Rebecca Sneaks a Peek at Street Books
She settled on a book by local author Jason Breedlove, who donatd a couple copies of his new book, Hole, to Street Books a month or so ago. She is wild about the Dune series and requested that we look for books in the series written by Brian Herbert (Frank Herbert's son) and co-author Kevin J. Anderson.
Patterson Flies Off the Cart
Before I had the chance to catalog some new titles we added to the cart this morning, I encountered some new patrons in a doorway in Old Town. Brett snagged this copy of a James Patterson book. Patterson's books are very popular among our patrons.
Alisa Donated Her Memoir to Street Books
In Gimp: Surviving Your Survival, former stuntwoman Alisa Christensen tells the story of injuries she sustained from a fire, and how that experience has shaped her life after. It is a powerful story, and she is a hell of a story-teller. She is a part of Portland Burn Survivors, a local nonprofit dedicated to helping burn survivors "lead happy and rewarding lives." We met outside the Right2Dream Too rest area, when she stopped by the street library for a visit. Thanks for the contribution of your book, Alisa.
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!
Eric Joins the March
After a long period of healing, Eric is out and about again. He has temporary housing, but he still takes time each day to visit his friends at the R2DToo camp. Today he marched with us through the streets of downtown.
Patrons on Parade
Wilson approached the cart at one of the stopping points along the parade route. He was interested in Native American books. I didn't have any to offer him today, but we settled on a copy of Howard Zinn's The People's History of the United States.
Damien & Sheri Found Some Good Reads
Damien went for Trask, the historical novel from the 1960s about Elbridge Trask, who settled in Oregon in 1848. (Turns out the Trask river in northwest Oregon was named after him -- who knew?). Sheri went with Counting Coup: A True Story of Basketball & Honor on the Little Big Horn. In it, author Larry Colton tells the story of Sharon LaForge, a young Native American woman who is from the Crow reservation in Montana. He follows her season as she plays basketball, and the trajectory of her life once she's off the court.
Melissa Found The Key to Midnight
She's a regular, but passed on having her photo taken because she'd just wakened up.
Katie Did a Favor For Her Brother
Scott Parker, author of Running After Prefontaine, donated five copies of his book to the Street Books library. His sister, Katie, was kind enough to do the delivery, because Scott was out of town. Big thanks to them both.
Michael Went Straight for the Heavy Stuff
He checked out Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, & Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness. Michael was a faithful library patron this past summer, and so it was great to cross paths with him again.
Joe Biel Steps up for Street Books
Got a great fan letter from Microcosm Publishing founder, Joe Biel, who invited us by to receive some donated titles. Thanks again, Joe! We love Microcosm -- they were one of our earliest supporters. I visited the shop last May to see their own haley trike (used to bike their books & zines around), and received a donation of books to start off our library collection. Very grateful for the generosity people in Portland have shown to the Street Books project.
A New Years Visit from Eric
Longtime Street Books patron, Eric, has been staying inside since Thanksgiving, when he experienced serious health issues that put him in the hospital and later in a motel room downtown, where a group of kind citizens and social service agencies teamed up to help care for him. Today when I pulled up to the Right 2 Dream Too camp, I saw Eric visiting with his friends from the camp that had been his home for over a month. He was happy to see me and the Street Books trike. There were no Westerns on the cart today, but Eric spotted a Harry Potter book and chose to take that with him. We've missed you, Eric! Happy New Year.
A Georgia Peach in the City
Brenda asked if she could read The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Of course, I told her. She said she had heard good things about the book and has been wanting to read it. She tucked the book inside one of her many blankets and said with a sweet Southern drawl, "It's cold here." I asked where she had come from. She told me she and her boyfriend had arrived in Portland just a few days before. "I'm still trying to get used to the change in the weather," she told me. Brenda, meet Lisbeth Salander.
Mohammed Seeks the Spirit
Mohammed approached the cart exclaiming, "Happy New Year, Happy New Year!" He addressed everyone he passed on his way over. He asked about the cart and asked if I was selling books. It's a library, I told him, splitting my orange and offering him half. "You are a beautiful lady, lady," he said. He wanted some spiritual books. I have some Christian books, I told him. He settled on a selection of daily meditations.
Lord of the Flies, Revisited
In William Golding's Lord of the Flies, Golding puts forth the idea that a group of young people, left to their own devices on a remote island, will revert to savagery (spoiler alert: it gets pretty freakin' savage). I spotted a copy of the book in our Street Books library during my shift on Wednesday, and since I was stationed in front of the Right2Dream Too camp at 4th & Burnside, it was easy to ruminate on how the group of people maintaining the camp have done so far. They're not on a desert island, sure, and they're not children, but in many ways they have embarked on a similar kind of experiment. They have created roofs overhead, rules by which to govern themselves, and they have brought together a diverse community of people who happen to have one important commonality: lack of shelter. Now, instead of sleeping solo under a bridge, or being poked awake and told to move on by police downtown, there is a resting place where they can sleep without fear of being disturbed, or losing important possessions. I get the sense that the camp has the kind of struggles one would expect when a diverse group of people assembles and lives together amid different personalities, management styles, and ideas. But I also think that William Golding would be pleasantly surprised to see the society built at Right2Dream going so well.
Chuck Burys His Heart in A Favorite Book
Chuck and I met a few weeks ago at the Right 2 Dream Too camp. He was looking for Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown. We didn't have the book on the cart at the time, but we were able to find a great copy to loan him.
Happy Holidays from Street Books
It has been a great year of building friendships and literacy. From the Street Books family to yours, best wishes for a happy holiday season!
Sahar Takes a Book for her Son
Sahar was happy to find a children's book on the cart. She took it for her son. Her first language is Arabic. Though her English is quite good, she is working to improve her reading skills. Reading books aloud with her son helps to work on pronunciation and vocabulary. I plan to look through our back stock of books to find some more books for Sahar and her son.
Erneste Returns Three, Makes a Donation
Erneste came to me last week and told me he was sorry, but he had passed the books he had borrowed onto someone else. He wasn't sure they would come back. I told him that was okay. We were happy to have books in the hands of readers. When I pulled up to the camp this morning, he flagged me down happily. His friend had returned the books to him which he promptly returned to Street Books. And he made a donation of a new book too! Thanks, Erneste!