redbud's little free library

today is my half birthday. it's kind of cool to have a point of reflection in such an opposite time of year than my real birthday. I can look out the window down into the chicken pen and see such a different scene than I might have viewed from this same window in june. my family, never wanting to miss a chance to celebrate something, has sent me into my bedroom with the door closed so I can write all by myself in honor of this half-year mini-milestone. I'll take it.

for my birthday this year eric had a secret building project. he and rabbit had private consultations at the computer, looking up designs for something I wasn't allowed to see. jamin was eager to swing a hammer, and cora was eager to smile sweetly and tell me I was going to love it so much. this mystery project wasn't finished in time for my birthday last june, but that was just fine by me. it meant I got to help with all the finishing touches and decide where my little free library's final resting place would be. the best sort of birthday present, really: handmade, perfectly matched to what I love most, and I got to help in the end. my family is the best.

I really love to read. I'm not even all that picky about what I read, either. I am just as likely to spend my time reading billy collins aloud to eric while he cooks supper as I am to read cheeky internet articles on the top ten ways to save my marriage (even when my marriage is really in no need of saving). I love memoirs and novels, cookbooks and political manifestos. I read instruction manuals for appliances we don't even own. I read every bit of the newspaper, even things I don't really care much about like personal ads and those weird articles the TTimes publishes about how seniors can avoid being hacked online. I can't help it. reading is just what I do.

eric knows this about me all too well. and once I stumbled upon a little free library in orlando, I couldn't stop thinking about it. free books??? a community-building opportunity centered around reading??? it was almost too much for my heart to handle. all the things I love, all the things I feel most passionate about all rolled into one. so, my darling husband built one for me.

it's not like we live in a super high-traffic neighborhood with lots of room for book turnover. not too many people will stumble upon our little library the way I was overjoyed to find my first one in orlando. (on campus at rollins college, by the way. I snagged some john irving and swooned.) but we do have a neighborhood full of book lovers, serious readers (and writers) and parents raising their kids to be the same. and redbud springs gets some high quality visitors on a regular basis, people who might very well swoon at the sight of free books for the taking. these visitors are the sort that will come back with their own books to offer as well I think. bibliophiles attract other bibliophiles. it's just a fact of life.

so here we are six months after I turned 34, and my free little library is open for business. jamin and cora were so eager to dedicate the lower shelf for "kid stuff" and stack up old magazines and books they were ready to pass along. someone in the neighborhood already left an ann patchett novel I haven't read, and I promise to put it back for the next person as soon as I am done. I love this secret trade box we have, how it is saving money and reducing waste and making me so happy all at the same time. and you (yes you!) are invited to check it out the next time you visit. or better yet, pick eric's brain for building plans for one of your own. I am already scoping out the best place in town for our next installment. there is no such thing as too many books, especially when they are free.