The Debut of a New Little Free Library
Stick Season is the worst. (Apologies to Noah Kahan, but it’s true.) But thanks to Matt, something cheery popped up in our sparse-looking yard today.
Matt built a Little Free Library at our last house (what a guy!), and it was a joy to witness/hear about people enjoying it. (See below for a few great pics!) Except for being a repository for the occasional dictionary or camping guide from 1969, it was pretty self-sustainable. People took and people gave. These boxes were particularly great during Covid, and I loved creating and promoting a LFL scavenger hunt throughout 15 Boston-area towns for MetroWest Readers Fest. (Truthfully, they also provided a nice built-in marketing mechanism for our programming when I had my kids and a friend — aka my “interns” — drive all over and place our community-read titles in them.) Some people like to place *great meaning* on them and stock them with only certain types of books, etc. Whatever floats your boat, but to me, it’s just a neighborly thing. You want a low commitment, free book? Be my guest. You want to offload that buzzy new release that you read once (or not at all)? Thanks. You just saved me having to wait for what is a possibly-overhyped-but-I’m-curious-what-the-hype-is-about book to become available at the library. Win-win.
I have quite a collection of LFLs on my camera roll — many of them thanks to friends and family who send pics my way. But I’m biased and my favorites are ours, made with love by my love. (We’ve also learned some great lessons on appropriate weatherproofing and structural integrity after having to temporarily take the last one down for some surgery…)
Anyway, open for business!
(Here’s a post from 2022 featuring longer thoughts on these lil’ boxes, accompanied by a photo of a LFL here in Charlotte that a few years later, in a random full-circle moment, I ended up running by regularly. I really do love ‘em!)
originally published on instagram