John Came for Some Non-fiction
He was thrilled to find a few titles he had been looking for, mostly non-fiction, like the writings of Ghandi. As he browsed the book selection, he gave me his best impersonation of Mohammad Ali. Local visiting filmmaker, Travis Shields was ready to tape John and other Street Books patron's throughout the day.
Todd Finds a Book to Fit His Fancy
Todd came sleuthing for detective stories and found one he liked.
Mark Weathers "The Perfect Storm"
Mark selected the book "The Perfect Storm" by Sebastian Junger. He's seen the movie he said, but he thinks the book will be better.
Ben Selects a 'Cold' Book for a Hot Day
Ben is a loyal patron of Street Books and shows up most days we are in operation to return his book and borrow something new. This week? Charles Frazier's "Cold Mountain."
Pamela Takes on a Cave Bear
Pamela was excited to find this copy of "The Clan of the Cave Bear" by Jane Auel. She said she hopes it is as good as "Black Boy," a book she recently borrowed from our library. She and Mark spent the day at the fountain, keeping time and reading books in the sun.
The Street Books Bicycle, With the Pit Crew
Fresh out of the Mercy Corps building this morning, this librarian discovered one very flat tire on the mobile Street Library. Fortunately help was right around the corner, in the form of Waterfront Bicycles. They have a seriously welcoming, can-do approach, and they had me biking away on a new tire in the space of 15 minutes. Plus they didn't let me pay them for labor. Hats off to the great people at Waterfront Bicycles. While I was waiting, a bearded man named Sonny said, "Are you the street librarian?" I said, "Yes," and he handed me two dollars. "For incidentals," he said. Thank you Sonny. Below: Jeff & mechanic Katherine Pauman do the hard work.
Shane Checked Out A Clockwork Orange
He approached while the Street Books bicycle was getting a new tire, and I was happy to send him along with the Anthony Burgess classic.
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Brian Returned Two, Took Two
He was sporting a very handsome haircut, but still declined to have his face in the photo. Happy reading, Brian. Always nice to see you at the Street Books library. He said he'd read The Hobbit in 7th grade, but was looking forward to revisiting it.
Dustin Came to Apologize
He said "I have some terrible news." I was finishing the check-out with a patron, so I said, "Yikes, give me a second to prepare myself." When we were alone, I took a deep breath and said, "Okay." I was pretty sure Dustin was going to tell me about one of our patrons being hurt or killed. "I totally ruined the copy of Hellboy you lent me," he said. "It got wet in the rain, and now the pages are all stuck together and it's a mess."
I just about hugged him. "Listen," I told him. "I operate this library based on the hope that patrons will do their best to get books back to me, but on the assumption that they have bigger things to worry about than that book. Please don't worry about it."
He was unconvinced. He still felt terrible about it, and wouldn't check out another book for the day. He did agree to be photographed with the library card from the Hellboy pocket, though.
Thanks again for coming around, Dustin.
Dirty Tricks Went Out Again
Can't find this kind gentleman's name tonight, but I reckon we'll see him in a week. Happy reading, friend.
Massoud Left With Living Cuisine
He told me he wasn't living outside but pinched his thumb and forefinger together to demonstrate how close he is. He said he liked to read real things, said "There's enough fiction already," and gestured in the air around his head. When I asked where he comes from originally, he said something like, "A place your country drops bombs on." I said, "You're going to have to be more specific, because I think we've got more than one these days." When I asked "Iraq? Afghanistan?" he said, "Yes, in that neighborhood." Massoud said that he was very glad to be here, and that America was a truly great place. He said there are many inspiring people here, doing good things. He opted out of a photo, but gladly held his book for a shot -- somewhere in the city of Portland, I hope Massoud is making a carrot beet salad from a recipe in his book.
Cory & Josie Brought Books
They stopped at a garage sale and bought heaps of titles they knew Street Books could use. Thanks again, friends.
j
Documentary in the Making
Local documentary filmmaker Travis Shields has been visiting the street library to get some film, and he's hoping to get a short documentary about us edited in time to submit to the NW Film Center. Check out his new blog, which features a photo of me taking a picture of Pamela. I'll let you know if his documentary is selected -- then we can all meet and watch it on the big screen.
Dante on Cervantes
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All the Leaves Are Brown, And the Sky is Gray
So sang the Mamas & the Papas in the Park Blocks, at the start of the Street Books library shift. Background music for the car show at the art museum, and a nice floaty backdrop for this librarian to listen to as she organized books, (subsequent songs weren't as good, sadly. A few were even bad). Ben came by and returned Dog Eats Dog ("Hated it. It's like it took the whole book just to tell a joke.") and Travels With Charley, John Steinbeck's book about traveling America with his dog, ("Didn't even like the dog," Ben said.) Ben's still working his way through A Prayer for Owen Meany, (isn't liking it, but now he feels compelled to find out what happens to Owen Meany), so he declined a new book. As he left, I asked him if there was any book I could get for him that he might like. "I dunno..you know, maybe international intrigue, tracking down a killer...that sort of thing." He smiled wryly and headed off.
Dante showed up on a bicycle, a gift from several of his newspaper customers. He had a hot shower today and was wearing clean clothes, and he looked and felt like a million bucks. Dante is a newspaper vendor for Street Roots and has developed a lot of great relationships with customers, has gotten some recent odd jobs to earn money, and is serious about getting a regular job. He's also quite articulate when it comes to explaining why everyone should read Don Quixote. (See video posted soon).
Jim-the-Walking-Stick-Maker stopped by to say hello, as he does most Saturdays.
Beth Chapman stopped by to observe the library shift and help out, (she even brought me an iced tea!). She is a librarian who is very interested in working with people who live outside, and it was great to have her today. Mycol requested a book about the raw food diet, so he'll know what vegetables to grow, and Beth took on the quest to find him the perfect book. Thanks again, Beth.
Chelle Dey stopped by the library and donated copies of Clan of the Cave Bear and Eclipse. Thanks again for the books and the great conversation.
Marjorie Sharp lives downtown and stopped by to let us know she's got lots of books to donate. Nice to meet you, Marjorie.
All in all, a really wonderful Saturday of book-lending and great conversations. Thanks again to all my patrons, and to all of you who have donated books, money, and time to the Street Books project.