You know the feeling, rushing to finish packing and get to the airport on time. Jamming stuff into your carry-on while trying not to make it too heavy. Then you get to your destination, prepare to unwind and enjoy a moment with a good book only – uh oh – you forgot to pack the book, now what? Hop online and find the nearest Little Free Library.

I had seen some of these around town but didn’t think much about them until my friend put one up in front of her house.

That was my introduction to a community of fellow book lovers — the actual hard back (or paper back) beauties, not the online imposters. The Little Free Library community’s desire is to share the magical world within books to anyone who stops and picks one up.

These “bookstores” come in all shapes and sizes — even “mini-me’s”. There is no charge for the book and the rules are simple:

• Be courteous with your usage.
• Take one that sparks your interest.
• Drop a “lightly used” book off every now and then.
• Sign the guest book if there is one.

It’s almost as much fun discovering these bookstores around town as it is choosing a book. Who knows, maybe I’ll start to “forget” my book when traveling. I definitely will check the selection in my neighborhood store(s). Enjoy!