this yellow library with black box has tiny xmas lites attached around it. small & medium sized…read morebooks, mostly fiction. some children's books. reads. "Escape From Freedom" (Erich Fromm) -the rise of market capitalism leaves the worker with freedom that isn't easily attainable. rather than pursuing it individually, the worker entrusts the task to the prevailing political wind. -after Nazism achieved political power. Germans, not wanting to be left out when other political parties were abolished, acquiesced to Nazi policies, going with a winner. -Nazism appealed to the lower middle class who were resentful, hateful of the petty bourgeois, loved the strong, hated the weak. they were petty, hostile, suspected and hated the stranger. to avoid Nazism, Fromm advises democracies to allow citizens to think/act independently in a freer society.

the 2 libraries (#20859) are identical in design but vary in sizing. there's a daddy one with…read morefiction and nonfiction books and a baby one with children's books. read: "The Old Man and the Sea" (Ernest Hemingway) -short novel of old Cuban fisherman Santiago who didn't catch any fish for 84 days. on the 85th day, he decided to go further out to sea. -he finally got a big one but couldn't reel the 1500 pound fish in. instead, the marlin pull him for almost 2 days out to sea. -finally the marlin surfaced, was harpooned, was fastened to skiff's side. a small dolphin was also caught, sliced up for food. -after 3 shark attacks, the big fish was mostly eaten. all the old man had left when he returned to port was the skeletal remains of the marlin. *the year after the release of this novel, Hemingway won the Nobel Prize for literature.

this wood varnished library with a vivid red door has just a few children's books within…read more reads: "the wizard of oz" great illustrated classics (adapted version-Deidre S. Laiken) -this illustrated version is in bigger print for beginning readers. it's chapters are by subject (Tinman) or subject matter (the fighting trees) -writing is simplified. story is easy to understand. -great for beginning readers or readers with a short attention span.

this browish book shelf was nearly bare. less than 10 titles of children's books, non fictions. not…read moresure if people are just taking and not contributing. or people not contributing period. the streets in the san antionio district are in disrepair. it's not only bumpy, but they may be potholes lurking.....

this tri level beige/vanilla library has children's books and fictions. sometimes there's produce…read more(summer) and pantry items but not today. reads: "Little Legends: The Magic Looking Glass" (Tom Percival) *geared for young readers -in a mystical land, a branch of "Story Tree" was stolen, this brought dismay and destruction to it's inhabitants. -Hansel, Gretel, and Wolfie had to fight the forces of evil: trolls, imps, the big bad wolf, etc. while searching for the branch. -they defeated the badies by destroying the magic looking glass, thus breaking a spell that turned creatures into stone. -they recovered the missing branch but had to hide it in a new location. they discovered the mayor was deceitful/dishonest about the tree, using it for his political advantage.

this large blue box with a lite green frame on a tree stump isn't part of the Little Free Library…read more"system" as it's labeled as "Alice St. Little Library". nevertheless, it's a great addition as there are zero libraries in the surrounding communities. it's on the corner of Alice & 17th St. in front of large apartment. there's nonfiction , fiction, and a single children's book. read: "Xia Yue Le/It's Raining!" (J FiC) all in chinese, -a beginning reader for Chinese readers with simple illustrations. -story revolves around a pond in the open spaces where wild animals (lion, elephant, cows, giraffes, birds, monkeys, ducks go to drink water. -they don't equally share, the bigger animals have primary access. -when the puddle evaporates, rain water replenishes it. -the pics are self-explanatory, knowing a few Chinese words helps a lot.

LFLs are such a gem wherever they pop up! This one especially as Lakeside and surrounding 'hoods…read more(Uptown Oakland & Chinatown) seem to be strangely devoid of them. It could be that I wasn't looking hard enough as well... This is an unofficial Little Free Library, meaning it's not registered thus it won't show up on the official site: https://littlefreelibrary.org That said, that doesn't matter to the average Joe, as its "offering" is exactly the same: piles & piles of books! Classics, some obscure literary choices, exam books & anything that someone wants to part with. The more the better. Major kudos to the individuals who conceived this blue-colored LFL from scratch, and situated it on an underutilized tree stump. It offers a wonderful pulse of the community!

this old fashioned white little library (#143662) looks grayish in real time. it has a mix of…read morenonfiction and fiction books, a few children books. it's an old style 2 level affair. it's located a street awau from fairway. address looks strange. reads: "They Called Us Enemy" (George Takei) -it's a graphic memoir George Takei who is known for his role as of Sulu in "Star Trek". -story starts with his childhood involuntary incarceration with over 120,000 Japanese and Japanese Americans in 10 concentration camps thruout the arid deserts in the US. -his crime was being Japanese in an aura of anti-Japan/anti-Asian animus. the Japanese were hated for being too efficient in farming and occuping valuable farmland. competitors and the government salivated at seizing their land and property for pennies. *this is comparable to the Tulsa race massacre in Tulsa, Oklahoma during 1921 when city officials wiped out black wall street in greenwood for being too self-sufficient and competing with white businesses. heroics of the 442nd "go for broke" all-Japanese regiment with the highest casualty rate in WW2 is also mentioned.. Takei has done countless acting bits before being Sulu and many voices & acting gigs since. he's very talented, active in civil rights, community affaris & many artistic endeavors... in 1992, U.S. government legislation passed stating the it's actions in WW2 was based on "racial prejudice, war hysteria, and a failure of political leadership", a presidential apology was given and reparation of $20,000 was given to each surviving 82,219 Japanese Americans who had been interned. *actually got "Charlie Chan is missing", an Asian American anthology here. Takei book is from regular library. May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

this little free library (#108367) was literally a dark blue frigidaire refrigerator before it was…read morea library. it's filled with children's fiction and nonfiction books. read: "What's the Matter with Kansas? How Conservatives won the Heart of American" (Thomas Frank) -in it's infancy, Kansas was an anti-slavery state. they literally had battles with pro slavery Missouri. Populism among the farmers was strong. *Frank is a native of Kansas. his book reveals how Kansas changed. -Kansas was once dominated by "country club Republicans" whom the farmers disliked. outside Republicans ousted the "club" by linking them to coastal elitists, i.e. media, educational elites, government bureaucrats. -the new Republicans pushed "culture war" issues: abortion, homosexuality, media & religion but not economic ones. they were founded with corporate $$. -the New Democrats (Clinton) also skipped economic issues, thus losing the farm and working class voters. they wanted to pursue corporate donations and moderate Republican voters. new Dems also funded with corporate $. -Kansas lost good paying factory jobs when corporations moved factories. only low wage meat packing plants opened in Kansas employing imported labor.

this lite green library(#101960) has a variety of children's books. the 2 shelves within are not…read moretall enough to fit the book i am reviewing. reads: "The Proudest Blue: A Story of Hijab and Family" (17.99) by Olympic Medalist Ibtihaj Muhummad with S.K. Ali as writer and Hatem Aly as artist -book is quite pricey for a beginner's reader book. try the local library -story is about older sister's Asiya's first day of wearing a hijab in school, -she knows there will be misunderstandings but Asiya is strong about educating others what she is wearing. -there are sceptics/harassers, she ignores them, wears her hajib proudly... -this book will be inspirational for young Muslims and educational for others.

Little Free Library (charter #54168) is a white painted birdbox with a white barn- like roof…read more there's 4 peek-a-boo squares on it's wood frontage. inside is a wide selection of fiction & nonfiction books, i.e. moneyball, on golden mountain, etc. reads: Ta-Neiss Coates "The Water Dancer" -surreal storytelling of Hiram Walker in the Antebellum South. he has an incredible photographic memory and an ability to move people vast distances via "conduction".