Little Free Library

We put up a little free library a few years ago, and it's been a source of great pleasure. Our friend, Dave, built it in exchange for some pottery I made, and our neighbor helped us put it up. Then we were sock-bombed which just gave the library more character. At every stage, the little library has been a community effort.

On one side of the library, I stack adult books, and on the other, children's books. I also keep a dish filled with dog treats. And what do you think is most popular? Yep, the dog biscuits. I'm a cat person, so it's a new experience for me to buy dog treats on a regular basis. After the dog biscuits, the children's books move, and the adult books are the slowest to go.

Some of the books come from donations, some are books I've read and want to pass on, and occasionally, I buy books, especially children's books, from the local second hand bookstore.

I try to make sure there's a good selection of books and plenty of dog treats. Very occasionally, I weed out books that aren't moving or any religious propaganda people leave in the library. Once, I found a bag full of S and M romances by the library, their covers showing ripped bodices and whips. Nope, not in my little free library. I took them down to the used bookstore.

"I didn't know this genre even existed," I told the clerk.

"Oh yes," she replied. "It's a big seller."

Waddyaknow?

The oddest things I've found in the library is a roll of quarters, $10 dollars. Recompense for all the dog treats? I don't know. And a gold colored man's tie, neatly folded.

Sometimes, when we're sitting in the living room, we can see a family stop by the little library as they walk round the neighborhood. It's such fun to see them open the door, lift up a child to look at the possible books and then give the dog a treat. I don't know if we're contributing to the general happiness and literacy of the neighborhood, but I'm pretty sure we make a lot of dogs happy.