Day 5

There are over 60,000 Little Free Libraries all over the world! I discovered my first one on the walk I take in the hills near me. There it is: a simple wooden box with a roof and a glass door with a handle, attached to a 4x4 stuck in the ground. The wood is already faded but the books inside are well protected. The sign on the glass says: Free books! So I take one.

This is obviously a hand-made library, but they can be purchased ready-made, too. Red ones are for sale on Valentine's Day (promo code: SAVE20). There is a Little Free Library website to get one started with a video on the hows and whys. 

I looked my neighborhood up on the map and there are two more I can walk to. This one isn't listed, so not all of them are hooked in.

I read that the proper protocol is to leave a book if you take one. So today I went back up the hill with my book in hand. The choice was easy—I have two copies of The Gospel According to Zen. I chose the one with more age-browned paper, hoping the remaining copy will last longer.

It doesn't really fit in with the other offerings but the paper in this little Zen book is browning so fast, maybe it will disintegrate before it gets noticed.