Brilliant Idea, Brits

A few years ago, my husband and I were lucky enough to spend a semester living in London.  He attended school and earned his law degree, but our time there was too short for me to obtain a teaching job, so I passed the days being a professional  tourist. It was a pretty cool gig!

We came back saying “crisps” for chips, “biscuits” for cookies, and “chips” for fries, learned how to “queue”; and developed a love for all things British. The museums, the monuments, the parks, we drank it all in. Living in London, even for just our short time, changed our lives for the better and still affects us. We named our daughter after one of the royal boroughs, the book I am now plotting is set in London (and I LOVE this book), and I became a wee-bit obsessed with Coldplay (we rented a flat in Chris Martin’s neighborhood—SWOON). :) (Not to mention I’m STILL swept up in Will and Kate mania!)

I knew the Brits had a LOT of refined ideas, but this one I stumbled across on the internet the other day is BRILLIANT. 

Lots of villages in the UK have turned red telephone boxes into mini libraries, just take a book and leave one behind, such a brilliant idea!

Is this not the best idea ever? Shouldn’t EVERY neighborhood in every town across the world be doing this?!?

My own community here in Middle Tennessee has an AMAZING organization called Imagination Library or Books From Birth that sends absolutely free books to children each month of their life from age zero to three.  It was founded by Dolly Parton (who knew, right? Go Dolly!) and is such an asset to our community, but a program like the British one above could benefit ALL ages and access ALL the readers in a community.

Well done, Brits. :)