Love's Healing Reading Room

Welcome to Love’s Healing Reading Room

The Reading Room is temporarily unavailable because we’re moving
to a new home in the village of Killaloe.  We’ll post details here later.

 

Loves Healing Reading Room, photo: The Valley Gazette

The Reading Room is a unique treasure bestowed upon us by the late George Finney Linn, III.

Nestled in the hills of the Ottawa Valley in Old Killaloe, the Reading Room is home to George’s lifelong book collection and covers a vast array of topics—all of which called out to him in one way or another throughout his lifetime.

George loved and cared deeply for everyone and it is through the generosity of his spirit that we are now the recipients of this lovely offering.

He felt that books were his friends, and now, his dream has come true — to be able to share his friends with you.

How to use the Reading Room

Love’s Healing Reading Room is a place open to anyone who loves all things books. The lower level is delightfully decorated with original artwork and features a writing desk, comfortable chairs, wood-burning stove and tea-making facilities.

It is the perfect place for quiet contemplation, writing and reading. The upper level features over a thousand books shelved by category.

Please note that this is a reading room, not a lending library. All books must remain on the property.

Visitors: Visitors are always welcome at Love’s Healing Reading Room. Please email us in advance to ensure the space is available. We will then be able to prepare the space for you — make a fire and fill the kettle.

Pond and garden: The Starlight Chalet Garden Society maintains a beautiful perennial and vegetable garden, which Reading Room guests are welcome to enjoy. You may find yourself wandering through the garden, book in hand, to find a peaceful reading spot near the  pond on the edge of the property, or you might find yourself on the hill overlooking the gardens.

House-keeping considerations:  The Reading Room offers a clean and charming outhouse, located just a few feet away.

Food: Please only consume food and beverages in the lower level of the Reading Room or outside. Please leave the reading room clean and ready for the next visitor.

Woodstove: In the cooler seasons, the Reading Room is heated with a wood-burning stove. If you are experienced with using air tight wood stoves, please keep the fire going and replace the wood that you have burned during your visit from the nearby woodpile stored in the car port.

Privacy: The Reading Room, gardens and pond are all available to visitors. Please note that the main house is private property.

How to contact us

Your hostess – Jacqueline Goodheart

To schedule a visit to LHRR, please contact Jacqueline Goodheart by emailing: loveshealingreadingroom@gmail.com

Directions

2060 Mountain View Road, near Hwy 512 and Mountain View Road, south of Killaloe.

A rainbow over the Reading Room.

About

Love’s Healing Reading Room.

 

Welcome to Love’s Healing Reading Room—a home for poets, storytellers and bookworms.

The reading room is a unique treasure bestowed upon us by the late George Finney Linn, III.

Nestled in the hills of the Ottawa Valley in Old Killaloe, the reading room is home to George’s lifelong book collection and covers a vast array of topics—all of which called out to him in one way or another throughout his lifetime.

Endorsements

During her visit, Sandra Gulland was inspired to write this blog post about the Reading Room.

“A wonderful place to think, being already so full of the thoughts of others.”  Wayne Grady, July 2017

“Books, words, ideas, love — all palpable here — thank you.”  Merilyn Simonds, July 2017

“What a wonderful place and book collection. I will be back.” Sandra Gulland, July 2017

An Ode to Love’s Healing Reading Room

Love’s Healing Reading Room opening celebration, September 22, 2018

A compilation and remix of words and phrases from launch participants, as well as published authors and poets.
Assembled by Andy Trull.
For Love’s Healing Reading Room, Sept 22, 2018

Yet love, mere love, is beautiful indeed —Elizabeth Barrett Browning

A life lived like a story

under the umbrella sky
elm and maple canopy

a holy man leaves blank pages

garden flowers for the soul

where weeds and groves in solemn grandeur rise

simple beauty
the relation of all loves
and all love’s relations

for passion is the job

threading time and space
like words in a perfect sentence

an angel pulls the pencil from behind your ear
alighting goosebumps on your temples

temples of goosebumps and gooseberries

there is so much beauty everywhere
some much to drink in
drunk with peace
drunk with truth

the sacred
joyous grief
of dissembling

for our skin is our frontier
our life’s a border
a round path of strawberry fields

assembling and dissembling
the interests of all relations
in this garden of love and light

lest you forget you are a californian
a cauliflowerian
a leapfrogging legend
oob-a-dupe

for we are all from
some place

lest we forget
ohio, kingston, kilalloe
turtle island
pangea
gondwana
mercury
subatomic sitting rooms

rooms to sit
and read
be still
until you are ready to rise

click your heels three times and sing

there is no place like home
there is no place like home
there is no place
like
home