Welcome to our Little Free Library next the sea

by

We are really proud. – Oh dear, we sincerely hope our strict Master and Dina don’t read this. They wouldn’t be amused. Self-praise stinks! – Guess what! We started a Little Free Library at our drive. Dina and our Master already knew those free bookshelves from the continent but in England, this idea is quite new. And it’s the fate of Bookfayries to help old books to survive and find good new homes.
“Every book finds its lover” Selma muses while Siri is sorting out shallow and even shallower books.

Wir sind echt stolz auf uns. – Hoffentlich lesen das Masterchen und Dina nicht, die ziehen uns sonst unsere feinen Feenohren lang. Eigenlob, pfui! – Stellt euch vor, wir haben eine Little Free Library an der Einfahrt zu unserem Grundstück eingerichtet. Dina und Masterchen kannten das Prinzip der öffentlichen Bücherschränke auf dem Kontinent, aber in England ist diese Idee ziemlich neu. Und als Buchfeen gehört es sich einfach, etwas zum Überleben gelesener Bücher beizutragen.
“Jedes Buch findet einen Liebhaber“, meint Selma, als Siri begann, Seichtes und Allzuseichtes auszusortieren.

Do we have to think about censorship? Well, it’s our free library. Can’t we just follow our taste?
“Racists as well as fascist books, you know what I mean, only get in here over my dead body” Siri makes the point. But where do we draw the line? Do we practise censorship on a political or an aesthetical basis? Honestly, we follow our gut feeling quite naively. Should we sort out trivial romantic novels? But we had the feeling of doing so we were following an ideal of the educated middle class and were looking down on readers of this genre as kind of a lower class of readers.

Uns stellte sich die Frage nach der Zensur. Klar, es ist unser freier Bücherschrank, da können wir unserem Geschmack folgen.
“Bücher mit rechtem Gedankengut, Rassistisches und Faschistisches kommen hier nur über meine Leiche rein“, macht Siri deutlich. Wo zieht ihr die Grenzen? würde Masterchen fragen. Zensieren wir aus politischen oder ästhetischen Gründen? Ehrlich gesagt, wir folgen blauäugig unserem Bauchgefühl. Sollten wir denn nicht Herz-Schmerz-Bücher aussortieren? fragten wir uns. Aber folgen wir dabei nicht einem bildungsbürgerlichen Geschmacksideal und setzen uns oberlehrerhaft über jene, die Liebesromane goutieren?

Going through lots of books we noticed that nearly every book is a bestseller, according to what’s printed on its cover. And not only this, every book seems to have won one or more book prizes, some of them we have never heard of before. But enough blaspheming! Rather look at our dear bookshelf. Our gardener Peter painted it together with us in classic Art Fairyco, English style. Do you like it? And are you wondering about the books, well, we do! And if you haven’t noticed already, our Little Free Library is a revolutionary project as it frees the poor books from the grip of the world of commodities.

Beim Sichten der Bücher fiel uns auf, dass fast jedes Buch ein Bestseller gemäß schreienden Aufdrucks ist. Außerdem gibt es für jedes Buch zumindest eine passende Auszeichnung, die meistens nicht gerade der Man Booker Prize ist. Aber genug des Lästerns! Schaut stattdessen lieber unseren Bücherschrank an. Unser Gärtner Peter hat ihn zusammen mit uns doch vom Lieblichsten bemalt, findet ihr nicht auch? Echter Feenstil – Art Fairyco, englische Variante. Und wundert ihr euch nicht, was ihr in unserer Little Free Library alles findet. Wir auch.
Wer es bis jetzt noch nicht bemerkt haben sollte, unser Projekt ist revolutionär, da es die armen Bücher aus den Klauen der Warenwelt befreit.

Happy reading
Frohes Lesen

The Fab Four of Cley
💃🚶‍♂️👭

 

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© Text and illustrations, Hanne Siebers and Klausbernd Vollmar, Cley next the Sea, 2018

 

 

 

 

275 thoughts

  1. Ganz prima ist Euch dieser “Buecherschrank” gelungen, Ihr Lieben! Da haben Siri und Selma aber fleissig gezimmert oder geschreinert oder wie auch immer. 😀
    Liebe Gruesse ins kleine Dorf mit der huebschen kleinen Buecherei,
    Pit

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

    • Oh, das ist aber toll, lieber Pit, dass dir unser Bücherschrank gefällt 🙂 🙂 Ja, da haben sich unsere Lieben viel Mühe gegeben, alle Achtung! Jetzt warten sie aufgeregt auf die ersten Benutzer unserer Little Free Library.
      Ganz liebe Grüße ins ferne südliche Texas
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 3 people

  2. Pingback: Welcome to our Little Free Library next the sea — The World according to Dina | Klausbernd Vollmar

    • Good morning, dear Lynn,
      we are lucky to live on a so-called National Trail and in a touristy village. Quite some walkers pass by our drive.
      Thanks for commenting.
      Wishing you a great weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Thank you so much for your kind words 🙂 🙂
      We had such a lot of books we were given or doubles or books we won’t read again and wanted to give them a chance to find a new reader who likes them. Our library in the house is at its limits and so we had to sort out some books.
      Enjoy the weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 4 people

  5. Pingback: Welcome to our Little Free Library next the sea — The World according to Dina | kbvollmarblog

    • Dear Pete,
      the users of our little library don’t need to bring books back. If they like the book they can just keep it.
      We care for the books in Cley church as well. For the village fete, we got that many books donated that we hardly could get into our hall where they all were stored. Afterwards, we donate quite some books to charities like the NT.
      We saw several of these phone box libraries in Germany and one in the Lake District. We thought of it too, but seeing the price of an old phone box we forgot about it immediately.
      We wish you and Ollie a happy weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 4 people

    • With the little free libraries here in our neighbourhood nobody is required to return the books, they even say you may take and keep them, but miraculously they are always full of books even so.

      Liked by 4 people

    • Dear Pit and Pete,
      in Germany, where you find many free bookshelves everywhere, we recognized the same: Although a lot of people are taking books the shelves are always overflowing. There are quite a lot of book lovers around. That’s not the end of the book but a change in how we see books. The exchange of books starts to become one without money involved. Was the first revolution Gutenberg’s printing press so this is the second one an exchange of products without money involved. Well, a money-free zone, the dream of the classic anarchists like Kropotkin and Buenaventura Durrutti.
      Anyway, thanks a lot for commenting and enjoy the weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

    • Dear Andy,
      we got the idea from free bookshelves we have seen and heard about. Red phone boxes are ideal but expensive to buy.
      Thanks and cheers
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Dear Magnus,
      we don’t know what it is but we seem to attract books, you are right. We love books but sometimes we struggle with them as well.
      Wishing you a great weekend
      Klem xxx
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Dear Amy,
      our dear Bookfayries worked with our gifted gardener many nights to paint these shelves and case.
      Thanks and wishing you an easy weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

    • Hi, dear Peter,
      we would come with our fine fairy brushes to paint and oil your cupboard, we would do it with pleasure. Poor books always need a lovely place to wait for a new home.
      See you then
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  13. Very attractive bookcase, Dina. Love the floral decorations. I’ve seen one in our neighborhood. It must feel great to support this excellent initiative for the love of reading books. ❤

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Good morning, dear Olga,
      we had the feeling that we have to do something as book-lovers.
      Painting these floral decorations is a speciality of our gardener who lives with Siri and Selma in a fairy world. He loves painting after having worked hard in the garden.
      With lots of love from the sunny sea
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

  14. Fab Four of Cley,
    Our development has one and i started one at work (before I retired). They are a great idea for people. The recycling idea should be universal.
    Enjoy your weekend, my friends!
    GP Cox

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

    • Good morning, dear GP Cox,
      especially Siri 🙂 and 🙂 Selma remind us every day how important recycling is for their future. And as book-lovers and Bookfayries we had to take action.
      We wish our dear friend on the other side of the big water a very happy weekend as well.
      Love
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

  15. I can see a few books that I’ve read or would like to read, so I wouldn’t worry about censorship. 🙂 🙂 I’ve seen this kind of thngg in small villages, sometimes in a bus shelter, and it’s a great idea. There’s nothing that lifts the spirit more than a good book. Well, unless you count book fairies, of course. 🙂 Have a happy weekend of reading!

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    • Good morning, dear Jo,
      you are so right, ‘there is nothing that lifts the spirit more than a good book’. It transports into another world like in the fairy tales, when you step through the mirror into Otherland. And books are such a door into the magical world of words and phantasies.
      Thanks a lot and wishing you a wonderful weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 1 person

  16. Brilliant idea and beautiful little library! I always leave books I’ve read but don’t need to keep on the doorstep and when I get home they’re always gone, hopefully to a happy home. And luckily I’m not the only one doing this around here.😊
    Have a fabulous weekend! 😄📚

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    • Dear Sarah,
      we know in Berlin as in the other German towns and city there are many of these free bookshelves. Last time we have been to Germany we found great books in such public bookshelf at Münster. We did never know where to put the books we have read (or not read) we don’t want to keep. Now, this Little Free Library is our solution.
      Wishing you a wonderful weekend as well
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 2 people

  17. Hello Dina & Co. – – How nice! And nicely decorated. It’s hard to part with books, sometimes, but a good feeling to pass along one you’ve enjoyed. Some of the villages here have smaller versions of this, like little jelly cupboards on posts.
    Perhaps the fairies would like to add their own book endorsements – – I know someone who has a box of gold foil labels, which she embosses in the manner of an imaginary notary, and sticks on documents, when she wishes to impress bureaucrats in certain old-fashioned countries. Siri & Selva could add their Gold Medal Seal of Approval. Happy weekend! RPT

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Dear Robert,
      Siri 🙂 and 🙂 Selma love your idea of their highly exclusive Gold Medal Seal of Approval. As Bookfayries they are THE experts on books.
      You wouldn’t believe it but several of our dear Master’s books were published by a big international publisher who glued a golden seal to all his books saying approved by us (meaning the publisher), well …
      Anyway, thanks a lot for commenting and wishing you a great weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

    • Yes, that was meant to be, to give the bookcase a flair of mystery. And thanks for liking the paintwork of Peter, Siri 🙂 and 🙂 Selma. They are very proud of their paintings.
      The association ‘Narnia’s wardrobe’ is great! The bookshelf is the door into another world. If you open its two doors you open your doors of perception.
      Wishing you a great weekend.
      Cheers
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

  19. Ihr Lieben, hier sind ja die freien Bücherschränke mittlerweile in nahezu jedem Ort zu finden, aber lange nicht so schön wie eurer!!! Ein Lob an den Gärtner und klar an euch, ihr lieben Feen! Dazu eine gute Idee Bücher loszuwerden. Ich tat es während meines Umzugs im letzten Jahr und staunte, dass die meisten Bücher oft schon am nächsten Tag verschwunden waren.
    Viel Erfolg wünsche ich euch, möge sich interessante Literatur einfinden 🙂
    Herzliche Grüße und euch ein schönes Wochenende, hier hat es herrlich abgekühlt, fehlt nur noch der Regen…
    Ulli

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Liebe Ulii,
      ja, wir wissen, dass in Deutschland solche freien Bücherschränke alle naslang zu finden sind. Das hat uns zu unserer Free Little Library inspiriert.
      Es ist erstaunlich, wie viel Bücher kommen und gehen. Erstaunlich ist auch, was bisweilen veröffentlicht wurde, ehrlich gesagt, wie viel Schund es gibt. Aber genauso verwundert es uns, wie viele lesenswerte Bücher es gibt, weitaus mehr, als wir je lesen können. Immerhin lesen Siri 🙂 und 🙂 Selma sie kurz an und entscheiden, was bleibt und was gleich weitergegeben wird. Es ist für uns alle interssant, denn wir werden uns mehr und bewusst, wie wir Bücher einschätzen.
      Auch hier ist es kühler geworden. Heute ist es bewölkt. Wir haben um die 18 Grad C und eine leichte Seebrise. Hier hat in der letzte Woche genug Regen gegeben, so dass wir etwas über tausend Liter sammeln konnte, was bis zum eh feuchten Herbst langen wird.
      Mit lieben Grüßen vom Meer auf den Berg
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  20. Hurrah for you!!!! My daughter, too, has a Little Free Library in her front garden (Portland OREGON USA). She monitors what goes in and out, just like you will learn to do. Community tastes vary, however…..children books are soooo popular….especially during our winter months when getting to the neigbourhood proper library is difficult. “Build it and they will come….” truer words spoken in many languages. I celebrate with you!!!!! Thank you for your literary encouragement and paying it forward…..!

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Thanks a lot for your commentary 🙂 🙂
      Many, many years ago we had a high street bookshop in Cologne. Then we were dealing with books, now we are on the other side, giving away and exchanging books without money getting involved. Indeed, we are quite curious to find out what our neighbours like to read. Unfortunately, we live in a village with nearly no children. We suppose that crime stories will be popular. When we did the books at the village fete, we were amazed at how many classics we sold.
      Thanks for celebrating with us. We are so excited!
      Wishing you a wonderful weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

  23. Do I like it? Your classic Art Fairyco, English style? No, I love it!! 🙂 ❤ 🙂
    Brilliant idea to bring up something like this. I have seen books being offered in pubs, churches and community rooms, but never for free. Free the books, yeeeeah!
    Love and hugs,
    Sarah xx

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    • Good morning, dear Sarah,
      Art Fairyco is great, isn’t it!
      We should start a “Free Books Party” 😉 FBP
      With lots of love ❤ ❤
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
      xxx

      Liked by 1 person

  25. I LOVE your free library and will one day visit it in person. There are several free libraries that are popping up all over Vancouver, a testament to the continued interest in reading “real” books. I especially appreciated the thoughts on books, best sellers, awards and censorship. Sending hugs and lots of love to my dear friends, the Fab Four of Cley

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Dear Clamother,
      GREAT 🙂 🙂 that you love our Little Free Library. It took us days to paint this bookcase, it was so much fun.
      We don’t think that books are out. There are more books printed than ever and people buy them. We know very, very few people who like reading longer texts on a screen. The feeling of a book, its aura, smells and touch can’t be replaced. And isn’t it special that in our throwaway-society books are saved? Through history, it was always typical for fascist and radical fundamentalist societies to destroy books. Democratic and socialist societies use to save books.
      You have to come again! You are very welcome. We have a little summerhouse under the fig tree in our garden as a room for guests. Very romantic, classic Art Fairyco 🙂 🙂
      With big hugs to Vancouver xxx
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 2 people

    • I agree that books are here to stay – I love the smell and feel of pages; and especially the sound of a turning page allowing me to continue, to see what comes next.. A few months ago, I looked at my bookshelves and decided that I should cull them again. This would be the third time going through this process. This time, I couldn’t let go of any of my books. Some had been given to me by my father, my grandmother, my siblings. If someone asks to borrow a book, I give it freely without worry of loss. If a book is not returned, I consider that it has gone on a journey to a place where it is needed. Speaking of journeys, yes we will come back. We miss our dear friends, the Fab Four of Cley.

      Liked by 1 person

    • Dear Clanmother,
      oh dear, we are horrible. We don’t like to lend out books from our private library. And as you love quotes, the painter Oskar Kokoschka once said ‘books are offended when you lend them out. Therefore those books will not come back to you”.
      We always have long discussions before we sort out books from our private library. Sorting out means for us to give away whole sections of our book collection, a space that is magically filled immediately. We had hundreds of books about gender, we gave them all away as well as our esoteric books. And, we very much regret that we gave away the collected works of Marx & Engels. At least “Capital” we should have kept.
      By the way, are you happy still with iBookshelf? We use it now for one year and gave a little more than 6000 books in and it still works fine and fast. In the beginning, we didn’t really understand the synchronising system between Dina’s and my phone. But now we checked it and we are very happy with it.
      Hoping to see you soon.
      Hugs & xxx
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 2 people

    • Dear Rebecca,
      if you have questions with the library programme we both use just feel free to ask. I am working with iBookshelf for about 1 year now and I have the feeling that I understand it.
      With ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 2 people

    • Well spotted! Do you know why? We collect Terry Pratchett (but not Crichton). Fantasy seems to be read more by younger readers, here most of our neighbours are old age pensioners like us. We noticed doing the bookstall at the village fete that crime was very popular and modern classics. We also see what people read looking at the books we get. That’s mostly crime, classics and nature books. But thanks a lot, we will look out for sci-fi and fantasy.
      Wishing you an easy weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

    • Dear Cynthia,
      great 🙂 🙂 that you like our decorations. Yeah, that’s real Art Fairyco, isn’t it? We hope it makes you smile 🙂 🙂
      Well, we are dependant on books we are getting or doubles from our own private library. There are many books we don’t know or just have heard the author’s name. We have a look at every book. If we don’t like it, we donate it to a charity, mostly to the National Trust.
      Thanks for your good wishes 🙂 🙂
      The Fab Four of Cley
      P.S.:
      You see in Dina’s picture “The Cult of the Black Virgin” by Ean Begg. We found it very inspiring. This book inspired our dear Master to several books about the colour black.

      Liked by 2 people

  32. That is great. We have a free library here in downtown Woodstock NY, and every week a young white western guy puts a lot of identical brand-new bhagavad-gitas in, and I have seen him take away other books to make room. He gave a fishy reply when I asked what he did with them, and I hope they are not thrown in the trash–the local library has sales regularly so I hope they wound up there. I have seen everything in there from romances and murder mysteries to children’s books and really good things, and several darling books about Paris from about 1923, including a red Baedeker’s, which I took and kept. If it is your private little social experiment, I think it is okay to keep out hateful material, but I think it is more inclusive to have romances and crime dramas and whatever might appeal to someone who might finding reading difficult, or an escape–and people may well leave books of any sort at all, so you never know what will wind up in there. Enjoy!

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    • Dear Donna
      We try to present all different kinds of books, except those that Siri 🙂 and 🙂 Selma call trash.
      We found quite rare books in free bookcases. A Paris-Baedeker from 1923 we would keep too.
      Some people try to manipulate those free bookcases but as our’s is not far from the house, therefore we hope we will avoid this. And this guy would be happy, we have one Bhagavad-Gita in our bookcase 😉 😉
      Thanks a lot for sharing and have a happy weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 2 people

  33. My Canadian friend has shared images of these little free libraries – they’re a wonderful idea.

    I noticed Jack Higgins among the authors and it reminded me of his many novels I read years and years ago.

    The painted cabinet (which I assume is waterproof) is a delight to the senses. It has to be one of the prettiest I’ve ever seen. Do we have them here in Australia? Probably do out in close-knit suburbs. I’m not sure. Around my area there are several libraries and many modern housing estates and apartment blocks so there isn’t that village atmosphere where everyone knows their neighbours. I suspect many little free libraries would be vandalised. I love this idea for children in particular (teaching them to share, read and care for books). So many young folk are too glued to electronic devices and trivial gossip to appreciate the fiction (or non-fiction for that matter).

    It’s about time society gave some thought to old-fashioned hobbies and pursuits. Gosh, it seems like sometimes, people don’t know how to actually talk any more.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Good afternoon, dear Vicki,
      in continental Europe, you find those free bookcases everywhere, in the middle of big cities and in the deep countryside. We have never heard of a free bookshelf being vandalized.
      We love the whole attitude of sharing books and recycling as well.
      We saw quite some young folks who turned to books after having been constantly active in social media for a while.
      Thanks for commenting and wishing you a happy weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 2 people

    • You asked the interesting question if the social class of readers can be determined by their favourite reading. We suppose that there are tendencies that modern intellectuals often like to read crime stories. As Karl Kraus already wrote, the detective is the personification of the intellect. There is a certain kind of women’s books that no man would ever read, as well as the educated middle class wouldn’t read Mills & Boons books.
      Anyway, if you know what kind of books somebody likes to read you know quite a lot about this person, we suppose.
      Thanks for commenting 🙂 🙂
      Wishing you a happy weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 2 people

    • If you look around in a bookshop nowadays you will notice that on prominent places you find crime or phantasy. It’s amazing how especially crime literature dominates the book business (like esoterics 20 years ago).
      Concerning Sci-Fi we are quite conservative, we collect Jules Verne, Asimov, Lem and Ray Bradbury – but that’s it. These are the only authors we read from this genre. Which contemporary Sci-Fi author would you recomment us to read?

      Liked by 1 person

    • When thinking about your question, Klausbernd, I realised that I hadn’t read much science fiction over the last couple of decades so I cannot provide any recommendations on contemporary Sci-Fi. Maybe you could try Anne McCaffrey’s, The Ship That Sang. That and the Frank Herbert Dune books are still in my bookcase after all these years. Regards. Tracy.

      Liked by 2 people

    • Dear Tracy,
      of course, two of Frank Herbert’s “Dune”-books I read but not Anne McCaffrey’s “The Ship That Sang”. What I really liked was “Otherland” by Tad Williams. I couldn’t stop reading all those 4 volumes.
      With kind regards
      Klausbernd 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

  37. Siri and Selma, what a lovely little free library you have created. I wonder if some of your book fayrie relations will visit to take a book, or to ask for advice on setting up their own little library. Sadly, as much as I would like one at my place, it would sure to be vandalized. 😦

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Dear Gallivanta,
      maybe it’s easier in a village. As mostly well-off pensioners are living here there is hardly any reason for aggression, most of our neighbours are quite happy. We think our Little Free Library is safe.
      Siri 🙂 and 🙂 Selma are just on a lecture tour through fairy schools to teach how to set up a Little Free Library. They founded already the LFL Society, being a member is a must for every book lover.
      Thanks a lot 🙂 🙂
      With love
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

    • Dear Cindy,
      there exists even a second volume “more Very British Problems”. Happy reading! while the author is writing “even more Very British Problems”
      Thanks and cheers
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Like

  41. There’s a lovely little phone-box library in Blacko, Lancashire, and another Free Library outside a house in Hither Green. Most of the coffee shops I frequent have one. But the one I like best, though sadly it’s not working too well, is on every 36 bus that runs from Leeds to Ripon and back. So we are getting there, here in the UK, eventually. I’d love to visit yours though!

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Dear Nurul,
      as we wrote, every book finds its lover. Just present them for being taken away or exchanged. It’s an ideal win-win-situation, you get your books away and make other people happy.
      We are very happy that you like our idea.
      Thanks and have a happy weekend – and, of course! – good luck with getting your books a new home.
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 2 people

    • Thank you very much, dear Kerry 🙂 🙂
      You know, Bookfayries just follow their feelings when seeing a book. They know if we should have it or not. They think we have to present our special style with the books we present. We haven’t decided yet.
      Anyway, we love our Little Free Library 🙂 🙂
      Wishing you a happy weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

    • We agree the books we offer are the books that other readers bring us. The choice of books represents the taste of our neighbours. It’s the readers who decide which books will be available. But nevertheless, we practise a mild censorship. We have to do this anyway as we are getting more books than we are able to present.
      Thanks and have a relaxing weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

    • Dear Peter,
      thank you very much 🙂 🙂 We are very happy and had one celebration already – even with a tiny bit of Champagne for Siri 🙂 and 🙂 Selma.
      With lots of love from the sunny sea
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 2 people

  48. What a brilliant idea. They do this in some of the pubs here, where you can take a book and return it or bring other books back. I see one on your shelves that I would like – The Morville Year. I never got to the garden but it is very close to where I lived in Shropshire. And may I say that I love the decoration of your fairy library. I just hope the Bookfayries take their responsibilities seriously and keep the books tidy and dust free 🙂

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Dear Jude,
      dear Selma immediately flew to our Little Free Library to get this book for you. If you would send us your address Selma would love to send it to you. Our Master had a short look at it. He found it rather lengthy in comparison to other books waiting to be read. So it came to our Free Little Library.
      We are so happy that you love the decorations. This classic Art Fayrico style is suiting not everyone’s taste.
      Keeping the books tidy wouldn’t be that problem, especially Selma loves it, but keeping them dust free … We will see.
      All the best and thanks for commenting
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 2 people

    • Yes, we know it’s quite common in Germany but in our area, we are one of the first ones starting a Little Free Library. Siri 🙂 and 🙂 Selma try to encourage other folks to follow their example.
      Wishing you a great Sunday and many thanks for commenting
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 2 people

    • Thank you so much for liking our library. Siri 🙂 and 🙂 Selma and our gifted gardener Peter 🙂 worked on it with lots of love. We all together decided then which books we will present in our bookshelves.
      Wishing you a wonderful Sunday
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

  55. Eine sehr schöne Idee, ihr vier.
    Vielleicht gibt es in England nicht soviele Bücher-Tausch-Schränke-Telefonzellen, weil das bei euch ja in den Kirchen oder im Supermarkt üblich ist. 🙂 ?
    Hier wird es langsam wenigstens Nachts kälter! Ein Glück!
    Ich denke gerade darüber nach, wie ich den Verfall der Gattungshierachien (Historienbild, Portrait usw.) in der Romantik am geschicktesten in meine Masterarbeit einbaue, kurzweilig und nicht lehrbuchartig……
    Einen schönen Sonntag von Susanne

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Guten Morgen, liebe Susanne,
      naja, für die Büchern in den Kirchen hier und im Supermarkt wird stets eine Spende für irendeine Wohltätigkeitsorganisation oder die Kirche selbst verlangt. Bei uns ist kein Geld im Spiel, das empfinden wir als völlig andere Qualität. Außerdem haben wir uns stets geärgert, dass bes. die Kirche als megareiche Institution ständig für alles Spenden haben möchte.
      Das fand ich beim Schreiben von Sachbüchern ebenfalls schwierig, eine Information einzubauen, ohne dass sie lehrerhaft wirkt oder es einen Stilbruch gibt. Oftmals habe ich letztendlich darauf verzichtet. Selbst eine wissenschaftliche Arbeit sollte nicht mit Infos überfrachtet werden. Meine Lektorin sagte stets: “keiner verlangt von dir, dass du alles schreibst, was du weißt.” Das war bei mir natürlich auch mit einer gewissen Eitelkeit verbunden. Ich wollte zeigen, wie klug ich bin. Allerdings goutiert solches der normale Leser ganz und gar nicht. Gerade beim Schreiben musste ich lernen, dass, wie so oft im Leben, weniger häufig mehr ist. Bei mir war’s allerdings auch so, dass ich ja noch interessante Ideen für mein nächstes Buch benötigte.
      Hier herrschen angenehme Temperaturen, so um die 23 Grad C, und es weht ein lauer Wind vom Meer.
      Herzliche Grüße vom sonnigen Meer
      Klausbernd 🙂 und der Rest der Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Guten Morgen, Klausbernd,
      ja, da hast du Recht, die Kirche hat nicht gerade wenig Geld und so ist euer Bücherregal eine gute Alternative. Es ist bestimmt spannend zu beobachten, welche Bücher den Weg zu euch finden.

      Ich denke, diese gewisse Eitelkeit, von der du in Bezug auf das “Bücher schreiben” berichtest, die habe ich bestimmt auch. Das weniger mehr ist, ist in Bezug auf meine Zeichnungen mein Motto. Ich werde es später sicher auch beim Schreiben beherzigen. Bei der kunsthistorischen Masterarbeit sind einige Informationen Pflichtprogramm und andere wiederum nur Beiwerk. Das zu entscheiden ist schon ein guter Teil der Arbeit. Immer am Thema langzusegeln und den roten Faden nicht zu verlieren will gelernt sein. Bei allem, wo ich mir nicht sicher bin, ob ich es als Info brauche, lege ich Fußnoten an. Die kann ich gut streichen, wenn es zuviel wird. Wenn ich zu Themen mehr schreiben könnte, dann markiere ich sie rot in der Arbeit und wenn ich am Ende noch Spielraum habe, wähle ich aus, worüber ich nochmehr zu schreiben.
      So sieht auch heute mein Schreibpensum aus. Ich habe etwas an falscher Position schon geschrieben und werde es heute sozusagen an aktueller Position verschieben! Thanks god! Wir haben die Textverarbeitung zur Verfügung, wo das mit copy und paste (inklusive Fußnoten) gut zu realisieren ist. Wie schwierig muss das zu Zeiten deiner Doktorarbeit gewesen sein, hast du mit der Schere gearbeitet?
      Liebe Grüße aus dem leider immer noch sehr sonnigen Deutschland von Susanne

      Liked by 2 people

    • Liebe Susanne,
      beim Schreiben (und Lesen) bekam ich meine besten Ideen für neue Bücher. Ich habe meistens erst einmal einen Plan gemacht und innerhalb dieses Plans ohne jede Begrenzung alles aufgeschrieben, was ich wusste – als Notes, ohne Fließtext zu schreiben. Dann habe ich alles in einem Ordner ‘Unverwertet’ verschoben, was zu ausschweifig war. In den Ordner kam später auch alles, was meine Lektorin strich. Danach bin ich dann diesen Ordner durchgegangen und habe die Ideen daraufhin geprüft, ob sie ausbaufähig zu einem neuen Buch oder einen Artikel waren. In die Fußnoten habe ich nur Bezüge zu anderen Texten gesetzt (die im modernen Sachbuch eh gestrichen werden). Ich bin begeisterter Fußnotenleser. Viele wissenschaftliche Autoren bringen ihre besten Ideen in den Fußnoten, finde ich.
      Als ich meine ersten Bücher schrieb, schrieb ich per Hand vor und zwar in eine Kladde halbseitig beschrieben, so dass eine halbe Seite Platz für Zusätze und Änderungen war. Dann gab’s dann mit unterschiedlichen Farben Pfeile, die Umstellungen markierten und Fn. wurden zu Endnoten. Von diesem Manuskript ausgehend wurde die erste Fassung des Textes getippt, die dann wieder farbig korrigiert wurde, aber jetzt mit den internationalen Korrekturzeichen, so dass am Schluss dieses Manuskript zur Reinschrift an ein Schreibbüro gegeben werden konnte.
      Diese Arbeitsweise war zeitaufwändiger als es heute mit dem Computer ist. Es hatte seinen Vor- und Nachteil. Man hat mehr über den Text nachgedacht, schon allein da man längere Zeit mit dem Text verbrachte. Auf der anderen Seite hat man des Aufwandts wegen späte Ideen oder kleinere übersehene Fehler unkorrigiert gelassen. Klar, ich kann heute schneller und korrekter einen Text schreiben und besonders auch schnell nachschauen, ob ich eine Idee oder Wendung bereits gebracht habe. Man kann auch fein übersichtlich die Struktur erstellen mit dem automatischen Inhaltsverzeichnis und diese Struktur dann füllen. Aber zugleich schreibt man sehr viel schneller, was meistens bedeutet, dass mehr Sprach- und Denkclischees unbewusst produziert.
      Hier haben wir seit ein paar Tagen höchst angenehme Temperaturen. Ich glaube, dieser trocken heiße Sommer ist vorbei – das wurde auch Zeit.
      Viele geniale Ideen beim Schreiben und Korrigieren
      Klausbernd 🙂
      P.S.: Für die Phase, in der du gerade bist, gibt es ein hilfreiches Buch:
      David Michael KAPLAN “Die Überarbeitung”

      Liked by 2 people

    • Danke, Klausbernd,
      ich habe das Buch gleich in der Bücherei vorbestellt und bin gespannt, was ich alles erfahren werde. Heute gehe ich in die Kunstbibliothek im Kulturforum am Potsdamer Platz. Ich habe mir ein paar Standardwerke zur Landschaft in der Romantik bestellt und bin gespannt. Ich mag den Lesesaal dort sehr, er hat etwas klassisches mit einem Hauch von Nostalgie, der meine Gedanken beflügelt. Es kommt viel auf den Ort an, wo ich mich beim Schreiben befinde. Manchmal hilft es, von meinem Schreibtisch aufzustehen und in einem Kaffee einen Kaffee zu trinken und den Text zur Korrektur mitzunehmen.
      Danke für die guten Wünsche und liebe Grüße an alle von Susanne

      Liked by 1 person

    • Guten Morgen, liebe Susanne,
      da kann ich dir zustimmen, der Ort, an dem man schreibt, beeinflusst den Ideen- und Schreibfluss. Ich schreibe z.Zt. gerne in unserem Windergarten, das ist fast wie im Garten zu sitzen. Im Winter ist mein geliebter Schreibplatz vorm offenen Kamin. Als Student habe ich fast immer in Bibliotheken geschrieben. Ich liebe die ruhig konzentrierte Atmosphäre dort.
      Welch eine Synchronizität, wir beginnen uns auch gerade mit dem Bild der Landschaft in der Romantik zu beschäftigen. Wir bekommen nämlich Ende September ein neues Auto und wollen das mit einer Fahrt ins Gainsborough-Country verbinden. Ein zu kühnen Vergleichen neigender Kunsthistoriker nannte Gainsborough den englischen Caspar David Friedrich. Der romantisch Blick von Gainsborough stellt Dina als Fotografin und uns als ihre Berater die Frage, welch ein Blick heute angemessen ist. Übrigens gibt es noch einigen Stellen in Suffolk, die Gainsborough verewigte, die sich fast nicht verändert haben. In (engl.) Kunstbüchern werden diese Stellen oft im Dunst dargestellt, der wohl das vage Vieldeutige der romantischen Seele widerspiegeln soll.
      Ich wünsche dir frohes Schreiben
      klausbernd

      Liked by 1 person

    • Guten Morgen, Klausbernd,
      ich kenne diesen Vergleich 🙂 , wobei für England meistens eher Turner und John Constable herhalten müssen. In Frankreich gilt Gericault als der große Romantiker und in Deutschland neben Friedrich, Runge, Koch und Overbeck. Horny (meine Masterarbeit) ist ein Schüler Kochs.
      In jedem Land Europas war die Romantik anders geprägt. Ich habe diese Info zur Zeit als Fußnote vermerkt, bin mir aber noch nicht sicher, ob ich sie lieber in den Text hole.
      Ich habe mich letztes Semester köstlich in der Alten Nationalgalerie in Berlin amüsiert, wir standen um Friedrichs Mönch herum und ein Kommilitone erzählte, er käme aus Rügen und wenn er nur Brötchen holen fährt, dann würde er aus dem Autofenster Friedrich sehen 😉 😉 Ihr seht dann also aus dem Autofenster Gainsborough. Ich bin gespannt auf eure Blogbeiträge.
      Liebe Grüße von Susanne

      Liked by 1 person

    • Dear Lady Fi,
      it’s great that more and more Little Free Libraries getting established 🙂 🙂 Siri 🙂 and 🙂 Selma are happy taking part in this growing movement.
      Thanks for commenting and wishing you a wonderful Sunday
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 1 person

    • Thanks a lot, we enjoy the cooler weather writing and reading outside on our terrace. We are happy that you like our artwork, these Bookfayrie-style decorations.
      Siri 🙂 and 🙂 Selma are so excited. They fly every five minutes to our Little Free Library for having a look at what is happening there.
      We wish you a great week to come
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

    • Dear Tina,
      you wouldn’t believe it but our dear 🙂 Selma is adamant about keeping up a certain standard. We let Siri 🙂 and 🙂 Selma work that out.
      There is not that much traffic right now. We suppose our neighbours have to get used to our Little Free Library. It’s interesting to hear the comments they will make meeting them in the street and lokes.
      Thanks and have a great week to come
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Hmmmm….don’t forget tho, as we say here “different strokes for different folks”! For example, although I love a serious read, or a work of an accomplished, thoughtful author, I’m currently reading a rather simple series that is a welcome pause from deep thought😊

      Liked by 2 people

    • Dear Tina
      We even sometimes read trash literature – our dear Master is always telling us that we should know these kinds of books as well, they belong to the book-family too.
      Our Master together with Siri is just reading “Einstein’s Dreams” and Selma and Dina are reading the newest Anne Holt criminal novel.
      Whatever you read enjoy reading and have a wonderful week
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  59. hello book fairies its dennis the vizsla dog hay i luv theez littel free libraries and i bet the buks do too on akkownt of they git to be passd on and red and enjoyd by sumbuddy noo!!! wich is reely all a buk wants i think!!! ok bye

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Hi, dear Dennis,
      you are so right, great dog wisdom, books want to be read. They love it being passed on and read again and again. Our clever Bookfayries knew that but now they took action and we are all very happy.
      Wishing you a great week with lots of bones and other goodies
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Like

  60. What a lovely idea and such a sweet cupboard. I was thinking about that here in London near me but I am not sure if the council would allow that as it would be on the pavement! I’ll have the Nora Roberts book please and put another one from her in, I like her! I just got more books from my sister to read….. yay!

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Good morning, dear Ute,
      we have our Little Free Library on our ground therefore, it’s no problem.
      We never read a Nora Roberts book. Now we are curious and we will have a proper look at her books. Siri 🙂 just told us that Roberts is one of the most successful writers of novels. We couldn’t believe it, about 220 novels of her are published. That makes us even more curious. Thanks a lot for mentioning her.
      Wishing you a happy week
      The Fab four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 2 people

  62. I love that you book faeries made this happen….and in such a whimsical style. 🙂 We have them here in the Pacific northwest – they just appear on random street corners, it seems. A great way to circumvent commercialism. 🙂 Have a good week!

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Dear Bluebrightly.
      our clever Bookfayries made this happen. They are great, aren’t they?
      Such free libraries not only circumvent commercialism they also help to recycle and make a lot of users happy.
      We wish you a wonderful week as well
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 2 people

  63. Ahh. Some good, escapist, reads. Several Jack Higgins (Henry Patterson), but not my fave, The Eagle Has Landed. The Girl On The Train. I’ll bet that’s good. And a Jack Reacher thriller, not played by Tom Cruise. You boookfayries are really something.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Dear John,
      do you know that “The Eagle Has Landed” plays around and in our village? We live not far from the church which plays an important role in Higgins’ novel. Higgins wrote part of this novel while living in a hotel in our next village (Blakeney) and walked daily to Cley next the Sea where we live.
      Yes, our Bookfayries are great, the greatest 🙂 🙂 We are more than happy to have them.
      Wishing you a relaxed week
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 2 people

    • Thanks a lot, dear Joanne 🙂 🙂
      In the US even exists a Free Library organisation helping people setting one up, building a bookcase and spread the word.
      Great that you like our decorations.
      Wishing you an easy week
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 2 people

    • Dear Jacqui,
      those books are doubles or books we sorted out from our private library and books we are given by our neighbours. Our personal reading style is not exactly what people use to read. Our dear Master f.e. likes to read postmodern Novels. And what we like we keep for ourselves anyway. We quite often have to judge books we don’t know and we wouldn’t read.
      After three days now people take and bring books. We are getting much more books than taken out,
      It’s easy in a drive, it’s fun and we get to know other book lovers.
      In your country exists a Little Library Society helping you to get one up.
      Thanks for commenting and wishing you a happy day
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Dear Louis,
      thank you 🙂 🙂
      After three days now we already get more books than taken out. There is quite an exchange going on. And, of course, our neighbours start to speak about it. Everbody we meet in the High Street likes our Free Little Library.
      You like to read historical fiction, we regularly get these books but they are immediately taken. There seem to be neighbours who share your interest. We are Umberto Eco fans and still like his “The Name of the Rose” and the one about the cemetery in Prague. Siri and our dear Master are rather reading novels for their style, they really get enthusiastic about a well-written book, remember the technique and structure, but if we ask them what the plot was, they hardly remember it. Whereas Selma and our dear Dina like to read Nordic literature for the content. But we all like to learn something new in an easy way by reading a novel.
      Wishing you an easy week
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

  68. Dear friends next the sea (love the image in the header!),
    I think this is a truly great idea! Well done, all of you, including Peter. 🙂 Your free little library looks wonderful. Art Fairyco, love it. ❤ 🙂 You never know who you are inspiring…across the North Sea, the big pond – and to quote Dr. Seuss, “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”
    Sending you hugs
    Klem
    Hjerter ❤

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Our dear Norwegian friend ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤
      Thank so much for your kind words 🙂 🙂
      We help to make unwanted books wanted again. And, of course, Bookfayries have to do something like this. It makes them happy 🙂 🙂
      To your quote an addition going back J.W. Goethe: The more you know, the more you see.
      Big hugs xxx
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

  69. How lovely! 🙂 I have never seen a little free library in London, but apparently 10 are popping up across Walthamstow in east London as part of this summer’s E17 Art Trail. Mini-library enthusiasts enjoy exchanging books, getting to know their neighbours – and pruning their book collections. Why should I wait for one to pop up near me when I could start my own …? 😉
    What are you reading momentarily? Really enjoyed your recommendations in an earlier post, especially “I’m Pilgrim”!
    Best wishes,
    Sarah x

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Dear Sarah,
      Siri 🙂 and our Master have just finished “Icebreaker” by Horatio Clare, a book about Finland and the life on an icebreaker. It’s easy to read but nothing special. Now they read “Einstein’s Dreams” by Allan Lightman. An interesting book about time. Selma and Dina read the newest book by Anne Holt. They say it starts slowly but it gets better and better the longer you read it. Our Master reads also “A Higher Loyalty” by James Comey. His last commentary: This book makes you think that the CIA is an organisation with the highest ethical standards.
      We all read “I am Pilgrim” together and couldn’t stop.
      Great idea, start your own Free Little Library. It makes sense, it’s fun 🙂 🙂
      Wishing our dear friend a great week
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  70. Schaute gerade “Elimination Dance”…
    …
    Man glaubt es kaum, was man in eurer Bibliothek alles findet…
    Und ich sage euch: Im Odenwälder Waldschwimmbad gibt es am Eingang auch eine Kiste mit Büchern, man kann sich einfach so bedienen!
    Neben eurem Kunstwerk, sieht sie allerdings erbärmlich aus und der Inhalt kann auch nicht ganz dem Niveau folgen, aber besser als nix!
    Superb!!

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Guten Morgen, liebe Pia,
      naja, unser Bücherschrank wurde auch von begeisterten Buchfeen und einem begabten Gärtner gestaltet. Sie setzten all ihren Ehrgeiz hinein, etwas wunderbar Feenhaftes zu schaffen,
      Die Bücher sind so eine bunte Mischung von dies und das zwischen Frauenliteratur und Krimi mit ein paar Klassikern dazwischen.
      Mit lieben Grüßen vom kleinen Dorf am großen Meer
      The ab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

    • Und – wenn ich die Lupe nehme, entdecke ich da Dinge! Liebe Leute!
      Steht es draußen auf dem Weg, auf der Zufahrtsstraße…ich meine, könnte ich dem Postboten auf sein Päckchen schreiben: You wont miss the house, look for the Bookfairies Library, bring a bag, you can get some books there and do not forget to smile, you will feel better while working….bringing parcels and letters to the people

      Liked by 2 people

    • Unser Postbote, liebe Pia, hat unsere Little Free Library schon lächelnd bewundert. Klar, jeder hier weiß inzwischen von unserem Bücherschrank an der Straße. Und Bücher kommen und gehen auch schon.
      Mit lieben Grüßen vom heute regnerischen Cley
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  71. This is such a great idea, Siri and Selma, you both do deserve to feel proud. ~ it is brilliant. I’ve seen companies and churches do this in the USA, but never individuals, really simple and brilliant. Your discussion on censorship is interesting too, as I would want to control the books I put out as well…I never even considered this to be censorship, but in a sense it really is. I like Selma’s thought of “Every book finds its lover” which is a good statement to have when allowing all books, no matter race, creed, or color 🙂 Wishing you all a great day ahead.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Good morning, dear Dalo,
      great that you like Siri’s and Sema’s project. They are still very excited running down our drive to the street looking which books have gone and which new books we got.
      Censorship – well, we became aware of it when we decided which books to present and which books we pass on to charities. It’s the same challenge at our private library. In topics, we collect we more or less keep every book. But we are on our limits now to be able to store books. So especially Dina and Selma sort out what they think it’s trash or quite battered books. In our Free Little Library, we only present books in good condition and books that are not contradicting our beliefs. But we didn’t sort out too many books for ideological reasons. Doing such a public bookcase you become aware that it has an educational dimension. With the books we present we give a statement. – Anyway, we find these questions interesting and Siri 🙂 and 🙂 Selma will write a paper about it for their fairy school.
      We wish you all the best and say ‘Thank you!’ for commenting
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

    • Good morning, dear Julie,
      happy reading! By the way, it isn’t dry anymore here, today it’s raining 🙂 🙂
      It’s great that there are more and more free libraries. Siri 🙂 and 🙂 Selma love to play librarians.
      One great advantage of doing our little library is that we read books – or at least look at books – we would never have noticed before.
      We are curious how you like “The Dry”.
      Thanks and cheers
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

  74. I first met this concept during my years in Liberia, where libraries were non-existent and new reading material was like gold. Books were swapped freely, and the topic didn’t matter. Surgeons read escapist romance novels, and gardeners read Greek dramas. Everyone read mysteries. Later, I met the same practice in the cruising community. Marinas had shelves full of books just like your little free library, for people to take or leave books — or, as you say, to do both. In the most remote anchorage in the islands, you could count on hearing three questions: “How’s the weather looking?”, “Who’s hosting happy hour?”, and “You got any books?”

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Our idea was originally born on the sea as well. All the icebreakers we sailed on in the High Arctic had such free libraries usually full of quite interesting books. And many, many years ago when we travelled in Nepal and Tibet one of the first questions was “Have you got some books to read?” when you were meeting other travellers.
      We see it as a big advantage that we have a look at books we would never know about otherwise.
      Wishing you an easy rest of the week
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 3 people

  75. It’s a perfect idea! I like the moral issues it throws up, too… (And yes, isn’t the ‘Bestseller’ phenomenon’ strange – so very many to choose from, so few worth reading beyond the blurb and the “B&Q Bookshelf Award Prizewinner 2012” citation…)

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Dear RH
      thank you very much for liking our beloved Bookfayries’ idea.
      The ‘Bestseller’-phenomenon is a kind of disease of the book business. There is no definition of what a bestseller is and so nearly every book is called Bestseller – even if it hardly sells. We don’t think that the sticker ‘Bestseller’ makes a book sell better. We have some friends avoid reading books called ‘Bestseller’ by their publishers. We are always quite hesitant to read Bestsellers but we have to admit we read some really good ones (as well as trash).
      Wishing you a great rest of the week
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 3 people

  76. My dear friends, here I’m again. I spent some days at my stuga without any technology at all, a detox as you’d call it.
    I like the idea of planting free little library outside my stuga on the island, but then again I’m not there all the time so I’ll give it some thought.
    A friend of mine in Minneapolis started a Little Free Library — a community book exchange — in front of her bungalow. I remember well that the response from the neighborhood was immediate, and immediately positive.
    The miniature library started getting visitors within the first five minutes it was open for business. Neighbors stopped by to drop off a favorite book; kids came to find a good bedtime story; cars pulled over to check it out. Even after the honeymoon period wore off, visitors kept coming to trade books — like they’d taken the post office’s oath — through snow, rain, sun, and more snow. (This was Minnesota, after all.)

    Hope you have had some more rain lately and that your garden are recovering.
    Take care.
    Kram, Annalena Xx

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Our dear friend Annalena,
      our Little Free Library starts a bit slower but we have quite some traffic there as well. Free Libraries is a movement in the western world that’s expanding. So we are following the zeitgeist.
      It’s raining just now and quite heavily. It fills our water butts and it’s watering our plants. They love it 🙂 🙂 And, thank you, our garden is recovering quite fast because we had some rain two days ago as well. So we are all happy again 🙂 But we think that’s the summer’s end.
      With lots of love ❤ ❤ ❤
      KRAM
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  77. When I read your first-paragraph mention of fascism, I’d just come from https://quoteinvestigator.com/2017/03/04/anti-fascism/, where I’d found two versions of a statement from the 1930s: “When the United States gets fascism, it will call it anti-fascism” and “The fascists of the future will be called anti-fascists.” That has already come to pass in the United States. There’s a group here that calls itself Antifa, for Anti-Fascist, that has created riots, assaulted people, and caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages when it has protested speakers with whom the group disagrees.

    On a more pleasant note, it’s great to make books available. The woman who lives two doors down from me has one of those book exchange boxes in front of her house. The branches of the Austin Public Library raise money by letting people donate books and then reselling them at $2 per hardcover and $1 per paperback. The library also has an area where people trade magazines.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Dear Steve,
      Antifa was the German – and we suppose the Italian word as well – for the anti-fascist movement. We didn’t about the so-called Antifa in the US. Strange that they seem more to be like Profa. Wasn’t it Marcuse in his “The One-Dimensional Man” who wrote that people and especially politicians often implore just the opposite of what they are and what they want.
      In our Little Free Library, no money is involved.
      Oh dear, just guests are coming. I have to finish.
      Love and thanks
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

    • Good afternoon, dear Ginny,
      we are specialised in Nordic literature as Dina is Norwegian and our Master was brought up in Sweden and studied Nordic literature and philosophy. We collect and read a lot about explorers and expeditions, especially Arctic exploration and nautical literature as well as books about books. Our dear Master collects middleval literature (like facsimiles of illuminated manscripts) and like most booklovers first and signed editions. Siri 🙂 and 🙂 Selma love the Peanuts.
      We collect books in German, English and Nordic languages.
      What do you like to read?
      Thanks for commenting and have an easy week
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

    • To the Fab Four is Cley, thank you for your warm welcome. I don’t know a great deal about Norway but I hope to visit one day, having spent a beautiful summer in Asele, Sweden several years ago. I loved the tranquility of life there and the friendly neighbourhoods and traditional arts and crafts.
      I enjoy reading a range of books. Favourites include children’s literature and YA fiction due to my work in teaching and theatre. I enjoy classics too and I’m always looking for stories that can be adapted for the stage.
      I enjoy a good psychological thriller from time to time. Last year I enjoyed ‘I am Pilgrim’ and have noted your review. 😊
      I have two blogs – one on theatre and one on children’s literature. I love reading with my toddler and hope to create a blog of book reviews to catalogue our reviews and my recommendations for when she is older and reflecting on her own reading experiences.
      Happy reading, Ginny 😊 📚

      Liked by 2 people

    • Good morning, dear Ginny,
      that sounds GREAT. We will immediately visit your blogs. You made us very curious!
      Do you know the thrillers by the Swiss author Joel Dicker (he writes in French)? They are quite clever.
      Bloggin is a good way of cataloging your reviews. In a way we catalogue our ideas in our blog as well.
      Unfortunately we don’t know much about children’s book therefore we will look at your blog from now on.
      All the best, thank you and HAPPY READING
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

    • You are too kind. Thank you for your recommendations and thoughtful advice. I will look up Joel Dicker! 😊 Thank you also for visiting my blogs 😄
      Kind wishes 🌈📚🎭

      Liked by 2 people

  80. What an excellent idea! Dare I? I don’t think you can draw lines between ‘suitable’ and ‘unsuitable’ publications, although I’ve an uncomfortable feeling that in my environs I would end up with a cabinet full of ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Dear Frederick,
      well, you find “Fifty Shades of Grey” nearly everywhere where second-hand books are sold. We get a lot of crime, classics and books about nature.
      We follow our feelings and taste to judge which book is ‘suitable’ or not. Once a month we bring lots of (unsuitable) books to charities.
      Thanks and wishing you an easy week
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

  81. A very good way of giving your unwanted books a new lease of life! We have a phone box library in St Margaret South Elmham, the village next to ours, and I use it now and then. We also have a yearly book sale at St James South Elmham which raises lots of money for St James church. We donate and buy books from the sale so we always have too many books in our house! I love your pretty bookshelf!

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Dear Clare,
      we exactly know that problem of having too much books in the house. We organise our private library with the help of a library programme to keep an overview and to find books.
      Thanks for liking our bookshelf. Siri 🙂 and 🙂 Selma loved to design the decorations of this shelf. They think that books need a beautiful ‘house’.
      All the best and thanks for commenting
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

    • Dear Clare,
      I use iBookshelf and have recorded our first 10.000 books now. I am still happy with this programme. But, wow, it takes a while to record the books. It took me nearly a year for the first 10.000 books. iBookshelf has the advanage that it can store bigger numbers of books without problems. But I don’t scan the books anymore as it takes more space. A disadvantage: This progamme can only give one category for a book. Most of the other programmes are only of use for little book collections up to 5000 books.
      Oh dear, that sounds like an advertisment for iBookshelf 😉
      All the best
      Klausbernd 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

    • Good afternoon, dear Nia,
      GREAT that you like our Little Free Library 🙂 🙂 We can’t pass such bookshelves and charity shops without looking at the books. And we found quite some rarities there.
      Wishing you a happy week as well
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

  85. Lesen ist eine unglaublich wirksame Technik den Geist zu aktivieren!
    Habe mir überlegt, eine Kiste in den Gang zu stellen…es liegen ja überall Bücher herum, aber nicht einfach so zum Mitnehmen…
    Danke für die Idee!!
    Ja und ich glaube daran, dass viele ihre auch abgeben und immer genug da sein werden für den Austausch…
    Liebe Grüße!!!

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Guten Morgen, liebe Pia,
      ja, es kommen so viele Bücher zusammen, dass wir gar nicht alle präsentieren können. Allerdings sind einige derart verrumpelt, dass wir sie gleich weitergeben. Wir stellen nur Bücher im guten Zustand in unsere Little Free Library.
      Das meinen wir auch, Lesen ist super, den Geist beweglich zu halten.
      Dann mach’s mal gut.
      Ganz liebe Grüße
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Hi,
      thank you VERY much for your kind words 🙂 🙂
      We are just cataloguing our private library and we love it, to organize our books in a system that makes sense (for us). We use an electronic library programme. But, oh dear, that takes a while. It took us nearly a year for the first 10.000 books – well, we didn’t work on it every day. We like organising things and making lists. By the way, Umberto Eco reflected quite cleverly about lists.
      Wishing you a great weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 2 people

  87. As a book lover myself, I love any kind of libraries. And this free street library is an excellent idea. I have seen it many places, but yours is definitely one of the most inviting. Beautiful design. But sensorship? Goes against my ingrained believe system. But then it’s of course not my library. 🙂 Are you going to read all books people leave in the box, before they will be allowed to stay?

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    • Good morning, dear Otto,
      no, we don’t read every book people leave in a box. We take a look, read a few sentences and then look in the net what’s written about the author and the book. The advantage is that we get to know quite a lot of books we would never look at otherwise.
      Censorship yes or no – well, that is a delicate question. On one hand, we are against censorship as well, on the other hand, we have to sort out books because we are getting more than we can present. We asked ourselves, of course, how do we judge a book. Dina and Selma make sure that no battered books are presented. That makes sense. Our dear Master and Siri 🙂 are looking more what’s the message a book transports. We get sometimes books that idealise the war, transporting a hero-cult. We pass those books on to charities, we don’t want to have them on our public bookshelf. We came around this question many years ago. Do you know “Storm of Steel” by Ernst Jünger? It’s no question that it is classic of war literature and well written, but do we agree with Jünger’s hero-cult? And what’s about fascist and racist literature? One has to know it to be able to be against it. We read Hitler’s “My Struggle” (and like very much the commentaries of Karl Ove Knausgard about this book) but we would not present it in our library. If we want it or not, our Little Free Library is closely connected to our image in the village. Or do you remember the discussions about Jens Bjørneboe’s “Uten en tråd”? We would present such soft-porn (especially if it’s that well written). Well, we are touchy about the political site but liberal concerning sex. You can call that a ‘personal taste’.
      We suppose if you run such a Free Library you can’t avoid practising censorship. We think it’s important to become aware of it and to reflect your criteria for judging.
      Thanks for commenting 🙂 🙂
      Wishing you a great weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

    • Thank you for clearing up for me the way you see censorship enforced at your library. My stand is still that we need to see and know about what we dislike or disagree with. At the same time, I see there is a practical question about how to manage a small and free library. And, yes, I do remember the discussion about Bjørneboe’s book, which of course may seem a little ridiculous today. And even more so the discussion around Agnar Mykle earlier on.

      Liked by 2 people

    • Dear Otto,
      oh dear, we just notice that we judge in a kind of arrogant way. We don’t think that people can judge for themselves. Actually, we don’t think that people can judge like we do 😉
      We can’t solve the question of censorship, but handeling our Free Library we have to practise it. For Siri 🙂 and our dear Master 🙂 one of the positive effects of running this library is to think about censorship and to reflect our personal ideology.
      By the way, we like Agnar Mykle’s novels 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

  88. Habe eine Frage: Ist euch die Idee für den Feenbücherschrank bei einem Spaziegang am Meer gekommen? Mit hohen Wellen?
    Das Wasser sieht so unglaublich schön aus! Die Farbe!!
    Meine russiche Freundin Elena zeigt gerade eine schöne Ausstellung “Wasserbilder” in Deidesheim, Museeum für Film-und Fotokunst….
    ..wir müssen unseren Geist füttern, rein halten, damit die Meere sauber und lebendig bleiben (…), die hohen Wellen nicht fürchten…
    ??? Naja, das sind die Fragen, die ich mir selbst zu beantworten denke….
    Derweil schicke ich euch herzliche Grüße und Dank

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Guten Abend, liebe Pia,
      Das ist es: “wir müssen unseren Geist füttern, rein halten, damit die Meere sauber und lebendig bleiben”
      Naja, wir leben zwar eine Meile vom offenen Meer entfernt, aber dennoch leben wir mit dem Meer. Auch wenn man es nicht sieht, weiß man, wann Ebbe und Flut ist. So haben unsere beiden Buchfeen zusammen mit Peter einfach losgemalt und schwuppdiwupp zeigte sich auch da das Meer. Es ist eben allgegenwärtig hier. Wie vielleicht bei dir der Rhein?
      Einen schönen Abend und liebe Grüße
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Dear Charlotte,
      exactly, we want to give these books a chance of rehoming.
      We often have hot discussions if we should part from a poor book in our private library.
      Thanks and have a happy evening
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 2 people

  91. Ist das eine tolle Idee. Ich habe so etwas im Urlaub gesehen. Allerdings war der Schrank bei weitem nicht so hübsch wie eurer. Also viel Spaß mit dem neuen Projekt. LG Nele

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Guten Morgen, liebe Nele,
      Siri :-), die heute Namenstag hat, und 🙂 Selma lieben es, mit unserem exzentrischen Gärtner zu malen. Alle drei leben in einer Feenwelt, die von Naturgeistern belebt ist.
      Wir senden dir liebe Grüße vom kleinen Dorf am großen Meer
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

  93. Would I have lived near you, I would have been a diligent visitor, leaving and picking up books, not unlike a mouse ferreting out nibbles in a cheese cave. This is a wonderful idea, Dina and Klausbernd. I am inspired by it for someday when we have a house of our own.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  94. Good for you, and good for the people in your neighborhood, for having access to a Free Library (this concept is quite popular in the US as well). Peter did a wonderful job painting the shelves. I wish I could swing by an pick one of your volumes.
    Bookish greetings,
    Tanja

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Good evening, dear Tanja,
      here in Norfolk, the idea is quite new but in continental Europe, it’s quite popular as well.
      Siri :-), Selma 🙂 and Peter did a great job. They loved to paint this little bookcase.
      Thanks and bookish greetings back
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

    • Dear Marylou,
      we love to do those things and Siri 🙂 and 🙂 Selma immediately take the initiative when we have such an idea.
      Wishing you a relaxing evening
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Like

  97. I absolutely love this idea of a Little Free Libraries. I’m president of Friends of the Knox County Public Library in Knoxville, Tennessee, and we have many companies and individuals who have Little Free Libraries. The idea is brilliant — exchanging books with one another freely! But you’ve brought up an interesting point. When do you censor, if at all. Thanks for posting!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Do you have a kind of objective criteria for which books you don’t present at your Knox Country Public Library?
      We just choose from the donated book following our taste. Nevertheless, we have our political views. Racist and right-wing books, books glorifying the war and/or violence we throw in the bin. It’s harder to judge on the aesthetic level. What do we do with books with a horrible style?
      Another question is if we have a pedagogic responsibility for running such a little library.
      We were amazed at how many questions arise running such a bookshelf.
      With lots of love and thanks for commenting
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Like

    • We really don’t have any criteria for the Little Free Libraries. They are managed in various subdivisions by volunteers. But now that I’ve read your post, we need to take a look at managing them better. Thanks for all the suggestions and “food for thought.”

      Liked by 1 person

    • Dear Deborah,
      one Little Free Library for children’s books and one for books for grown-ups, that’s great!
      Thank you very much for your commentary.
      All the best
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

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  102. What a wonderful gift you’ve given to your community! There are several of these in my neighborhood and I visit them often (always with gratitude and enthusiasm). The question of censorship is a difficult one, however. It’s your library, so perhaps the best approach is to keep only the books YOU would want to read.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Hi, dear Heide,
      indeed, we decided to present only these books we want. We love caring for our Little Fee Library. Now after a month time it’s frequent regularly. Our user are mostly interested in crime and any form of suspense.
      Wishing you a great day
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

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  106. I’d noticed In the Skin of a Lion on the shelf even before I saw the last photo. I have it right here on my special favourites’ pile. I wonder if it’s still there or somebody got an unexpected gift of the year. Lovely project!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Dear MMM
      it’s gone! All those books you see in our little free library are gone. Now we have a bigger book stall as we got lots of books.
      Thanks and cheers
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 2 people

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