It's Fall

  The oak leaves have taken their annual trip and are now blanketing the base of the box.  Yesterday I dropped by and had visits from two neighbors from up the hill interested in books.  We've also had quite an infusion of books, a set of kid books and a slew of adult books including three Palahniuk's.  Had to check the spelling on his name, but how fitting to have a UO alum & Oregon native in the box.

Fall Leaves

Full House with Recent Additions

 

New Additions

  Yesterday was a busy Saturday catching up on the yard and we saw two new additions to the box.  One of those additions was a set of eight new fiction books, the second addition was a new word play option.  Eight authors that I haven't read (They're listed here) and a new magnetic poetry set attached to the back of the box.  The word tiles are taking form into a few lines, check it out and thanks to Cindy who took the initiative.

Drool on!

Funny...

Symphony of language, like the box

Welcome Home

  I was traveling this week with work and enjoyed my post trip routine of relaxing at home and checking the library box.  I'm always curious what showed up when I was gone and this week was quite the treasure trove with five new adult books and four new kid books.

 Two neighbors dropped by and of course our conversations ranged from the box, to books, to our community, travels and reflecting on our lives.  There is something so powerful about the written word and its ability to provoke thought and personal reflection.  My neighbor Winston and I discussed plastic trash, DeFazio's timber harvest plans, the Pacific Gyre, Bill Moyer's Interview of Wendall Berry (It's here Winston) WWII veterans (both our Dads), our mortality, whitewater rafting and a spattering of other subjects.  All the while enjoying the new sitting stumps in front of the box.

  Another neighbor from up the hill explained to me how she takes the books she wants to read and arranges them on a particular shelf all together.  Then the next time she visits the box she peeks in and sees if "her" books are still there.  This is such a great way that the box is working to make connections.  I'm surprised we don't get more notes in our little log book, but one showed up this week which is a perfect sign off.

Cheers... and thanks to A & J for participating in our little library.

New Books

  Just a quick note, there are eleven (11) new adult books in the box this week.  By contrast we've run through a considerable amount of kids books and are running short.  If you have any or hit some yard sales this weekend please add to the stock.  Thanks,  Stephen

Kids, Books

  I just got back from visiting my son Noel up in Corvallis.  We had lunch together and went on a stroll through C-town and discovered a "key" themed little free library. This box is Little Free Library #1603 and it's covered with ornamental keys and beautifully detailed miniature tiles.  This box's theme is "Reading is the Key to Imagination."  It was fun to stumble upon another box and talk with my wordsmith son Noel who practices his own poetry and art in Corvallis.

Noel checking out the box.

Exquisite craftsmanship & detail

  While I was visiting Corvallis a couple of new fir logs showed up in front of the box.  Cris & Kirk Jacobson had an ailing fir which needed removal and we snagged three sections to set in front of the box for seating.  A bit of this old fir is now a part of the neighborhood gathering spot.  Also of note, quite unbeknownst to me several neighbors bought additional gravel and spread an extra layer around the box.  This addition looks very tidy and also weathered the record five plus inches of September rain Eugene received.  Thanks to Robin for the gravel and to Cindy, Ben & Ann for spreading efforts.

New Sitting Logs

  We'll want to set the logs a few inches into the soil to prevent any tipping.  Something tells me some neighborhood bookish-elvish creatures will materialize shortly and I'll discover someone else who's helping out.  When I got back from town my neighbor Clyde was using one of the logs & perusing Kazuo  Ishiguro's An Artist of the Floating World.  As often happens at the box we started chatting and somehow got to the connection that both of us had bagged Sierra peaks in our youth on Sierra Club outings.  Small world, great neighbors, this is one cool project.

Youngest grandbaby Aliyah likes the box!

Todd Bol

Here's a great YouTube clip of the founder of Little Free Libraries talking about how the idea got started and  why it's spreading.  Enjoy

Uh Oh

  I've been traveling this last week and spent some time Saturday morning checking on what books have shown up and re-shuffling the scrabble letters.  I met a couple from well outside our neighborhood who like re-arranging the letters and have used the library.  Our newest neighbors Bonnie & her daughter dropped by and shared how they took the appearance of the library as a sign that their new neighborhood was a perfect fit for their family.  Fun stuff!

  If you're not familiar with the Post Secret blog, check it out.  Post Secret shares a similar vein of inventive, community based projects which have taken off in various ways.  In the midst of this technological, modern onslaught of ideas and information sometimes a simple concept resonates with a particular group of people.  The Little Free Library project resonates with folks who read, it connects with folks who walk by your neighborhood and pick up a book or two.  The Post Secret blog utilizes an old communication style (postcards) which are mailed to an artist's home and then he picks something of a theme and weekly blogs these postcards.

  Today Frank Warren posted this great postcard with a deep, dark, terrible secret:

Oh yes, we like people who have this deep, dark, secret squirreled away in the recesses of their private persona.  That nefarious and evil condition of purchasing beyond your reading potential. (Known in clinical circles as PBRP.)  This is a truly deviant condition and Dr. Whitty-Storey has a two step method to restore your peace of mind and sanity.  Step One, gather said books into a shopping bag. Step Two bring them to the Whitty-Storeys Library Box.  You can do it, you have the potential and you too can be a contributor to our simple neighborhood project.  Make that call, well actually just drop 'em at the box, but if you have a box full I'll help you store 'em until Whittey-Storey is ready for new deposits.

  While you're here check out some of the new books which have popped up!   Cheers, Stephen