Bookmarks!!!

Our lovely (but still anonymous) neighbour 'AB' has been at it again - this time combining creativity with generosity, by making some fabulous bookmarks for the users of the Little Library - how cool and kind is that?! :-)

They think it's all over - well it ain't...

England may have failed once again to add anything to "1966 and all that", but there's no need to give up on footie just yet ... a quick look in the Little Library Reveals a few books to keep you going until the pre- season friendlies start. We've got (ghosted) autobiographies of QPR, Man Utd & England defender Paul Parker; and the man who's played just about everywhere, Robbie Savage (or "Lily", as the Kop memorably christened him: D)

For the kids we've got a book of 'true football stories' - recommended by no less than our very own supporter, 'AB'. Maybe even enough to take your mind off how well Costa Rica are doing...

100 Years Ago Today...

As people around a large part of the world remember Gavrilo Princip's assassination of Archduke Ferdinand a century ago - an act which is generally considered to have been the flapping butterfly which tipped the world over into the hurricane of the First World War - we thought it was time to feature "The Last Fighting Tommy"... yet another book you'll find in our Little Library (if you're quick!).

It's the ghosted autobiography of Harry Patch, who was the last living veteran of those godawful WWI trenches that still have the power to so move us a hundred years later. Sadly Harry died in 2009 (aged 111!), but he left behind this powerful story of an ordinary young man plunged into 4 years of hell - one of the lucky ones who came out of the other side - who later became an outspoken peace campaigner.

"When the war ended, I don't know if I was more relieved that we'd won or that I didn't have to go back. Passchendaele was a disastrous battle – thousands and thousands of young lives were lost. It makes me angry. Earlier this year, I went back to Ypres to shake the hand of Charles Kuentz, Germany's only surviving veteran from the war. It was emotional. He is 107. We've had 87 years to think what war is. To me, it's a licence to go out and murder. Why should the British government call me up and take me out to a battlefield to shoot a man I never knew, whose language I couldn't speak? All those lives lost for a war finished over a table. Now what is the sense in that?"

We don't have that many non-fiction books in the Little Library - there's such a wide range of subjects to cover it's just really hard to know what people might want... if you'd like to see more non-fiction then please let us know what areas you're interested in :-)

Little Library in Bootle!

 Regular readers (of this blog) will know that we get excited quite a lot... and we're bouncing off the walls right now :-)

We've dropped a few hints about hoping to expand... and we have! The intrepid, resourceful and book-loving Phil Elliott has started a Little Library in a block of housing association flats in Bootle.

He wanted a more straightforward book-case, rather than a cabinet, to put in the foyer of the flats, and we were delighted to help him find it and stock it with some books.

Some of our lovely neighbours who have donated books to us may recognise them in the photos - we hope they'll approve of the great home we found for them.

Since these pics were taken, just after we set it up, Phil's neighbours have donated enough additional books to fill it right up, and the whole thing is going gangbusters with people in the block borrowing the books - that's what it's all about, folks :-)

We'd love to see more Little Libraries springing up, so please take us up on our offer to help YOU start one for your neighbourhood... and if you just happen to run a housing association - why not talk to us about setting them up throughout your properties... it's a wonderful way to increase neighbourly feeling and improve people's lives.

Liverpool Stories

We've noticed that one of the things that's very popular in the Little Library, is books based in Liverpool - who'd 'a' thought?!

Obviously it changes, but right now (well, yesterday) we have SIX of these, just awaiting your delectation. I have to confess that I haven't read any of these :-) To be honest, I don't think that people go for these because of the reviews, though - they go for them because they get a good story in a setting that has the added vitatlity of personal familiarity.

Books are a wonderful escape; a chance to step into someone else's world - Carl Sagan said it way better than I ever could, so I've included that below as well - but the additional memories evoked by a shared familiarity with (at least some aspects of) the setting can add an additional layer of richness

Liverpool is a city with a wealth if cultural history that few others can match, so it should come as no surprise that it provides the perfect backdrop for a wide selection of stories - or that there are a number of local writers who specialise, or have done, in exactly that.

Another Mention From the Reader Org

Our friends at the wonderful Reader Org in Calderstones have given us another mention - thanks very much to them for that :-)

It's at the end of an article about Little Free Libraries, and they tweeted about it as well...

Sharing literature the Little Free Library way: At The Reader Organisation we’re all about sharing literature,... http://t.co/xngN1Igjmc
— The Reader Org (@thereaderorg) June 6, 2014

Please keep donating (or start your own)

In our last post we featured the marvelous John Reppion, and his tweets about the Little Library... and we noticed that one of them led to the following conversation:

Oh, it looks like this. And now contains some weird Liverpool stuff by me. ;) pic.twitter.com/9oKPHlZqqL
— John Reppion (@johnreppion) May 25, 2014

@johnreppion wow that is little, I have books I'd like to donate but I don't think that they'd all fit in!
— Dansmato (@DanielleCoogan) May 25, 2014

@DanielleCoogan ha, yeah, it's pretty full too. Such a cool idea though.
— John Reppion (@johnreppion) May 25, 2014

Now, ignoring the aspersions on our size (it's not everything ;-p), we have to admit that the generosity of our wonderful neighbours has ensured that the Little Library is pretty full - but please, please, don't let that put you off making more donations :-) There are a number of reasons for that - neighbourly love and scouse karma, for a start; rampant plans for world domination being another :D

Seriously, though, we're looking to help others to start their own Little Libraries - hopefully more about that 'soon' - so any donations will be put to excellent use!

And remember, if you want a Little Library of your own - please do talk to us about it... we'd love to help you set one up (including helping you to stock it) :-)

Wow - more local talent!

What a great bank-holiday weekend for the Little Library :-) We had a visit from another talented neighbour (we have no idea where he lives, but neighbours is as neighbours does) - the wonderful John Reppion, who not only left us some of his writing, he inscribed it for us as well! He knows the way to our <3 and his stuff looks great - I'd strongly advise you to get in early because we already have our own eyes on reading it (although I'm not sure I trust myself to read the Steampunk stories after the 'Camp Bestival' incident where I wanted to run off with the steampunks rather than coming back home again...)

Not content with his wonderful donation, he's been tweeting about us as well - top fellah!

Just paid our 1st visit to http://t.co/OqraLxF6SF Dropped off a few bits & borrowed a book :) pic.twitter.com/jrnTjJGRAK
— John Reppion (@johnreppion) May 25, 2014

If you spend time in/around Calderstones Park, you should visit http://t.co/OqraLxF6SF Borrow a book, &/or donate one.
— John Reppion (@johnreppion) May 25, 2014

Oh, it looks like this. And now contains some weird Liverpool stuff by me. ;) pic.twitter.com/9oKPHlZqqL
— John Reppion (@johnreppion) May 25, 2014

Something for the kids...

There are two shelves of books for grown-ups in the Little Library, but the bottom shelf is for kids, and we thought it was time to highlight that a bit more.

Regular readers will know that we love it when people leave notes, and the last couple of notes we've had came from kids - thank you so much for taking the time to write! :-)

We've also had a couple of donations of kids' books just recently, including the very impressive pile pictured above, generously provided by our lovely friends the Greenwoods - in particular twins Beth & Emily - who are all keen readers as well as wonderful people. We'll be filtering some of these into the Little Library in the near future...

In many ways it's even harder to cover a good range of books for kids than it is for adults, because of the wide range of reading levels - we're trying hard to have a good selection, but if there's something you think we're missing, please let us know! And, of course, there's no real hard line between books for 'kids' and books for 'adults' - plenty of adults love reading Philip Pullman and J. K. Rowling... and there's no reason why kids can't enjoy Gerald Durrell, Gavin Maxwell or Robert Louis Stevenson. We only have one rule in the Little Library - if you like the look of it, give it a read! :-)

A Visit from the Deputy-Mayor

Much excitement over the weekend as the Little Library got a visit from Deputy Lord Mayor of Liverpool, Erica Kemp! She was very positive in her support for the Little Library, and we had an interesting chat - of which more shortly...

Here's Erica's tweet about us:

Liverpool Little Library in Middlefield Road Allerton. A brilliant idea. Go & look! pic.twitter.com/jnv9TkA6Xf
— Erica Kemp (@CllrEricaKemp) May 18, 2014

The biggest prize of all...

We've highlighted books that have won awards, and books that have had films made out of them in our last two posts, and we thought we'd round that out with books that have won the biggest prize of all - the Nobel Prize for Literature - one of which has been made into a TV series to boot (which also gives us an excuse to post a gratuitous picture of Benedict Cumberbatch :-) ). Yes, folks, that's 3 Nobel Prize winners sitting right there in the Little Library waiting for you..!

The oldest of the three is Hermann Hesse's "The Glass Bead Game" - a deeply thought-through and perceptive meditation on the relationship between the mental and physical, and the proper role of academics, aesthetes and intellectuals in the 'real' world. The Observer said "A massive novel set out to explore the positive side of human nature, the fullness of man's capacity as a thinker and as a prober into scared mysteries...Touching and impressive".

Next up is William Golding's "Rites of Passage" - the first part of his "To the Ends of the Earth" trilogy, which was made into a TV mini-series starring Benedict Cumberbatch by the BBC. To be perfectly honest I haven't read this one myself yet, so I'm just going to steal the Goodreads synopsis: "In the cabin of an ancient, stinking warship bound for Australia, a man writes a journal to entertain his godfather back in England. With wit and disdain he records mounting tensions on board, as an obsequious clergyman attracts the animosity of the tyrannical captain and surly crew."

And finally the most recent of the three - "My Name is Red", by Orhan Pamuk - part historic novel (set in 16th Century Istanbul); part murder mystery (a colleague has disappeared and the main character's own life depends on solving the mystery); and part exploration into the purpose and value of art (the main protagonists are the painters of miniatures). What more could you want?

Amazon review of "The Glass Bead Game" by Hermann Hesse (3.9 stars out of 5)
Goodreads review of "The Glass Bead Game" by Hermann Hesse (4.1 stars out of 5)

Amazon review of "Rites of Passage" by William Golding  (4.4 stars out of 5)
Goodreads review of "Rites of Passage" by William Golding  (3.6 stars out of 5)

Amazon review of "My Name is Red" by Orhan Pamuk (3.5 stars out of 5)
Goodreads review of "My Name is Red" by Orhan Pamuk (3.8 stars out of 5)

So Good They Made a Film...

Our last post highlighted a couple of award-winning books in the Little Library... one of which was Yann Martel's "Life of Pi", which has recently been made into a film.

That started us thinking - are there other books in the Little Library that people might have seen as films, and would now like to read the book that inspired it..? The answer, of course, is "yes"! (And if you didn't much like the film - try the book, it will be better!)

First up we have "The Time Traveler's Wife" by Audrey Niffenegger - the brilliantly crafted tale of a relationship built around one partner's advance knowledge of its entire trajectory; it's a touching meditation on the way relationships are reshaped through the understanding that time brings.

Next we have "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo", part 1 of Stieg Larsson's 'Milennium Trilogy' and a very smart, modern crime thriller which pitches an 'odd-couple' journalist and computer-hacker against a dark and disturbed family with the XL Skeleton Closet from Ikea.

Our third choice is "The Lovely Bones" by Alice Sebold. A novel narrated by a murdered 14 year old sounds like it might be a touch depressing, but this is a beautifully told tale of family and individual redemption which manages never to become mawkish or sentimental. It doesn't shy away from the brutal and harsh realities of the crime and its aftermath, but its carefully traced plot does, ultimately, leave the reader feeling uplifted.

And finally, who remembers John Irving's "The World According to Garp"..? A great rollercoaster of a novel that tells the life story of (fictional) writer T.S. Garp, son of a remarkable mother, and skillfully balances the crazy with the tragic and hilarious, producing one of the finest evocations of late 19th Century American life when it still promised change and social liberation.

The Time Traveler's Wife:
Book Review on Amazon (4.3 out of 5)
Book Review on Goodreads (3.9 out of 5)
Film Review on IMDB (7.1 out of 10)
Film Review on Rotten Tomatoes (3.0 out of 5)

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo:
Book Review on Amazon (4.1 out of 5)
Book Review on Goodreads (4.1 out of 5)
Film Review on IMDB (7.9 out of 10)
Film Review on Rotten Tomatoes (4.1 out of 5)

The Lovely Bones:
Book Review on Amazon (4.0 out of 5)
Book Review on Goodreads (3.7 out of 5)
Film Review on IMDB (6.7 out of 10)
Film Review on Rotten Tomatoes (3.2 out of 5)

The World According to Garp:
Book Review on Amazon (4.4 out of 5)
Book Review on Goodreads (4.0 out of 5)
Film Review on IMDB (7.1 out of 10)
Film Review on Rotten Tomatoes (6.3 out of 10)

More Award Winners!

Having featured the late Gabriel Garcia Marquez in our last post, we thought maybe we'd highlight a couple of other award winners currently stashed away in the Little Library, waiting for the right person to come looking for them... it's all good stuff, so if you haven't checked out our selection yet you really should do :-)

First up is Yann Martel's "Life of Pi", the wonderfully quirky novel about a boy and a tiger, cast adrift in a boat together, which won the Man Booker Prize for fiction in 2002 (and various other awards, not so well known in the UK, too!).

Keeping it company is the witty and incisive "White Teeth" by Zadie Smith - the story of 2 wartime friends in later life which won the 2000 Whitbread Award for a first novel; the Guardian First Book Award, and several others.

Just some of the wonderful writing available for free to you in our Little Library!

Amazon reviews of "Life of Pi" (4.2 stars out of 5)
GoodReads reviews of "Life of Pi" (3.9 stars out of 5)

Amazon reviews of "White Teeth" (3.3 stars out of 5)

GoodReads reviews of "White Teeth" (3.7 stars out of 5)

RIP Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Last week brought the sad news that Colombian writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez has died - though, to be brutally frank, many people probably responded to that news by wondering just exactly who he was and what all the fuss was about...

We pride ourselves in trying to offer a wide range of books in the Little Library, despite the unavoidable fact that it is, well, 'little'... and, tucked away in there at this very moment, that includes books by a number of Nobel-prize (for Literature!) winning authors... one of whom is Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

So - if you're wondering what all the fuss was about (and you get there before someone else finds it), why not check out 'Love in the Time of Cholera' - it's a very human tale of love, written with as much compassion - and rather more humour - than the title suggests :-)

In the words of Newsweek: "A love story of astonishing power and delicious comedy"

And, in the words of one Amazon reviewer: "A calm, poetic journey through the tortures and joys of love that is almost a life-affirming experience, even for the most hardened cynic"

Amazon Review (3.9 stars out of 5)
Barnes & Noble Review (3.8 stars out of 5)
Good Reads Review (3.8 stars out of 5)

Save Allerton Library!

We started the Little Library because we love books; we love reading; and we love to share that with our community. That means we are massive fans (and users) of 'real' libraries - big, proper, full-on libraries like the one on Allerton Rd. The Little Library is intended as a gesture of friendship towards our neighbours - it is not, nor could it ever be, intended as any sort of replacement for a proper library. 

• We have a great little selection of books, but it's nothing like the thousands of books in a proper library.
• We've read quite a lot and we'll happily chat to you about books, but we're not trained and experienced librarians with the skill and knowledge to answer your questions and help you explore the universe.
• However generous we may try to be, we don't offer internet access to anyone who calls by!
• We don't provide a refuge from the madness of the world where you can read, study or lose yourself for a few hours (as anyone who's met our dogs can attest :-) ).
• Nor do we offer any of the other specialist services you can get from a proper library.

Due to cuts in Government funding Liverpool City Council is considering plans to close up to 10 of the 19 libraries in the city - we oppose closing any libraries, not just the one on Allerton Rd. Libraries are a necessity, not a luxury!

Please complete the Council's consultation questionnaire (there are also paper copies in the library, if you'd prefer) to let them know how important you think our libraries are - we realise that tough decisions are being forced on them by Government cuts, but severing a critical source of information and education - especially for the least advantaged in society - is surely not the right way to go!

Please also find out more about the Friends of Allerton Library and give them your support.

Pursue Happiness with the Little Library!

Our old (still unknown) friend 'AB' has been at it again - leaving one of those notes we love so much on a book... with another strong recommendation for a book in the Little Library. And it seems AB is not alone in loving this book, judging by the great reviews it's got...

Good Reads Review (4.05 stars out of 5)

Amazon Review (4.4 stars out of 5)

"The critically acclaimed bestseller from the number one bestselling author of The Moment and A Special Relationship. A powerful romantic novel set in the tumultuous world of post-war America.

New York, 1945 - Sara Smythe, a young, beautiful and intelligent woman, ready to make her own way in the big city, attends her brother's Thanksgiving Eve party. As the party gets into full swing, in walks Jack Malone, a US Army journalist back from a defeated Germany and a man unlike any Sara has ever met before - one who is destined to change Sara's future forever.

But finding love isn't the same as finding happiness - as Sara and Jack soon find out. In post-war America chance meetings aren't always as they seem, and people's choices can often have profound repercussions. Sara and Jack find they are subject to forces beyond their control and that their destinies are formed by more than just circumstance. In this world of intrigue and emotional conflict, Sara must fight to survive - against Jack, as much as for him.

In this mesmerising tale of longing and betrayal, The Pursuit of Happiness is a great tragic love story; a tale of divided loyalties, decisive moral choices, and the random workings of destiny."

There are loads of great reads packed into the Little Library - so come on and get one!

We Love Notes!

People have been leaving notes in the Little Library :-)

Our old friend 'AB' left a note recommending a book she really enjoyed, which is a great way to let other people know what you thought.

And some other very kind persons left a note for us - with a book that they thought we might like based on the 'Dogs Trust' sticker in our car... they were absolutely right! We love dogs and we loved the book - thank you so much, whoever you are! x

We've decided we love notes so much that we've added a pen and some stickies to the library to make it really easy for anybody to leave one - so please do!

It seems we were wrong about our first appearance on Twitter...

Whilst it was wonderful to feature in tweets from The Reader Org, it seems that they weren't the first! Unbeknownst to us, our old friend and all-round top fella Syd Cottle had already tweeted about us, and even let Penguin Books know about us :-) I'm sure that truck full of books will be pulling up outside any day now...

A friend & his daughter have set up a 'Little Library' at their house in #Liverpool. Read all about it: http://t.co/GFOzsavZLt #inspired
— Syd (@EstatesPro) March 16, 2014

@PenguinPbks check out another free little library recently set up in Liverpool: http://t.co/GFOzsavZLt
— Syd (@EstatesPro) March 16, 2014

Our first Twitter mention!

As they promised, our friends at The Reader Org have been publicising us through their twitter account @thereaderorg - how exciting :-)

Our groups at @CaldiesMansion got a visit from the brilliant Little Library Liverpool last week http://t.co/YcMYWN5run
— The Reader Org (@thereaderorg) April 9, 2014

We love the idea of a neighbourhood #library swapping books - and it's so close to @CaldiesMansion too! http://t.co/YcMYWN5run #reading
— The Reader Org (@thereaderorg) April 9, 2014

Visiting the Reader Org in Calderstones

On Monday we went to meet with the lovely Siobhan Mealey from the Reader Org, who now have the Mansion House in Calderstones Park. They are doing lots of exciting things in the area; across Merseyside; and beyond - all aimed at encouraging people to read... which - as you know - just happens to be one of our favourite things as well :-)

We told her all about our Little Library and she was very supportive - we're looking forward to finding some ways we can work together in future and, in the meantime, please do check out all the events they are running in Calderstones and pop into the newly revamped cafe!

Fancy a Little Library of Your Own..?

We've had a lovely response to our Little Library, with a number of people who aren't local to us saying what a good idea they think it is (and they're right, it'a great idea - shame it wasn't ours ;-) ). These people don't really live close enough to make much use of our Little Library... but maybe there's another way...

Would you like to host a Little Library for your local community..? Not sure how to get started? We have a bit of experience now and - whilst not exactly experts of world-renown - we're keen :-)

So, if you'd like our help to get going - finding and/or preparing a cabinet; getting the books; publicising it; etc - please give us a shout and let's see what we can do together!

First comment!

Hooray... we finally got our first comment on the blog - and it was from our old (though slightly mysterious ;-) ) friend, 'AB' - yes the same AB that also left our first sticky note - thanks again AB..!

We also had our highest ever number of hits in a single day, last Sunday,so I guess all that leafleting we did was worthwhile :-)

Nice Neighbours

 There's been a definite theme to the last few days... and a lovely one it is too... first of all the talented Mr Roberts (& family, I think) left us some books just like he said he would; and then another generous neighbour left us some children's books; and then yet another kindly soul left us yet more books..!

We've had to move some of the books into a 'reserve pile' to be filtered in over time, but as you can see - it's still getting pretty crowded in there (oh, no - I'd stopped thinking about them reproducing until just then...). It's wonderful that people want to support us by donating books (and please keep doing so :-) ) but it would also be just as wonderful if a load more people came along and borrowed some too!

We don't want anyone to miss out, so if you don't have a book to swap to get you started, please don't worry about it - just come down and borrow one and then you can start swapping that one...

Where are we..?

Well, we've been out doing some more leafleting today to let our neighbours know the Little Library is there for them to use... and we realised what a lot of little tucked-away culs-de-sac there are around where we live (most of which we'd never seen before!)... so we thought a map might be useful to show people exactly where we are...

View Larger Map

This is what it's all about!

We've only just found this little gem, because it was tucked away on the kids' shelf - don't know if it was a swap or a donation, and no idea who 'A.B.' is, but thank you!

Leaving notes on (or in) books is a great way to personalise the Little Library and make it a real neighbourhood experience please keep on doing it :-)

More thanks to Mark Roberts

So it turns out that our talented neighbour, Mark Roberts, is actually our multi-talented neighbour, who writes children's books as well as brilliant crime novels (OK, I haven't actually read any of them *yet* - I certainly will - but 30 reviews at over 4 stars on Amazon tells its own story). He's also a kind and thoughtful man who saw Medb's picture on this site and left two of those children's books just for her - she's so excited and really looking forward to reading them... I'll read some to her and she'll read the rest herself, so I'll get to enjoy them too!

Post by Mark Roberts.

Great Excitement at No. 14

Yes indeed - because it turns out that one of our lovely neighbours is actually  a real, proper writer - you know, books and stuff. Real books... that you can buy. And read :-)

This is him:

http://www.markrobertscrimewriter.com/index.html

and he left us a very kind note saying he thinks this is a great idea and promising us some books.

He's even given us a plug on his Facebook site - how good is that?!

Post by Mark Roberts.

Another First...

Not, the first comment on here, no - we've had our first kid's book swapped now as well :-)

Our first (local) donation!

I haven't been able to see for myself yet, but much excitement yesterday as we received our first donation from an anonymous neighbour! (At least, we're assuming that's what happened - a load of extra books have appeared in the Little Library, so it's either that or they're breeding... I wish I hadn't just put that thought into my own head...)

Thank you so much to whoever it was <3

Now, come on around everyone and enjoy them! What will our next 'first' be...maybe a comment on the blog..? (hint, hint)

Yay!!!

And we're off - we had our first swapper today! How fantastic :-)