Urban Walk

  Today I went for a walk.  Before starting off I packed a rain shell (just in case) and a handful of books to share with other Library Boxes in the neighborhood.  A neighbor had mentioned a new box off of 37th and Donald and then Hope Crandall (the steward of the Friendly Park LFL) had mentioned another new box on Olive near the Market of Choice.  A few hours on Sunday morning, a bit of urban exploring and Voila some exercise to boot.  Here's a map of my route:

  On the way to 37th & Donald I discovered tiny Willis Park which is tucked away just north of 37th and consists of a simple oak grove and picnic bench.  I'd never have noticed this park unless I was walking and happened to see a gravel path between two houses.  This park seems like a well kept neighborhood secret that's quietly enjoyed by those nearby.

On 37th just West of Donald

The "secret path" into Willis Park

  Another Sunday secret along the way to Olive street is Metropol Bakery where French pastries and fine coffee are the perfect complement to a Bakery copy of the Sunday New York Times.  Munch, munch, catch up on some great reading and then head to the next library box.  Before reaching the Olive St. LFL a short detour south on McMillian will uncover a comfortable bench and poetry box.  One of the featured poems this month is from Karma Tenzing Wangchuk:

After the rain,

she finds puddles

to jump in -

my child, knowing nothing

of the storms to come.

From: Poets Against the War, 2003

The new LFL @ 2770 Olive 

  The afternoon turned sunny and my roof gutters were calling for their annual clean out chore.  While I was clearing out gutter junk & later planting some bulbs I observed two families with small kids visit Whitty Storeys.  The first couple had a three year old who explored the box, played with the scrabble letters, crawled up on the logs and sat in the afternoon sun soaking up the rays and a book.  The parents made three attempts to leave and each time their daughter drew them back to the box.  

  A bit later a Mom and her three kids came walking across the field and spent a good length of time choosing books, reading magnetic poetry tiles and lingering around the box.  After repeated tries, Mom coaxed her kids onward and up the hill to Crest School.  It was just so enjoyable to watch these kids playing and engaging with this simple neighborhood project.

Cheers everyone... thanks for making this happen.  

Friendly Gifts

  It looks like we've been visited by a neighborhood library box bearing gifts.  Two copies of the New Yorker, A couple adult books, and an American Girl dress up guide.  The network of Little Free Libraries continues to grow and sharing books between libraries is part of the fun.  I'll have to make a run past Friendly Park and reciprocate the gift.

  One book that made it back to the box is Tea Obreht's The Tiger's Wife.  The story is imaginative and though it deals with the dark side of the most recent Balkan conflict, its use of allegory and mythology is quite engaging.  Obreht is a young American author whose future works will afford attention.  So, Enjoy the holidays, the short days and cozy up to some great reads.  Cheers...

Winter Ideas

  So it's winter.  With all this time cooped up inside it's time to think about ideas for our neighborhood spot.  I was thinking about a kinetic poetry box.  What you say?  A moving poetry box?  Yeah, something along the lines of this quite creative book box.


  Maybe we can get together after the holidays & toss around ideas?  What about something with some sort of kid engaging wheel & chain contraption that would spit out poems?  Here's another quite creative DIY contraption from over the pond.  
  I'm not sure I'd have the time for something this detailed, but it would be a cool community project.  Any takers?

Three Books

  Maybe today's theme is literary diversity.  I'm frankly impressed with what a wide range of books move through our library box.  Some of the books are titles I'm vaguely familiar with (Morality for Beautiful Girls), others are on the edge of what I'd usually read (A Wanted Man) and others are books that significantly affected my thinking and life (The Lost Boy.)  

  For me part of the beauty of reading is this very breadth of topics and tastes.  Books communicate the nuances of life in the full range of textures, tastes and temptations.  I have to say temptations because Lee Child is one of those authors I'm tempted by and have heard of, but hadn't actually picked up one of his novels.  Likewise I've heard Alexandar McCall Smith raved about, but hadn't gotten around to actually reading his works.  So here are my one word reviews of these three books.

Inane: A Wanted Man, Lee Child:  Sorry Lee Child but I was completely unable to suspend disbelief even for an infinitesimally small amount of time to buy into your Jack Reacher character.  The writing here is page turning and airplane seat suitable, but my first thought finishing the book was this was one of the worst books I've actually stuck with and managed to finish.  Yuck.

Enjoyable:  Morality for Beautiful Girls, Alexander McCall Smith:  By contrast McCall Smith's "Morality for Beautiful Girls" was an exceptionally enjoyable read which although a somewhat simple story, its setting in Botswana and cultural references turned it into a compact and pleasant read.  McCall Smith has actually written technical works and novels and this book will definitely keep me looking for his writing. 

Challenging:  The Lost Boy, David Pelzer:  A final literary contrast is David Pelzer's book "The Lost Boy."  Warning, this is a book filled with reality and a young man's horrible experience as an abused child.  The Lost Boy was followed by Pelzer's adult story in "A Man named Dave."  This is stark reality, the reality of our country, our children and the grinding poverty and neglect known to our most vulnerable citizens.

  Read McCall Smith for pleasant diversion, read Pelzer to be challenged, and if you're desperate for an intercontinental page ripper pull out a Lee Child.  For more on the home front and the challenges facing today's youth, check out the articles below.

Cheers,

Stephen

Invisible Child Series

Improved Poverty Metrics

Blue Bird

  In skiing parlance there are "blue bird days." This weekend was an absolutely joyful set of blue bird days.  Although most of the snow arrived on Friday, the unusually cold temperatures meant the snow stayed around over the weekend.  Sledding & skiing on Friday, skiing south of Blanton on Saturday and more sledding and neighborhood fun today centered around Whitten & Storey.

Neighbors chatting, Kids playing

Neighborhood kids @ the top of Whitten

  A neighbor from up the hill arrived with her teenagers and picked up a book.  The box is full of many new books and we recently had a note about the quality of books we're offering.  The neighbors make the box, and the book selection definitely reflects our community.  Thanks to the neighborhood for a great blue bird weekend.

Snow Day

Over 400

  Whitty Storeys just had its four hundredth book donated to the box.  With eleven new kids books and an additional nine adult titles there have been 404 books in (or through) the box since opening day back in August.  The new kids books gave our bottom shelf a boost and the adult shelves are completely full.

Our growing kids shelf

  On another front, I recently learned about World Book Night.  Individuals are encouraged to sign up and become "Book Givers" for the night of April 23rd, 2014.  There's funding for the project which means if you're chosen you'll receive twenty copies of one title which you then give away.  Another innovative way to share the joy of reading with others.

Some of the great book night 2014 titles