An Ode to the Little Free Library

If you read as much smut as we do here at The Smut Report, you find ways to subsidize your smut addiction. We all use the public library, because libraries are the best and go get a library card right now if you don’t have one. Ingrid swears by Kindle Unlimited. Erin put a free trial of Audible Escape to good use. 

As for me, I have the Little Free Library. 

I should preface this by stating that I have been exceedingly fortunate in my access to neighborhood book boxes for the past several years. Where I currently live, there are at least 15 within a mile radius of my house – perfect for when my very active dog needs a walk.

Since it’s February, and we’re counting down to Valentine’s Day, I thought I’d count some reasons that I love the Little Free Library. 

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1. Avarice for Books

I am in the John Waters camp when it comes to books; Marie Kondo can go away with her 30 book rule, because that’s not how I want to live my life.

I love having stacks of books around, because who knows what I’ll want to read next. And someday, I swear, I’m going to read all the books on my shelf. (Reminder: this is what my smut shelf looks like.)

Yes, I have a problem, and I love that the book boxes in my neighborhood enable my addiction. 

2. Sharing is Caring

The best thing about books is sharing them. Ebooks are great and it’s definitely convenient to be able to pull out my phone and read a few pages when I’m at the doctor’s office, but I can’t just grab an ebook off my shelf and push it into someone’s hands. 

While putting books in the little free library isn’t quite as satisfying as handing the perfect book to my mom or putting some smut in the mail for Erin or Ingrid, I get a little frisson of joy at the thought that I have neighbors who also read romance and who will get some pleasure out of the books I no longer want.

3. Neighborhood Romance Club?

Speaking of sharing, it’s kind of fun to know that there are other romance readers lurking around every corner. I mean, I know this is true, but the little free library acts as a tangible reminder.

4. The Gamble

This is what it really comes down to – the gamble. And honestly, sometimes that gamble doesn’t pay off. I have certainly read some duds; Colton Christmas Protector comes to mind. Or The Last Cavalier. Yikes.

But the Little Free Library also brought me Blue Velvet (look at that purple prose!) and Nights of Fire (ok, I had some problems with the characters, but it was still fun) and Undead and Unwed (vampire shopaholic is delightful).

5. Joy

I have all of these other resources that allow me to read pretty much any book I could think of, but I still get giddy and excited when I find a romance novel in a book box. What it comes down to is – I find books I didn’t know I wanted to read. And that moment of recognition is pure joy.