Wednesday, July 18, 2012

How Cool is This?!?



Is your house -- like mine -- overrun with books?  No more room on the shelves?  Stacked in piles on the coffee tables and lamp tables? 

You need to set up a Little Free Library, like the people on Concord Street in West Hartford.  Put some of your spares in it.  Invite passers-by to take the books (or leave books of their own).  The homeowners made this library from a discarded kitchen cabinet.

There is even a sponsoring organization, littlefreelibrary.org.  I like the red British telephone booths.

27 comments:

Cezar and Léia said...

Awesome creative idea!
Léia

Malyss said...

Yes, there are books everywhere in my home. I've had almost the same idea, but much less creative: I put books in a box, and let it in the street in front of the building , with a sign "servez-vous"(Take what you want); the box is usually empty in less than 15 minutes..

brattcat said...

this gives me such hope that people will continue to treasure real books.

Gardenbug said...

Cute! A great idea too. When traveling in China in the mid 1980s I really appreciated free books left inside our hotels. Seems even more popular now. Recently in Haiti we both gave and collected paperbacks as well.

Halcyon said...

I really like this idea! I don't have many books actually. Since we move around quite a bit, you find that books are one of the things you don't really hold onto. But I might borrow one if I saw one of these libraries. :)

Luis Gomez said...

Very cool! Great idea.

Dave-CostaRicaDailyPhoto.com said...

What a wonderful concept. People have done a similar thing in our condos in Costa Rica. They bring beach reading books and leave them for future guests. We have book shelves in the condos of donated books!

Michelle said...

That is so wonderful!!!

Sharon said...

I love this concept! I certainly could do this but, I'd need a bigger box!

Unknown said...

We have a library in my apartment building where people take and leave books, but to have such a thing outside in a neighborhood - WOW! And the fact that teenagers haven't vandalized the boxes - DOUBLE WOW!

Sylvia K said...

Oh, this is SO cool indeed! I love it and what a great idea! Unfortunately, in my neighborhood these days, not only would the books disappear but the cabinet as well! Hope your week is going well, Jack!!

RedPat said...

I love this idea, Jack!

I too hate to see the old industries leaving for parts unknown. At least if small businesses move into the plants there is some kind of production going on but not enough to make up for the huge loss of manufacturing jobs in our country and yours!

jennyfreckles said...

Another great recycling idea. There's a thing here called Book Crossing where people leave books in unusual places for other people to find. There's a card inside inviting people to log the book's ongoing 'journey' on a website - and rate it too!

Unknown said...

What a fantastic idea!

VP said...

Absolutely cool, I could fill a dozen of boxes like that!

cieldequimper said...

I'm like VP except that I'm probably not normal: I can't part from my books... :-) It's an absolutely smashing idea though!

Gunn said...

Smart!:)
I really like this!

Randy said...

That is awesome!

Dianne said...

Fantastic idea Jack ... a great way of spreading the words!

Stefan Jansson said...

A very clever idea. I am a member of bookcrossing, but this also a great idea.

Kate said...

Jack, these are wonderful, and we have several in our neighborhood. Already posted one on my blog...check it out here: http://tiny.cc/mp6ohw

Just took another photo of one, including my granddaughter the day we were on a photo shoot together, but I think I'll wait to post that since you and I have pretty well covered the concept now.

Anonymous said...

Love that idea... I could just about open a library branch all on my own... lol!

imajoebob said...

I've been meaning to drop you a line suggesting this picture for about 2 or 3 months. Glad to see you didn't need my help (not that you ever do).

Lynette said...

Yea, my first Little Free Library to see on a City Daily Photo blog buddy's blog! Yea, Jack!

Like your play on words in the comment you left at Portland Oregon Daily Photo. Thanks!

Unknown said...

This is SO cool! Thanks for sharing it!

CaT said...

ooooh, thats nice! but i guess i am too selfish and wouldnt put any books in it, i want to keep the books i have read, even if they are bad...

Karl said...

Really a cool idea.