Chris Aldrich

Steward of Little Free Library Charter #8424. Loves non-fiction, fiction, classics, and a good thriller. Favorite authors include: Simon Winchester, Robert Caro, and Jared Diamond

Two Month Anniversary Book Extravaganza

Friday, October 9th is the two month anniversary of Little Free Library #8424!

In honor of the day, we released 39 new books into the library covering a variety of genres. This makes it easily the largest one-time release of books including our grand opening two months ago.  There were literally so many new books they almost didn’t all fit in to our tiny space.

We’ve kept a large number of the children’s books while still adding a few more.  We’ve also kept a small handful of very popular books that have been in and out of the library several times since it opened. Otherwise, almost everything in the library is new as of this afternoon. We’ll try to keep our new listings up to date over the next couple of days (a few have already found new homes this afternoon.)

We hope you get the chance to stop by this weekend to see what’s new.  Be sure to drop a note or a review into our Guest Book when you visit.

 

 

Huge New Selection

In honor of our two month anniversary, we’ve just put 39 all new books into our Little Free Library!

I’ll have more details to post in just a bit, but it’s taken so long to pack them all in, I don’t have time just now…

Get ready for a whole new library selection!

Stockpiling

For the last week, we’ve been stockpiling a few donations along with a large cache of other acquisitions in anticipation of a major release of new books to the library.

Sometime in the coming week or so (our 2 month anniversary perhaps?), we’ll be removing some of the books that have been sitting stagnant and replace them with a whole new selection of books.  With over 30 new books, it will represent the largest one-time batch of new books since our grand opening on August 9th.

Now’s your chance to borrow that great piece of fiction you’ve been eyeing before it takes a vacation from our library to visit another nearby Little Free Library.

For those who’ve been plowing through borrowed books, now’s also the time to finish up your last read to swap it for something new. Feel free to write a quick review into our guestbook to let others know what a good book it was.

Do you have any books to add to the collection?

We welcome donations at any time. But if you want to be part of the upcoming major release, feel free to leave your donation in our mailbox (or if you have several and they won’t fit, leave them on our landing in one of the plastic bags to protect them from the weather.)

Mystery Books

Celebrating the Freedom to Read: Banned Books Week

In honor of Banned Books Week (Sept. 27- Oct. 3, 2015) we’ve got a small handful of bookmarks courtesy of the Los Angeles Public Library, which is also celebrating this week.

Bookmark sticker

Among previously banned books, we’ve currently got Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath and J.K. Rowlings’ Harry Potter (#4). If you’ve got any banned books you’re not currently using, we’re happy to host them here to share them with your neighbors.

What’s your favorite banned book?

Book Donations for a “Library on a Cart”?

Hello neighbors!

One of our former Adams Hill neighbors, who now lives in North Glendale, is a special education teacher at a school located in a “book desert.” She’s asked many of her friends for some help, and in addition to a few books of my own, I thought others here might have something for her as well.

Hey friends. Trying to build a “Library on a Cart” at the school where I teach and was wondering if anyone has any middle-school aged appropriate books they might care to donate? These kiddos are truly special and have VERY limited access to books. I brought a few of our old “Big Nate” books to share and it was like my students had won the lottery! Such a great thing to share literacy opportunities.

I asked her more about what specifically might help and she replied:

I’ve been able to supply 6th grade with some goofy, popular titles including ” Captain Underpants” and the ” I Funny” series but I don’t have much that targets young girls right now. The Rick Riodan series and Warrior Cats books have been specifically requested. Oh, some reading levels are pretty low so EL titles would be great too.

If you’ve got anything at these reading levels or genres that might go towards helping out others, we’re happy to collect them and pass them along on your behalf.  Just leave them in Little Free Library #8424 with a note that they’re for the “Library on a Cart”, and we’ll make sure they find their new home.

A Whole New Shelf

Since we’ve opened, it’s been a bit difficult to see and sort through all of the books in our library. For a while we’ve had a temporary pseudo-shelf, but we’ve upgraded.

To help make things a bit more efficient and easier to see, we’ve added a small internal shelf. Now the upper part of the library, which usually has two rows of books, raises the second row up a bit. Hopefully it’s easier to see what’s back there without having to dig half the library out to find your next favorite read. It also allows us to fit in a few more books.

Today’s Books: September 19, 2015

We had a nice cache of books donated this week and a few of the most popular titles have been checked out again. (Thanks Arlene for the huge donation of fiction on Tuesday!)

20150919_092002

 

Rain?! Then Pat Conroy and Matthew Thomas

In a rare event, it’s raining outside right now, but (depending on how big a fan you are) when the rain subsides, there are copies of Pat Conroy’s Beach Music and Matthew Thomas’s We Are Not Ourselves have returned and are waiting in the library for you.

 

Todays Books 20150912

102 Degrees out!? No Problem… We’re on Periscope

It’s literally so blazing hot out today, I nearly burned my finger trying to open up the Little Free Library. (Be careful please!)

To help people from needing to walk up the hill in the hot sun, I went outside for two minutes, “fired up” Periscope and made a quick video of what’s in the box today. Sorry for the poor quality in places, but apparently the wifi doesn’t reach all the way out to the curb, but at least it’s better than sweating to death to see what’s new today.

For ease of use, download the Periscope app and add user @lfl8424. This will also allow you to get notifications of live broadcasts. Isn’t technology great?

Labor Day + Books = A Real Vacation

Happy Labor Day everyone!

Not sure what to do before (or after) that end-of-the-summer BBQ party?  Why not stop by the library and pick up something to read at the end of the long weekend? Public libraries may be closed today, but our library is open 24/7.

Here’s what’s currently on the bookshelf: GoodReads Bookshelf for LFL #8424

We’ve also got a handful of recent popular magazines including Time, Rolling Stone, Sports Illustrated, and Golf among several others.

If you’re starting to do your Autumn cleaning and run across a few good books that you don’t need anymore, please consider donating them so your friends and neighbors can give them a second life.

Enjoy what’s left of the long holiday.