Month: October 2018

Little Free Libraries: Sad but Inspirational!

~ Becky Ross Michael ~ 33 Comments

A Sad Farewell to a Good Man – this is from Jon at Children’s Book Insider.

(I’d love to read comments about your experience, if you own or have used a Little Free Library!    ~Becky)

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Todd Bol, 1956-2018

Todd Bol passed away last week, at the age of 62. You may not know the name, but you’ve seen his impact.

If you’ve passed by a home, or a firehouse, or a school that has a Little Free Library out in front, you’ve met Todd. You see, Todd is the man who thought the whole thing up, and then spread this beautiful idea around the globe.

He didn’t do it for money, nor fame. He just wanted more people to read, and more neighbors to get to know one another.

Today, 77,000+ Little Free Libraries later, Todd’s simple idea is putting books into the hands of millions, and creating tighter, more connected neighborhoods in the process.

I had the privilege of interviewing Todd as one of the very first guests on my podcast, DISRUPTOR. He was a lovely, thoughtful and deeply inspiring man.

A friend who heard the interview when it posted told me she wept just listening to such a decent man who viewed the world not with anger or distress, but as a garden for dreams to flower. And books were his water.

When the news of his passing came out, she texted me to tell me how gutted she was to hear about the loss of a man she had only known for the duration of a 30 minute recording. I feel the same way, and so do many, many others in the publishing community.

I invite you to take 30 minutes to meet Todd. His words will forever change your attitude about whether a regular person like *you* can have a massive impact for good.

Be inspired by what he’s done, and help carry his torch of understanding, knowledge and love of reading onward. And please share this interview so others may know this remarkable man.

Rest in Peace, Todd. May a million Little Free Libraries bloom in your memory.
Todd Bol, Little Free Lib

Episode 2 – Todd Bol of Little Free Library

What started as a hobby has become one of the book world’s most exciting adventures. Meet the man behind Free Little Library, and learn how he’s bringing free books to millions of readers!

Listen to podcast here

You can find the Podcast on iTunes here

All the best,

Jon

“The Rules of Magic” : Basic Human Truths

~ Becky Ross Michael ~ 25 Comments

 

One of the reasons that I attend several book clubs is for motivation to try new genres and authors. Although I’ve read some books in the past that would be considered paranormal, I don’t know that I would have chosen to read The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman unless it had been a book club pick. It isn’t AT ALL what I expected.

This book is a prequel to Practical Magic, for which there is also a movie that I’ve never seen. Possibly it was the picture on the movie ad that made me expect The Rules of Magic would be light, autumnal entertainment. Not so; in fact, tears came to my eyes countless times in the reading. Yes, the blurb DOES mention “loss,” but I just didn’t anticipate the feelings this book would evoke.

Don’t get me wrong, there are many paranormal elements to the story, especially as the children…Franny, Jet, and Vincent break more and more of their mother’s rules aimed at protecting them from their history and connections to magic. No walks in the moonlight, no black clothing,  and no cats, just to name a few! Once their mother and father allow them to visit their aunt, however, things really start to devolve. Over time, they eventually break most of the rules they’ve been taught, including warnings against falling in love.

Before I get to those “basic human truths,” or BHTs (not to be confused with that suspect additive, BHT :) I want to mention that Ms. Hoffman’s use of setting…both place and time is excellent. The Northeastern U.S. with its change of seasons affords wonderful atmosphere, and I felt a comfortable familiarity with the times in which the children grow up and try their hands at being adults, the 1960’s and 1970’s. Now, for those nuggets of humanity that even the witches and wizards in this book experience:

winter scene from Pixabay.jpg no attrib. req.

“…forgetting her loss would be worse than the loss itself.”  (p. 231)

“…when you truly love someone and they love you in return, you ruin your lives together.” (p. 254)

“I just do the best I can to face what life brings. That’s the secret, you know. That’s the way you change your fate.” (p. 258)

“Life is a mystery, and it should be so, for the sorrow that accompanies being human and the choices one will have to make are a burden, too heavy for most to know before their time comes.” (p. 266)

“It is simply the way of the world to lose everything you have ever loved. In this, we are like everyone else.” (p. 297)

“Well, we can’t really know our parents, can we?…Even for those with the sight, parents are unfathomable creatures.” (p. 331)

“But rules were never the point. It was finding out who you were.” (p. 365)

“Know that the only remedy for love is to love more.” (p. 366)

***

The book closes with unexpected developments and a new set of rules, one of which I know from my own life: “Always leave out seed for the birds when the first snow falls.” I thoroughly enjoyed this story and look forward to reading others by Alice Hoffman!

Hoffman, Alice. The Rules of Magic: A Novel (The Practical Magic Series Book 1). Simon & Schuster. Kindle Edition.

To end this post, I’m including a link to a lovely song, “A Case of You,” by Joni Mitchell taken from the soundtrack of the movie, “Practical Magic,” which I plan to watch, someday very soon. 

If you’ve read this book or others by the author, please share some of your thoughts in the comments!