Initially I had set out to do all the registered Little Free Libraries in Newport in one day. You know, something to do while I was killing time here anyway. In each I’d leave a signed copy of one of my books and it’d be a lot of fun. However, I failed to recognize two things: the mind-boggling amount of traffic this tiny island has and 2: how very little patience I have for it. Oh, and how much excess traffic also equals no parking. This was not an adventure for a car but that’s how I went about it anyway. As such this took me three different excursions even though you could probably walk to each. Below are photos I took and some musings on every one I could find.

112 Bliss

122 Bliss was actually really sweet. I fund it on a grey day where it was threatening to rain and somehow that just made it all the better. It is, as you can see, pained to look like a little grey house. And it was plenty loved! On this particular day it was busting with the usual pulp fiction and crime novels. I liked its lovely unique character.

384 Broadway

I like 384 Boradway because of the amount of pedestrian traffic it must see. It is located in some prime real estate for people walking by. In fact this was so much the case that the first time I went to find it traffic distracted me too much to see it but that being said you’d definitely see it if you were walking in this area. It was quiet, demure, and well maintained, filled almost entirely with two shelves worth of tawdry romance and crime drama. I’m definitely noticing these seem to be the most favored genres and if I am to believe the spines on these books they are WELL loved.

45 Weaver

45 Weaver struck me as particularly sweet not just because of the fetching Tardis Blue box but also the fact its owners were giving away free plants at its base. Double the fun!

26 Homer Street

26 Homer Street was in a cozy little neighborhood where I found ample parking on this particular day. It was interesting more because of its contents than its looks. Here there were the usual thick and very adult romances and crime dramas but also a corner that seemed to be reserved for grade school age chapter books? It’s possible they were all left by the same person just trying to move them on… or maybe this is a thing with this location. Not sure. There was nothing on the outside of it to make me think it was intended for a child audience but who knows. It’s good to be inclusive I guess.

26 Homer Street

26 Homer Street was interesting because it showed up at random rather recently. It wasn’t in my first Free Little Library searches. I decided I would be the first to check in on it in a somewhat official manner. Indeed it’s a little unusual. It appeared to be a home made box with an unusual lock to keep the door closed. Inside I found it mostly empty. A few books seemed to have been placed in here in hope… I left an author’s proof copy of Milking the Cat that I felt was a sufficiently odd choice for such an odd box.

Prairie Ave

Prairie Ave took me two tries to find because it appears they may have changed the address numbers on the whole street recently. I think the address is somewhere around 20 not 7. Still. Once I slowed down to take a good look it wasn’t hard to find and there was a ton of parking on this particular day so I didn’t even have to walk. I loved this one because it’s made from a stained glass window which gives it so much class and character and the books I found within were equally as unique. This was the first time I found an old volume that I might find in a dusty attic – I think it was printed in the 1950’s. It was encyclopedia of great composers and their music. Aside it was next to a copy of Romeo and Juliet, the Crucible, the first anime I’ve ever seen in a little library (Fullmetal Alchemist volume 6) a hardcover copy of 50 Jobs Worse Than Yours, and something titled The End of Nature. Bizarre. Truely the weirdest collection yet.

BONUS LIBRARIES:

I was unable to locate the Free Little Library at the community center on 20 Dr Marcus F Wheatland Blvd. This may be because it was inside the center and I… was not comfortable enough as an out-of-stater to check out. I also passed by a Little Library in a neighborhood near the beaches at one point but where I was I couldn’t tell you. And finally there’s one rumored to be on Spring Street which… if I had any reason to walk the length of Spring Street I’d totally check out otherwise I’d rather not slowly drive down this preposterously long one-way street pissing off traffic as I peer to either side of the street looking. Oh and fuck trying to find parking there. Nooooope. Gonna pass on that one!