Wow I really love the photo of the phone booth turned into a mini library. It’s kind of like ivy growing over old houses... like no matter how advanced technology gets, books will endure
Books used to be so very valuable, particularly when I couldn't find the information anywhere else. During the late 90s in particular, and on into the early 2000s, I loved scouring basement sales and flea markets for great books I wanted to read (and if I ended up with some I no longer wanted, there was also resale value). Much has changed over the years, but this nostalgia is likely to stay with me forever.
I lived in Milwaukee for grad school, and just a few blocks down from us was the best-curated Little Free Library I’ve ever seen. I’d walk our dog by there and I swear, someone must’ve been rotating books on a weekly basis. There was always a strong selection of new or very gently used books, primarily literary fiction. I’ve never seen another one like it, and it’s one of the things I sorely miss about living there. It was one of the few times I’ve felt good about putting books from my own collection out into the wild.
Indeed, there are books everywhere, except for the places they’re not: psychiatric wards. There were more books (very out of date books, granted) in the prison where I once did outreach than there were at either of the psych wards I’ve been on, or that anyone I know has been in.
If you’re lucky, you might get a few Readers Digest condensed books and some tattered magazines. I remember asking a friend who worked at the library with me to bring me some back issues of The New Yorker and Harpers—I figured even if I couldn’t read, I could look at the cartoons and The Harpers Index.
When I served on an advisory group (while it existed) for the psychiatric department at the university where I lived, we repeatedly asked why there couldn’t be more books on the ward. “Patients would just rip them up.” GET MORE BOOKS was my answer, but to my knowledge that’s never happened. Having books that people want to read in the places they are is crucial—and often lacking in the hardest places to be.
Wow I really love the photo of the phone booth turned into a mini library. It’s kind of like ivy growing over old houses... like no matter how advanced technology gets, books will endure
Books used to be so very valuable, particularly when I couldn't find the information anywhere else. During the late 90s in particular, and on into the early 2000s, I loved scouring basement sales and flea markets for great books I wanted to read (and if I ended up with some I no longer wanted, there was also resale value). Much has changed over the years, but this nostalgia is likely to stay with me forever.
I lived in Milwaukee for grad school, and just a few blocks down from us was the best-curated Little Free Library I’ve ever seen. I’d walk our dog by there and I swear, someone must’ve been rotating books on a weekly basis. There was always a strong selection of new or very gently used books, primarily literary fiction. I’ve never seen another one like it, and it’s one of the things I sorely miss about living there. It was one of the few times I’ve felt good about putting books from my own collection out into the wild.
Great column. Glad you all are having fun. 😎
Indeed, there are books everywhere, except for the places they’re not: psychiatric wards. There were more books (very out of date books, granted) in the prison where I once did outreach than there were at either of the psych wards I’ve been on, or that anyone I know has been in.
If you’re lucky, you might get a few Readers Digest condensed books and some tattered magazines. I remember asking a friend who worked at the library with me to bring me some back issues of The New Yorker and Harpers—I figured even if I couldn’t read, I could look at the cartoons and The Harpers Index.
When I served on an advisory group (while it existed) for the psychiatric department at the university where I lived, we repeatedly asked why there couldn’t be more books on the ward. “Patients would just rip them up.” GET MORE BOOKS was my answer, but to my knowledge that’s never happened. Having books that people want to read in the places they are is crucial—and often lacking in the hardest places to be.
Don't judge me by my bookshelves please. I give away all the great books I read and my shelves end up with the mid leftovers, dnf's, and tbr's.