#bookgivingday

[bookscoffeedzen]

Happy International book giving day 📚💝

[erin-nations]

Book Lovers @elnations

[vremeplovac]

#bookgivingday #14thfebruary #volimknjige (у месту Obrenovac) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bt2-rZ7HFEy/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1e6krzrnz59n0

[neverbythebook]

14 Feb 2017. Day 14 #AmpersandFeb17: Gift. Valentine’s Day? Pfft! It's International #BookGivingDay?! I did a quick survey of my bookshelves and found a few books to donate but I didn't end up buying a new one for myself like I thought I would. I think I’m in a book-buying slump. Is that a thing? I’m making it a thing. So here are some themed gifts that I’ve recently received. Turns out I'm really not that hard to buy for 😂 Has one of your favourite books ever started as a gift? Back when we were living in the Solomon Islands, my mum brought back a copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone as a special treat for me and my siblings. And, well, we all know how that turned out.

[thewritershelpers]

Prompt Challenge: Day 46

Write something inspired by International Book Giving Day. 500 word minimum.

View the competition FAQ, here! Submit to the February submission page, here! For competition rules and information, visit the original post here. You can also submit your own prompt ideas, here!

This prompt is for February 15th. The deadline for your submission is March 5, 2017.

Yesterday was Valentines Day as I’m sure most of you know. It was also Book Giving Day! It has a website and even a hashtag ( #bookgivingday ) for tracking how many people participate. Your writing should be related to giving or receiving a free book, or something inspired by the holiday. If you missed the holiday there’s still time to celebrate! Find a book that you can give to a friend, or leave one in public for a stranger. Maybe text a friend who has been borrowing a book for a long time and tell them they can keep it. Let’s keep circulating the books!

I remember the first time I came across a Little Free Library. It really changed my view on books and book sharing.

I live in a bigger city but I ended up meeting my first Little Free Library on a country road in the northern part of Michigan. I was riding a bike down a dirt path when I saw what looked like a gigantic bird house. I had to turn around and check it out.

This particular library was a cute little red house with a window acting as a door on the front. I looked inside and saw a bunch of books. I had never seen anything like it before. The plate at the top had the registration number for this particular little free library and a website where you could find out more information. I didn’t get good service where I was at but luckily I didn’t need to go to the website to know what to do. There was a little hand written note that said “take a book home with you, and leave one if you have one to spare”. I laughed. What a cool idea! I didn’t have a book on me but I did pick a few books out to take back with me.

Once I was back in the city I looked up the website. There were so many little free libraries around town. There were a few just a street or two away from me. I got really pumped and made a plan. I went to my bookshelf and honestly looked at which books I could part with and which ones I couldn't. It wasn’t a very big give away pile. Then I thought of how many books there were in the Little Free Library up north. Those books probably meant a lot to the people who owned them and they put them where others could enjoy and appreciate them. I started again sorting through my books. There were the ones that I knew I just couldn’t part with. There were quite a few though that I loved but would probably never read again. The materialistic side of me said “what if a friend wants to borrow this” and “you’ll regret it once you get rid of it” and “what if you want to pass these books down to kiddos your friends have”. I stood my ground though and put all of the books in a box and headed to my car,

I had made a list of all the libraries in my city and had a plan to return with no books. There were libraries that only had room for one or two books and there were others that only had a book or two in them. It was a rush setting all of my books free and it was especially gratifying seeing an empty library get filled. I have done this quite a few times since then. I love going back to libraries and seeing that my books were taken. Now I’m going book by book in my personal library to really see how many I can share. Shelf by shelf I read a book and decide afterwards, or sometimes part way through, if it stays or if it goes in the donation pile. I like leaving books in public places on occasion too. Sometimes when I go to get coffee I’ll casually leave a book at my table or on a seat with a note that says “free to a good home”. Knowing that there’s a day dedicated to giving away books makes me think I might need to take my donation pile out a little earlier than I planned this month.

[lfl19984]

Fellow @LittleFreeLibrary stewards! Please look into giving free books to children on @bookgivingday on February 14th (Valentine’s Day)! It’s for a great cause! For more info, please check their website at bookgivingday.com! #bookgivingday #littlefreelibrary #lfl #books #kids

[readingismyhustle]

[itsjustalibrary]

According to my Everyday is a Holiday calendar