“Reading Room” captures a fascinating audio conversation between two distinguished Jungian analysts, Murray Stein and Henry Abramovich, as they chat in the beautiful setting of Yale’s Sterling Library. The two explore what reading really means to us—not just as an intellectual exercise, but as a deeply personal experience that can genuinely transform who we are and help us become more fully ourselves.
Their conversation meanders through an impressive range of literature, from Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings and the ancient Epic of Gilgamesh to Jung’s own Memories, Dreams, Reflections. They explore how the books we read become both nourishment and challenge, offering us profound material to wrestle with as we navigate life’s deeper questions.
The discussion takes some intriguing turns—they reflect on libraries as special sanctuaries where we can truly concentrate, consider the almost spiritual quality of reading aloud (with its ancient connections to song and ritual), and even address a darker aspect of reading: how we can sometimes fall too easily under the spell of a charismatic writer’s words.
In the end, though, Stein and Abramovich arrive at a touching conclusion: while books are powerful and transformative—real medicine for the soul—they ultimately can’t replace what matters most: genuine friendship and close human connection. Even in an imaginary “heavenly library,” it’s the relationships that count most. Watch the video here.