce (don’t worry—both signed the visitor’s book), and remains open to both tourists and scholars.

    And today, Marsh’s Library has given us the gift of the perfect ASMR: the sound of a book published in 1589. The unseen (soft-voiced) speaker gives the book’s wood cover a knock, then demonstrates its still-functioning clasps, which make a very satisfying locking sound.

    Ahhh. Please excuse me while I watch this seven hundred more times.

    ASMR marsh's library

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