Showing Love to the LFL
Loving Your Local Little Free Library
You have all seen them by now. Perhaps there is one in your own neighborhood or on a regular route you pass. Little Free Libraries (LFL) are private boxes or cubbies filled with free books. I am operating my second LFL in front of our home; it is my way of spreading my love of reading and books. But there are a few things that I want you to know about LFLs:
First and foremost, don’t be afraid to take books and use the library. That is what it is there for. You are not obligated to return your free book either. Keep it or pass it on to someone else.
If donating:
Donate books that are in good condition and not too old (no paperback Harlequins your mom passed on to you from the 1980s)
Give the books a quick wipe to make sure they are clean and presentable
Do not donate text books, guides, how-to, or repair books. NO ONE ever takes them.
Do not leave magazines - they don’t last well outside, even though they are covered.
Leave quality books, not books you just want to get rid of.
There is a new LFL App that I recently downloaded. It lets me search for LFLs anywhere! I often keep a few books in my car and then, if I see a LFL, I can donate them. Now with the App, I can intentionally spread my book love whereever I am. If you want to know more about the Little Free Library movement, check their web site. My LFL is named Sadie’s Library (that is Sadie, our Collie, on the back) and its registration # is 112195.
Below is a photo of my favorite Leesburg LFL. Pretty In Pink has its own instagram account and is always stocked with great books! (Lauren does an amazing job posting and curating her LFL and I am always inspired.)
Did you hear about the shipping container filled with books that fell into the ocean? I am not kidding, a whole shipment of new spring books, particularly a few highly anticipated cookbooks are now lost at sea. The last two years of publishing have been topsy turvy with publication dates changed, shipping problems, and supply issues but this is the first I heard of losing a batch of books to the sea. I feel so bad for all those authors that had planned their book launches and tours this spring. The expected publication dates for these lost books are likely to be in the fall.
This made me sad:
Our kids are reading for fun less than ever. Personally, I have seen recreational reading drop off significantly in high school with all three of my kids, but my oldest has picked it back up since graduating from college. High school is busy and there may not be a lot of extra time for reading but this study from the Pew Research Center shows the trends in all the measured ages going in the wrong direction. I can’t help but think that smart phones and screens (TiK Tok, YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat) are playing a significant role. This is true for a lot of adults as well. I intentionally place my phone away from me when I sit down to read otherwise I spend too much time staring at my screen.
Less reading negatively impacts our kids. A British Study found a wide range of benefits to reading for pleasure outside the obvious expanded vocabulary. Reading improves student’s spelling and mathematical abilities, and in fact seems to have a greater bearing than if their parents have a college degree. Reading more doesn’t just improve kids’ reading ability, it improves their learning ability, and this has a far-reaching impact.
Recent Reads
I was so excited to find The Accidental Tourist in a LFL in Lynchburg. Macon is filled with grief over the tragic loss of his son and his wife. He gets through each day by creating fastidious routines that are unchangeable and writes travel guides for business travelers who want to feel like they never left home. (Note: the attention to detail regarding travel in 1985 is perfect and totally nostalgic). The only wildcard in his life is his bad behaving dog, Edward. When Macon has an accident and breaks his leg, he and Edward move in with his quirky siblings. Life seems to settle until Muriel, a strange but compelling dog trainer, sets her sights on Macon. Tyler does an amazing job of writing about regular people and daily life. In general, I veer away from character driven novels but here I really enjoyed the small details of life in mid-80s Baltimore. And as is true of life, things can be truly changing and shifting when it feels that little is happening.
Anthony Horowitz does it again, writing a detailed mystery within a mystery. Moonflower Murders is the second in this series. Horowitz is prolific and one of the most creative writers in the mystery genre today. Susan Ryeland is called back to England at the request of a family whose daughter is missing. They run the hotel where the setting of a book that Ryeland edited is set and where a real life murder took place a number of years ago. The daughter’s last acts were reading the fictionalized mystery and calling her parents to say she knows who committed the murder. So there is the set up for the current day and there is the book within the book that the fictional author wrote, and within that book there is a tale of a missing diamond. It is a nesting doll of mysteries and oh so much fun! At this point I will read anything that Horowitz writes. (Note: The first of this series, Magpie Murders, is a soon to be released on BritboxTV, and yes, I will be subscribing)
Honor takes on the difficult subject of honor killings in India. Hindu brothers have killed their sister’s Muslum husband solely because they are married and it is considered a disgrace. The novel is narrated by two voices: an Indian-born American journalist covering the story for the US and the victim, Meena, whose husband was killed. It takes you straight into the heart of these archaic but still active beliefs in India. This is a good read if you want to deep dive into another culture and setting. Also the author works to bring about a satisfying conclusion, although it’s difficult given the events of the story. It had a slow start but was riveting in parts and sad/shocking in others. What is most tragic is that the author indicated that she was inspired by true events and when I googled to find the case, so many cases of recent honor killings filled my screen.
And on the gram:
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