Street Books + Sisters = Sweet Success
Thanks again to Sisters of the Road for hosting the 3rd annual Street Books book-giveaway and Valentine's party. Beth Chapman and Kris Soebroto baked 250 heart-shaped cookies in the oven at Sisters of the Road, and Beth frosted each one by hand! Check out Robert, one satisfied customer. Thanks to everyone who came by to contribute books or just say hello.
Lara Chose Jay Ponteri
She decided to have a look at Darkmouth Strikes Again, Ponteri's lyrical essay published in a collaboration between Scout Books and Future Tense Books. 
Laura Checked Out 2 Gems
She chose Portland writer Nancy Rommelmann's novel, The Bad Mother and some creepy Hitchcock stories.
Bobby Checked Out The Glass Castle
We talked about memoirs of hard childhoods, and the challenge an author has in deciding how much to tell, and how much to spare the reader.
Gregorio Checked Out L'Amour
He was glad to find El Canon Oscuro. If you have any leads on a good source for books in Spanish, drop us a line at:librarian@streetbooks.org.
Woody Says Get a Goat
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He asked why I didn't add a shelf to the inside of my bike, to carry more books. I said that weight was a consideration, since my street librarians and I cover a lot of miles in the city. He suggested I get a goat to pull the library, or better yet: a burro. We had a long conversation about the advantages of burros, (how they will lead you to water, which can be useful during end times), about mean people, about the original Thor movie, about ideas contained in Matthew 24 and the book of Daniel, and about how to separate the good from the bad in life. When the conversation got a little apocalyptic, I said "Leave me with something hopeful, Woody." He patted my shoulder and said everything was going to be okay. As he left, he said "Who wins? The guy with the water, that's who." And the way to water? A burro.
A Conference of Birds for Ray
Ray requested A Conference of Birds, by Farid Ud-din Attar. He's a Persian Muslim poet who influenced Sufi poets like Rumi. The book is a kind of parable from the Sufi faith, and tells the story of a group of birds who go on a quest to find a king. Ray is from Iran, and came to the United States when he was 12. His father worked for the embassy in Iran during the revolution, and was actually one of those detained during the hostage crisis in 1979. Ray's family was able to come to the U.S. in the early 80s, and he has lived here since.
Alex Chose Poetry
Raymond Carver's Where Water Comes Together With Other Water. She's a great fan of poetry.
Angela Found Classics
The House of Spirits, by Isabel Allende, and Truman Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's.
Read All About It: Street Books In the News
Read new interviews with Street Librarian Laura Moulton this month: Framed Magazine is an Australian magazine which does interviews with "people who are providing alternative perspectives on places, people, and news headlines."
Bicycle Paper comes out of Seattle and covers all things bicycle.
Hinchas de Poesia is a stellar literary journal out of Los Angeles.
We're gearing up for a great summer of Street Books, and we have exciting news that we can't announce yet....
But will soon.
Thanks to everyone for your support.
Restocking the Library
Operating the shifts has become so much simpler since we acquired a storage space for our back stock of donated books at the ecotrust building in The Pearl. I have taken to pedaling up to restock and rotate the trike at the end of each shift. It is a breeze to keep the rotation of books fresh for our patrons. Thanks again to the kind folks at ecotrust!
Sisters of the Road MLK Jr. Day March
The rain and snow held off for most of the day as more than one hundred people gathered in support for Right to Dream Too. Street Books was there too. The City says Right2Dream Too must comply with Recreational Campground Ordinances or pay a $641.30 fine every month.
Right2DreamToo is not a recreational campground. Nothing about living outside is recreational for those who are resting and storing their belongings there. It provides emergency shelter for dozens of people every night.
Three ways you can help:
1. Take a quick minute to contact Commissioner Dan Saltzman.
Email: dan@portlandoregon.gov Telephone: (503) 823-4151
2. Join R2DToo on Wednesday, February 1, 2012 City Hall, S.W. Fourth and Madison Avenues, Portland 8:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.
3. Spread the word that housing is a human right.
Thanks!