I’ve built up quite a stack of books that I wanted to donate to Little Free Libraries around my area. (A quick description: Little Free Libraries are operated by individuals who want to spread some bookish love to their community. You set up a little stand and fill it with books. The idea is that people will “take a book, leave a book,” although you don’t have to leave a book in order to take one. And you also don’t have to take a book if you’re leaving one! It’s all about building a free resource for people to access books that’s separate from a public library.)
I’m lucky to live in a place where there are dozens and dozens of LFLs all around me and it’s always such a joy to add lots of good books to these spots. In my Notes app, I have a list of the LFLs near me that I love the most so on Saturday, I packed up two reusable bags of books and hit the road to add some love.
Unfortunately, I quickly started to realize that my favorite LFLs are in areas of my city that were deeply affected by Helene and Milton. In fact, the first LFL I visited (and one of my favorites) was no longer there and all of the houses in the vicinity had belongings and drywall stacked up on their lawns, waiting for it all to be taken away by the city. Ugh. It broke my heart so much! I’m hoping they will be able to rebuild the LFL after dealing with their homes.
After that experience, I was apprehensive about whether I would be able to accomplish my goal, but I plugged the next location into Google Maps and said a prayer. Thankfully, this adorable little spot was up and running (even though the hurricanes had also ravaged this neighborhood).
Look how cute it is! Unfortunately, it’s a little on the small side due to the way it was built so I had to shove some of my smaller books into the LFL and also picked out a cute romance (mostly to make room for more of my books but this one piqued my interest).
Books donated: Black Girls Must Die Exhausted by Jayne Allen, The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin, Anne’s House of Dreams by L.M. Montgomery, and Anne of the Island by Anne M. Montgomery.
My next experience at a LFL was also rather sad. I entered another neighborhood filled with debris and belongings and drywall littering lawns, another stark reminder of what our city went through in late September/October and how much farther we have to go to get back to normal. The LFL in this neighborhood was up and in such a beautiful spot, but when I opened the door to place in some books, I was immediately accosted by the smell of mildew and damp books. Oh, it broke my heart! This LFL must have been flooded during the storms with the owner unable (or perhaps didn’t realize it would get flooded as badly as it did) to move it. I wasn’t sure if I should put any books in this library, but ultimately, I dropped off a few. Maybe I shouldn’t have but I wanted to give this neighborhood something to enjoy.
Books donated: Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty, Family Family by Laurie Frankel, Mercury by Amy Jo Burns, and The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood.
I ventured on to my next destination and this is one of my favorite LFLs in my city. It’s such a big and beautiful library and in such an unassuming part of town. Most LFLs are on the lawns of homes but this one hangs out near the parking lot of a multifamily condominium near some industrial buildings. Well, someone around here is a bookworm who wanted to set up something fun for the locals. This LFL was a little sad so I filled ‘er up with a lot of books!
Books donated: Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens, Plan B by Anne Lamott, Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama, The Firm by John Grisham, Full Circle by Andrea Barber, Good Talk by Mira Jacob, Love & Saffron by Kim Fay, The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker-Bradley, and We Were Eight Years in Power by Ta-Nehisi Coates.
My next location is the LFL that always messes with me! The actual library is on the corner of this adorable house, but because I plug the house address into my GPS, I always drive right past it and have to turn around. But I found it and it was also a bit neglected so I decided to fill this one up with the rest of my books. At this point, I was doing well finding some LFLs that were still up and running and didn’t want to press my luck by visiting some of the other addresses on my list.
Books donated: Where’d You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple, The Housemaid by Freida McFadden, An Unwanted Guest by Shari Lapena, The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Dare, On the Come Up by Angie Thomas, and Happiness Falls by Angie Kim.
And that was my afternoon of being a book fairy! I love filling up LFLs with lots of good books and since I had already filled up these libraries in the past with some books, it was fun to see that all of my donations were gone. They were living new lives in new homes and that is such a delight. I really want to build and operate my own LFL someday, so maybe that will be a goal for 2025.
Do you have any LFLs near you?
Being a LFL book fairy is just so lovely, but my heart hurts for those navigating through the continued impacts from the hurricanes. PS: as someone who gets overwhelmed driving and parking places, your navigational skills for this are equally as impressive as your generosity!
My neighborhood is LOUSY with these. What I really need to do is take a bunch of kiddie books to the one in front of Minnie’s preschool…
We have quite a few in our little town. Maybe close to 10. I love popping by Little Libraries. I tend to find books for my dad – he’s a voracious reader – and then when he reads them, I take them all back 😉
I love doing this! We’ve got some great ones nearby, but I also get frustrated with how disorganized they can get. My neighborhood recently started a library in the ‘clubhouse’ and everyone is really excited about it. Just so cute!
This is amazing! You donated some great books. I’ve never seen one of these in my area- I’m going to look into it. I have a bunch of books to get rid of and I’d rather find a LFL than take them to Goodwill.
My neighbors have a LFL and there’s one another half block away by the church, too. We have about a dozen in our small town alone! I always dump books that I don’t want in my neighbor’s LFL. I’ve only taken one book out of theirs, but I haven’t read it yet. Once I read it, I’ll return it!
I think it was nice that you put your books in the LFL that was a bit damp and moldy smelling. Hopefully it will be a bit of escapism for someone in that neighborhood.
So sad to hear about all the devastation so close to where you live! And I know several of your friends experienced a lot of damage as well. 🙁
This is a fun way to get rid of books that you no longer want/need. There is a LFL kitty corner from our house so that is where any book I want to give away goes. I rarely buy physical books so don’t have many to give away but I have donated a few in the past few months.
It was heartbreaking to drive through all these neighborhoods that are still dealing with the ravages of the hurricanes. There is so much debris for the city to pick up – likely will be continuing through the new year doing so!
One friend MAY be back in her home for Christmas, which is really wonderful (she has a 2-year-old so I really hope they can have Christmas at home). The other one is experiencing really frustrating delays with FEMA and such. It’s so awful!
I always enjoy taking a quick peek when I pass a LFL. I think I’ve only taken a book once, which I returned after I read it. Now that you mention it, I have a couple of running books that I won’t read again, so I should donate those – I’d get a nice walk out of it and maybe someone would appreciate the books.
Wow, that really is a lot of LFLs, I know of three in my local area but it’s a walk to get to all of them. I usually try to donate DNFs and other books I’m done with. And it’s always fun to see what I can find in return, sometimes I find a gem.
I read about and saw these little libraries online (from the us) many years ago and always wanted one or to simply come by one but I never did. Then maybe two years ago an organisation here made little libraries and set one out in our city center!! That day I was SO happy, but I’ve donated more than I have found (that I wanted to read) although I got a fun artsy comic book for grown ups there that I love. 💕
So happy that you shared your library adventures with us, thank you! You are a such a kind & friendly book fairy!
I love LFL – however I’ve only seen a couple in some neighbourhoods downtown Toronto. I live in the suburbs and haven’t seen any. I think they do well in neighbourhoods where people walk more – although since the pandemic, there are a lot more people out on the sidewalks, there does seem more community and not just cars everywhere.
You left some really great reads! I’m sorry that some of those LFL neighbourhoods have been so affected by the ravages of nature, and your new additions will make things a little brighter.
When I lived in Calgary, there were probably 10 LFL in my neighbourhood alone, and on walks I’d peek in them and occasionally donate to them. Here, I haven’t seen one! Now, mind you, I’m at the end of a rural-ish road, but even when I’ve walked Rex in other neighbourhoods I haven’t seen any. I guess it’s not a thing? I should ask some local friends.
I love that you are a book fairy! The last time I got rid of a bunch of books I went around to about half a dozen LFLs in my neighborhood and they were all FULL to the brim! I ended up giving my books to Salvation Army in the end! I think after the pandemic (or during) a lot of people got rid of a lot of stuff and the LFLs were jam packed.
That is so so great that you are a book faery.
I am also dreaming of operating a LFL some day. How fun would that be,
It was lovely of you to donate books to the various LFLs in your area. I’ve seen one where I live, which is in the foyer of the hospital. I love how cute they are!
This is such a great idea, Stephany. We have quite a few LFLs in our neighborhood and it always makes me smile when I pass them 🙂
You’re the best book fairy! I hope those homes can add LFLs back if they want to as well. So sad to see!
We have some around me but none very close! I am always excited when I see one 🙂