Saving the World, One Book at a Time

 My love for books has spilled out of the house and onto our front yard. Yes, my husband and I are now proud stewards for Little Free Library charter #26074 at our home here in Houston. This wonderful little library was our Christmas gift to each other from www.littlefreelibrary.org.  

We purchased our library already assembled, but many people build their own. My wonderful husband and stepson got it all set up and now we are promoting literacy from our front lawn. We initially stocked our LFL with books for all ages and we hope neighbors will stop by and take whatever appeals to them. Visitors can return the books that they take, or not. They can also bring their own books to share with others. LFL books are always a gift – never for sale!

If you didn't already know, the Little Free Library movement is rapidly growing. Many libraries have been installed and thousands of books shared around the country as well as around the world.  Little Free Library’s mission is to:

·      Promote literacy and the love of reading by building free book exchanges worldwide.

·      To build a sense of community as we share skills, creativity and wisdom across generations.  Check out the LFL story at www.littlefreelibrary.org.

Books are Like Crack for Me

It's true confession time. I have a book addiction. There. I've said it. Admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery. And I must accept that I cannot keep buying books at this rate, without off loading a few … or a hundred. Maybe you already figured out about my addiction. But I've been in denial. 

I had an intervention a few days ago by my friend The Clutter Fairy, Gayle Goddard. She already knew that books were the one thing in my house (except the people I live with) that I could not throw away. But if we ever want to move to a smaller place (and we do),  we've got to pass on some of these books (my husband, bless his bookish heart, is as bad as me, but he won't admit it …  don't tell him!). We have bookshelves everywhere. Three in our bedroom, plus stacks of books on our bedside tables and even this tower of books (see left photo). Then we have three bookshelves in the game room, two large ones in the living room, two built-in bookshelves in the family room, not to mention the coffee table books and the bench books and the cookbooks in the kitchen and the many shelves in the office where I'm sitting right now. You get the picture - books are our main household accessory.

So - with the prodding of Gayle - I had a great idea. I will start a library somewhere - maybe a Little Free Library or just a few bookshelves at favorite place - Memorial Assistance Ministries or Yellowstone Academy or Project Rowhouse. I have donated to the library, one of my favorite places, in the past, but I want to give my books to actual people.  I am going to start sorting my books to see which ones I can share. But if you have any helpful ideas about where I can share my collection of books, please let me know.