(Didn't see the first plug? Here's the link - with photo and location )
There's something about having a library within easy walking distance that warms the cockles of any book lover's heart. Sure, Alameda's main branch library is within walking distance - Marge walks there often enough - but it's not exactly "easy" walking. (The carrying back of the books will wear you out if you're like Marge whose library visits frequently culminate in several big and heavy books; these soon become cumbersome when walking more than 5 blocks or so.)
True, the West End Alameda branch (788 Santa Clara Avenue) is even closer to Marge's neighborhood than the Little Library is. (Actually, Marge had forgotten this library. Past visits there went well. And now that she remembers it, she plans to revisit.)
But...there's just something about the Little Library....
Besides is location, the Little Library is ...well, little. What ya see is what ya get. It's also a treat not to have to create a book list so you don't get overwhelmed by the sheer volume of volumes at the "real" library.
LLib offers just two short, small, handmade shelves of books to choose from; if nothing suits or if you've already read the current selection, come back soon. Certainly Marge and Sergei have returned home empty-handed after a trip to LLib.
Their recent trip, a week or so ago, turned up some real gifts.
Highly recommended:
Julian Barnes: The Sense of an Ending. A lovely, well-written, unusually non-linear story. Also non-American (British) and the author doesn't seem to feel the need to insert guns, violence, overly-explicit-therefore-too-directive sex scenes or simplified and reductive relationships.
So-so recommended.
Rita Mae Brown: Hounded to Death. Seems RMB returned to her roots after Rubyfruit Jungle and now writes fox hunting mysteries; according to her author photo she hunts too. Not great; not terrible, just a bit...y'know, ordinary and oriented towards teaching readers about hounds and the hunt... and the elite who can afford this lifestyle. Yawn.
Amy Tan: The Bonesetters Daughter. Talk about an author finding and exploiting a formu la for writing success! Some readers love Amy Tan, some readers hate her. Marge? Well, Marge is just b o r e d by the formula now. Yawn squared.
Marge and Sergei dropped off a few books although the only book Marge remembers dropping off was James Joyce's The Ambassadors. (Marge owned this book for years, re-read it a few times and had been carrying it around in her vehicle - along with about 40 other books - meaning to drive 'em to the Internet Archive in SF where they're engaged is digitizing every book in the world and offering 'em, free, from their online library. Yikes! Big job...and one well worth supporting.)
Sergei recently introduced Marge to Ian Rankin, Scots writer of detective-style stories. Marge likes 'em.
Then there's Aravind Adiga's The White Tiger. A well-written, surprising, unusually non-linear story. Back cover description: "Balram Halwai is a complicated man. Servant. Philosopher. Entrepreneur. Murderer. Over the course of seven nights, Balram tells us the terrible and transfixing story of how to came to be a success in life - having nothing but his own wits to help him along."
The White Tiger is definitely a worth-it read. (This book did not come from the Little Library but from Sergei's well-stocked library. And it'll go back there. Despite lives full of books and their recognition that some books must go live in other homes, both Marge and Sergei recognize that some books must stay in their home. The White Tiger is one of these.)
Also found at the LLib: Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins' Left Behind. Marge was curious about the hoopla surrounding this book - the entire series - and what's in 'em that so many find entrancing. Well, she still doesn't get it. Badly written, trite conversation that fills up pages with words but doesn't say much or do anything other than chit chat. Another formula churning out what works rather than what's entrancing. Amy Tan's formula is several cuts above LaHaye/Jenkins formula; to each his/her own, eh?
Marge is ploughing through 5 or 6 fiction books per month these days. After the last decade reading only non-fiction she revels in reading decent fiction. What a treat.
Sergei reads both. He still reads heavy-duty non-fiction - U.S. defense budgets, arms treaties and so on. Just hearing about this drives Marge further into the pleasant denial that reading fiction provides.
Her advice?
Visit the Little Library, drop off a book or two, take a book or two.
It's magic, it's manageable, it's neighborly, it's user-friendly, and it's free.
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