Every so often I go to the local recycling center
armed with books I no longer want or need.
I walk into the little book shed
and add my books to the collection
knowing someone else
will offer them a good home.
the book shed
inside the book shed
And, of course, I come home with some new books myself.
I haven’t read this yet but look forward to doing so.
this was a great find and a fascinating read.
reading interrupted. 
Marvelous and mesmerizing post… Oh, we love books, don’t we?’///
Thanks for sharing and best wishes, cara Letizia,
Aquileana đ
I know you love books as much as I do Aquileana. If you haven’t read the Fuentes book yet, you should – it’s very interesting!
This place is amazing!
It’s such a cute place, isn’t it? You can recycle your paper, plastic, and glass and then spend time in this beautiful little book shed!
Ooo Fuentes, nice choice. perusing all the books in the Book Shed, I think you must have missed Decision Points by that master of words George W. Bush. It’s great to have such a nice place to go and rifle through books and get shot of the ones you don’t particularly like. Books should be the currency of the world!
I was delighted with the Fuentes book as I had never heard of it before. And you’re so right, I often pick up books I’d never actually buy and never see in the library, but as they are free I figure I can always just return them to the book shed if I don’t like them.
What a wonderful idea. I love that. I always feel better knowing others will read the books I give away. They’re difficult enough to part with. It’s easier if I know someone can enjoy them. đ
You’re so right, Carrie, parting with books is so difficult! Even if I know I’ll never reread a book, I sometimes hesitate to part with it. But knowing it will go to another happy reader makes it a positive experience.
What I do with friends visiting my home? Upon leaving I’ll present them with a small token, that is a book or pamphlet from my library, wrapped nicely. â And, my, DO I like their acknowledgement feedback … đ
What a lovely tradition! And I agree with you, I like to have feedback on a book I give as a present too, haha!
I thought you might like that tradition. đ
I’m jealous. I wish we had one of these on our street. đ
Hopefully every town will have one one day! It used to be just a disorganized shelf on the outskirts of the recycling center and then one day I saw that they had set up this great shed – so exciting!
What a cool idea! It’s like those little library boxes on people’s lawns expect much larger. Fun.
Good point – I hadn’t thought of that!
It’s pleasing that no one likes to throw books away. Here there are a couple of major charity book sales each year and the organisers can barely cope with the carloads of books that are donated. It’s hard to see the imminent demise of the printed word when people actually care about it.
I’m glad that people donate the books to the charity book sale rather than throwing them away at least. But I hope they also buy some as well, if not some probably end up in the trash I fear…
Letizia how cool is this, I wish we had something like this in my town. Maybe I should start one. Thank you for the idea.
Oh I hope you do! And if so, write a post about it!
Put it on my list Letizia its a fantastic idea.
Book surprises can come in some of the smallest places. I believe you found two good choices.
You’re so right Lynne, they do come in the smallest places, don’t they? And I’m always surprised but the quality of books I find in this shed.
A neighbor just set up one of those little take a book, leave a book houses in her front yard. I’ll have to sort through my stash and see what needs to move on.
Those are so cute and such a wonderful idea.
I would be there everyday. I cannot resist buying books at every thrift store, swinging by Little Free Libraries, and hunting for books on Bookcrossing. It’s an addiction. My name is Julie and I’m a book hoarder.
A fine addiction to have if you ask me!
Letizia,
How wonderful that you can find such gems in the book shed! I’ve listened to the audiobook of Zadie Smith’s On Beauty and it was an enjoyable experience. I’d even wrote about it in a post. I know you’d probably like to read it first before reading any reviews. But in case you’re interested (before or after), here’s the link to my review. Again, thanks so much for stopping by Ripple Effects and sharing your thoughts after you’ve seen the movies I reviewed. I truly appreciate that. đ
Thank you for the link to your review, Arti! I will certainly read it after I finish Smith’s book. As you know, I love your reviews.
How superb to have a little book shed at the recycling centre. Can’t help feeling that there should be recycling centres and little book sheds on every street corner!
It’s so lovely isn’t it? Makes me proud of my little town.
Even I am proud of your little town and I haven’t even seen it!
OH do I love this post, I would love to have this little house close by. I love the pictures, each has a story, specially the books.
I go to library, I donate and buy use books, they are my favorite, they make me wonder why the gave them away, what is the story behind the person who purchase it and gave it away.
I know just what you mean Doris. Reading a used book you wonder who owned it and what they thought of the book (and if they underlined something in the book, you wonder sometimes why they underlined that sentence).
This is a great idea, must make getting rid of your rubbish pleasurable knowing you can have a browse afterwards đ
You understood the joy of the experience exactly Andrea!
We need something like that. It COULD create some extra space in the house. đ
You should build your own book shed Tim!! Great idea… now I want one too đ
What a great idea. Too bad we can’t give away ebooks
Good point, maybe in the future.
This is the best idea to build a community and generate the love of reading. A few weeks ago, I was introduced to a friend of a friend. One of the first questions that she asked me was whether I read. The question caught me off-guard. She assured me that she meant no disrespect and then explained that some of her friends simply did not read books. They read other things?! This sparked my interest, as you can imagine, so I did a bit of research and found an interesting article in “The Atlantic” dated Jan 21, 2014. The Pew Research Centre found that the number of non-book readers has nearly tripled since 1978. They did note that this turndown might be over. The point is – we need to read! We need to encourage others to read. We need to have a place (like the one you have) where people can share the joy of reading.
Great post!!!
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/01/the-decline-of-the-american-book-lover/283222/
I can just imagine your surprise when asked whether or not you read. It seems like such a strange question, but it’s true that some people never read books. The article in The Atlantic was so interesting. I have noticed that young people are reading more and more. Perhaps in part because of the popularity of the “young adult” series such as The Hunger Games and such? Or even younger with Harry Potter. It gives them a love of reading voraciously without it seeming like schoolwork and then they want to explore what else exists in the world of literature. I’m not sure if this is true but it’s one theory anyway. Thanks for the great link!
My pleasure! I will be forever grateful for Harry Potter. Those books are what opened my son up to the love of reading. Have a great weekend! đ
Oh how nice! The shed of delights, I would call it đ That’s great you found some new books to read too. Happy weekend, Letizia!
The shed of delights would be a perfect name! Hope you’re having a good weekend too Christy.
I think I would like to come and live in your book shed! Surrounded by lovely books and always being visited by interesting people to talk to when they came to donate their books and select new ones to take away – what an idyllic time I should have đ
What a dream that would be! A wonderful setting for a children’s book!
Fabulous idea đ
I absolutely love places like this, Letizia. Well done! đ
You would love it, Dianne. The only problem is that it’s hard to leave sometimes, haha.
What a great idea to share books among neighbors. Here, people often leave books on their stoops for passersby to take. I’ve picked up many terrific reads this way. And now I have a few to leave on my stoop for the next person who comes along.
I’ve never heard of people leaving books on their stoops. I find this so charming!
Ah, for the joy of discovering new books, making friends with them and then sharing them with others. What a great reminder for us all. Also, I loved the inviting nature of the shed photo Letizia. The way you captured it makes me want to walk in and read through the titles on the shelves. What a gift all of you in that town have given to each other. It’s a wonderful idea.
The shed itself is wonderfully inviting, Rick, a charming shed in the middle of the chaos of the Recycling Center…. it seems to beckon you in like a candy store does to a child….
The little book shed…too cool! I think I already mentioned that we looked at getting rid of some books during the last move and still didn’t do it. I love this idea though!
It’s hard to part with books, isn’t it? From time to time I look through my collection and see a few that I know I’ll never read again and have no attachment to. Off I go to the recycling center…. and come home with four new ones, haha!
I used to keep my books, but with all the moving and such I started donating my books to charity shops. It was difficult at first, but I’m starting to accept it. Starting …
Moving is the biggest incentive to cull one’s books- whether one wants to or not, you are so right. I had a friend send a few boxes of books by post from France to the USA during a move and she never saw them again. She was so sad!
I want a book shed! The Zadie Smith book is a beautiful object, how generous of you to part with it.
I found the Zadie Smith book in the shed and took it home with me – a great find!
A book shed? What a lovely idea! Everyone’s neighborhood should have one! đ
I agree, Denise! It’s a great addition to the community!
Wow, that’s great.
It’s made recycling even more rewarding. Last time I went I picked up Grimm’s fairytales.
Oh, what a lovely little place, and such a great idea! đ
It makes going to the recycling center all the more fun!
Love the idea of the book shed…I think I would be a regular visitor. đ
I’m finding myself coming up with reasons to go to the recycling center just so I can visit it, haha!
I have a friend who built a little lending library cupboard and installed it in front of his house so the neighborhood could take and drop off books. He named it after his dog, Jeeves’ Library. It’s a great way to share, but your book shed is on a much grander scale. Great idea.
Jeeves’ Library – that’s so sweet! I like the idea of individual lending libraries.
On a side note: I keep bumping into the same woman in the Recycling Center book shed. I finally spoke to her and it turns out she comes all the time to collect books for seniors she visits. She then returns the books after they read them. I’m glad I spoke to her.
What a great idea for a community! It’s like the little front yard libraries that are springing up everywhere!
Exactly! Like a big version of those!