Lucie Chose Vonnegut & Saramago
She struck a pose that would allow a nice shot of her new tattoo. Cat's Cradle & Blindness are the novels she chose. Happy reading, Lucie.
Matt Checked Out Ask the Dust & the Kabbalah
Here he demonstrates his "discriminating reader" expression. Matt's a regular, and has plowed through a couple of Steinbecks and more, since the street library began.
Randy Went Home With Bukowski
Also has his eye on the copy of Don Quixote, but said he'd finish Post Office first.
John Took The Untethered Soul & The Moon is Down
The first is a book by spiritual teacher Michael Singer. It explores questions of identity and consciousness. The second is a John Steinbeck novel. We had a nice conversation about books, and John mentioned that he'd been to the Steinbeck museum down in Salinas, back in the day. He said, "Hey, tell Sue I found my wallet!" I knew he meant Sue, our Guest Librarian at Street Books. "Yeah, she was really worried," John said. Then he grinned. "Found it in my backpack."
Divine Went for Diversity
She checked out a little of everything: How Philosophy Can Save Your Life (Marietta McCarthy), Needful Things (Stephen King), and Girl Factory (by Jim Krusoe, a freshly donated Tin House title). Divine carried a little transistor radio that played the nicest classical music.
Tin House Throws In
Street Books got a visit from the lovely Vanessa Hargett of Tin House, Portland's own stellar literary magazine and publishing house. She brought along a box of their finest titles to donate to our library. Thanks again to Tin House, and to Vanessa for coming down to deliver books.
Geoff Brunk Brought Books to Give
Really great titles, too. The kind that you might expect a librarian from Multnomah County to bring. Geoff works in Library Outreach Services, as the Shelter Program Coordinator, directing volunteers who take books to shelters, halfway houses, drop-in centers and etc. We appreciate his support at Street Books so much. Hats off to Geoff, who made time to come and donate 2 boxes of books to our library.
Jason Breedlove Donated His Own Books
He visited the Street Books library to say hello, and to contribute 2 of his own titles to our collection. He said he spent about six years incarcerated, and has captured the stories from those times in his books. He is currently working on new publishing projects, and studying to be a personal trainer. Check out his website, buy his books & follow his great new trajectory.
Ben Was Persuaded
He found 3 he decided to try: Persuader, by Lee Child, The Black Dahlia by James Ellroy, and Outbreak, by Robin Cook. Ben is definitely a tough customer -- I'm on a quest to match him with a book that will rock his world. So far, each week it's a shake of the head and two thumbs down. Ben has a wonderful, wry sense of humor, and it's been a pleasure to get to know him.
Lonnie Went With Westerns
He chose Under the Saltwater Rim by Louis L'Amour and Tavor Evans' book, Longarm & the Killer Countess. He sat in the sunshine next to the fountain and dug into his L'Amour. When he posed for his photo, he smiled and said "Very few photos of me out in the world. 'Cept the ones the cops have."
Loneheart Felt the Sorrow of War
And took it, along with Charles Bukowski's Tales of Ordinary Madness. He spent six years of his youth incarcerated, and during that time read everything from books on Taoism to lock-picking to ninjas. He recommended I get a copy of Behold a Pale Horse, by William Cooper. The product description on Amazon.com says the book is about "information kept secret by our government since the 1940s. UFOs, the J.F.K. assassination, the Secret Government, the war on drugs and more.."
Brisa Found Her Brave New World
She mentioned that she'd been in mental institutions in the past, and I asked her if she'd read Susanna Kaysen's memoir, Girl Interrupted. "Yes!" she said. "That was basically my life." She said she'd been with a lot of unwell people, but that she also no longer believed in the whole field of psychiatry. "More like 'diag-nonsense,'" she said. She was very excited to find Huxley's Brave New World. She's been meaning to reread it for ages. A quote from Kaysen:
Was I ever crazy? Maybe. Or maybe life is… Crazy isn’t being broken or swallowing a dark secret. It’s you or me amplified. If you ever told a lie and enjoyed it. If you ever wished you could be a child forever..
Allen Took Still Life With Woodpecker
He said it's his first Tom Robbins, and he's looking forward to trying it out.
Halo Might Be on the Young Side for Stieg Larsson
But his dad, Hobbs, thought his mom might enjoy reading The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Next week I'll have something a little more your speed, Halo.
Keith Took The Eyes of the Dragon
He is a very faithful patron, and usually shows up at the same time each week to return his book and check out a new one. Happy reading, Keith.
Sue, Guest Librarian, Blogs About Her Shift
Read about Sue's latest adventures with Street Books at www.suezalokar.com
Brian, Meet Black Elk
Brian was on his way to Gresham for an appointment, but stopped to check out Street Books before he boarded the MAX. "I like real stories," he said. So we looked at what books were left after a busy day of lending and found, "Black Elk Speaks."
Tina Blew in on the Afternoon Breeze
She strolled up to the library waved her hands over the cart with her eyes closed and selected a book at random. She did that two or three times and left with a book for her and each of her children.
