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| At the Little Free Library on Hiland Mountain |
Never has there been so much noise about books, publishing,
and authorship. Or so much handwringing. Amazon vs. Hatchette. The Big Five vs.
the Little Guys. Sound bites vs. sustained immersion. Upheaval, bottom to top.
Let’s set that aside for a moment to focus on one simple
precept: the power of the book to transform. Then extend that to an entire community
that’s taking on the big, big challenge of transforming itself through the
power of books.
I write my books from a little house on an Alaska
mountainside that’s 3000 miles from Detroit. My closest Little Free Library is
another three miles up the mountain, along a winding road with views of Cook Inlet
and, on clear days, a big beautiful mountain, which we Alaskans call Denali.
Distance and differences aside, I’m rooting for Detroit’s
Little Free Library Challenge. Kim Kozlowski’s IndieGoGo project is all about
the things we Alaskans believe in: community, resilience, and self-reliance,
empowered by a deep and transcending appreciation—call it love—for the spaces
around us.
The goal of Detroit’s Little Library Challenge is to make
their city the Little Free Library capital of the world, with a phase one goal
of setting up 313 Little
Free Libraries. It’s good press for a place that’s had more than its share
of bad. But the Challenge is also about the fundamental transformations that happen
through books. Readers are smarter than non-readers, with above average
emotional intelligence and empathy. The number of books in a home is the single
best indicator of how well a child will do in school. Reading reduces stress
and improves sleep. All good things for a community that’s looking to make a
comeback.
We’re rooting for them, all the way up here. Along with
other Alaska Authors, I’m donating books to seed an Alaska Little Free Library
on the streets of Detroit, a reminder that when times are tough, it doesn’t
matter where you live—we all come together.
But for this Little Free Library to become a reality, we
need your help. For just sixteen dollars, you can do your part to make it
happen. Let’s show Detroit some love!
If you’re an author,
Detroit’s Little Libraries project is accepting donations of autographed books
to seed regionally-themed libraries as part of their Ambassador
option. But for those libraries to be built, they also need cash, so please
join in this outpouring of love and affirmation by pledging
your support today. (For Alaska: 16 authors bringing 4 pledgers each, and we'll meet our goal!)