Little Free Library

A Little Free Library by Naomi Kritzer is a beautiful short story that reminds readers that magic can be found in anything. As a reader, I know the magic and power of the written word. Books have power, whether it is to escape, learn, or become enthralled.

And one of the best things a reader can do is share their love for specific books with new readers freely—no strings attached, which is why Little Free Libraries are such a cool concept. You get a kit, a box, a refrigerator... anything that can keep the books out of the rain, and you fill it with your past reads and share it with your community, take a book, leave a book. You have no idea what you will get.

In this story, the narrator and owner of the Little Free Library lovingly builds a box for her front yard and fills it full of her favorites. A little Belgariad, some Lord of the Rings, top it off with some Terry Pratchett.

What does she get back? A little magic, and mystery of course.

This story made me smile so much. We readers are always looking for the bits of magic in the real world because the real world can be so dull. This story shows that it can pop up in the most wondrous of places.

It was a pleasant read, but there wasn't enough meat on the bones for me. It takes just long enough to introduce a compelling concept, but the ending felt like dropping a hot potato.

It's very “Hey! How about this cool idea?”; “Yes... and?”; “Nah, that's it.”

I do generally enjoy open endings without the conventional resolutions; I don't need to have all the ends tied up. However, I felt that this one didn't quite stick the landing and I think needed more time to develop things. I've only really started getting into short stories recently, so I'm not sure if this is a trapping of the format, though I've read other Tor short stories recently that I think did accomplish this kind of open ending with more success and satisfaction.

It did inspire me to possibly start a little library on my front fence, so, that was fun.