Miss Dawn’s Musings – Sharing What’s Good

This past weekend, my book group (Rubber City Book Posse or RCBP) once again took part in the Akron Family Reading Festival. This was the tenth year for the festival and we have been there for eight or nine of them. We’re a local branch of the global Bookcrossing movement, whose members leave books in random places for people to pick up, swap books with each other and, like us, take part in local events to pass books along to whoever wants them. And this year we managed to release close to 2,000 books! 

The RCBP has this pretty much down to a science – we collect books throughout the year (via donations and library book sales), we coordinate who’s going to be able to help with an event, we show up and set up, give books away all day, then pack up the few remaining and save them for next time or leave them in random places or drop them off at one of the little free libraries that are popping up all over the place. So really it’s something we do as routine and don’t think much about the impact.

But it seemed like this past weekend there were a lot of grateful people coming by our tables. We usually get some thanks when people take a book or two, and there are always those who are confused at first that the books are really free and there’s no catch. But this time around we had quite a few people not just thanking us for the books, but for doing what we do – library employees, people from other organizations at the festival, visitors. And it made me stop and think about what it is that we’re actually doing.

There are a lot of things you can get for free, but so many of those items are throwaway or end up in a drawer or a closet or a purse. It’s not that they aren’t appreciated, but they have a purpose and get forgotten until needed. But we give people BOOKS. If you’re not much of a reader you may not understand what that really means. We aren’t just giving someone an item, we’re giving them an experience, enjoyment, an escape from the world, knowledge, new ways of looking at things… and so much more. Sure, a book can sit on your shelf for days or months or years before being read, but once you pick it up you’re indulging in a experience, whether it’s fiction or non-fiction, classic literature or comics.

I love books for everything that they are. And I’m glad I’m part of a group of people that gets to share what’s good with others who appreciate it.

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