A couple of months ago, I started keeping a bag of books in my car just for Little Free Libraries. That way I always have a book on hand when I stumble across a new one or the ones in my neighborhood are looking low. 

It's also a nice way to pass along Advance Reader Copies and books I don't plan on rereading. I try to be careful about what books I buy in the first place , as well as what ARCs I say yes to, but book storage is always an issue for me. Always. Little Free Libraries helps me out on that front, so long as I don't always find a book or two that I need to take home.

In any case, it pays to be bookishly prepared!

When I visited my friend Anne of Modern Mrs. Darcy a few weeks ago, we wound up doing this on a much larger scale. Anne's book situation was out of control and my INFJ self itched to help her get organized. Before Anne knew it, I was "making" her go through her stacks and figure out what she was keeping and what she could let go of, like duplicate copies and ARCs she probably wasn't ever going to get around to reading and books she didn't actually like.

IT WAS SO MUCH FUN.

And I'm not just saying that because I wound up with a pile of books to take home.

The next morning we decided to share the love with a few of the Little Free Libraries in Louisville. There were way too many culled books to do it at once but we estimate we left around 35-40 books between four LFLs.

If I was still a child I would not be able to dream up anything better than a Little Free Library tucked behind a tree house. Can you even imagine?! 

This one was only a quarter full when we got to it. Heh. Not anymore.

Anne stopped by this one about a week after we'd filled it up and said it was depleted again. It must be a highly trafficked LFL but I'm concerned that so many people are not following the practice of Take A Book, Leave A Book. I mean, it's okay if you find something you want and you don't have anything to give but that should not be your standard operating procedure. Ahem.

Sometimes we'd rearrange the books within the LFLs. Highlight some favorites, move them around so it was more aesthetically pleasing. Normal book nerd stuff.

Miraculously, I only found one book I wanted in return- a vintage Nancy Drew mystery- and Anne didn't find anything she wanted. 

Who gets rid of vintage Nancy Drew?! 

When we returned home from our mission, I commented something along the lines of feeling like Robin Hood. We couldn't make the comparison work- we weren't stealing books from the rich, after all. And then Anne said it was more like Sisters of Mercy.

Yes. That's us. The Bookish Sisters of Mercy, dispensing books to anyone in need or at least anyone who frequents their Little Free Library. 

Looking forward to the next time we strike!