Money for Nothing and Your Books for Free

On one of my regular walking routes I pass two of those “little free libraries”, where people both give and get stuff to read. I always look inside. Sometimes I take a book home, read it, and put it back when I’m finished. That’s especially true if it’s a popular book that might be in demand. Other times, I replace what I’ve taken with something from my own bookshelf at home or maybe later take the freebie to the ongoing book sale at the local library. There are lots of options, depending on my mood and my personal sense of feeling like the god of books who gets to decide what reading material people in Shoreline have access to. A long time ago, I read an article about leaving books in public places like train or bus stations or airports. I forgot all about that until right now but for a while I did do that. I once left a popular best seller at an Amtrak station. I hoped it wasn’t picked up and trashed by the janitorial staff and I optimistically assumed someone would be delighted to find a good book left there on a chair and just asking to be read. I still prefer hard copies of books but leaving one isn’t really an option for those who read e-books. I doubt anyone is to going to purposely leave their Kindle or Nook on a park bench. I’m curious about the difference between the two little free libraries in my area. One of them frequently has mainstream stuff by well-known authors. It also has books for kids and complimentary dog treats for a furry walking companion. After I cross a fairly major street, the houses and neighborhood look very similar to the one where I just was. Sturdy wood frame houses built in the 1950’s. Nice yards. Lots of flowering shrubs. Friendly people walking or working outside. No significant differences I can see and yet, that little free library tends to have a majority of romance novels and literature of a religious nature, both of the Christian and Mormon persuasion. My question is this: Are those books in there because someone wanted to share their beliefs? Or because they were gifted to someone who now wants them gone?

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