this motley yellow/green/stardust book box (#33154) is homemade. it's very distinct with imprinted…read morebold leaf shadows. books within are fictions, nonfictions, and textbooks. reads: 'Mar-A-Lago" Inside the Gate of Power at Donald Trump's Presidental Palace" (Laurence Leamer) -Donald Trump acquires Meriweather Post's estate ro build luxury houses thereon. unsuccessful, he opens the Mar-A-lago night club/golf course to compete with a major one. Trump's club would admit Jews while the other one didn't. -with Trump's marketing skills, the Mar-A-Lago soon became the hottest ticket in Palm Beach. the novel reveals some behind the scenes tidbits typically found in Trump properties. material was personally sourced by the author. *saw it in the library, it's an interesting read, not a must read.

this pearly white library (#94250) with a reddish sliding roof has a home made look with a door…read morethat opens upward, not sideways. mostly thin volumes within, various nonfictions. reads: "The Fortune Tellers: Inside Wall Street's Game of Money, Media, and Manipulation" (Howard Kurtz) -retells many of print media's market street tales of his time: Jim Cramer, Maria Bartiromo (Money Honey), Lou Dobbs, Ron Insana, Ralph Acampora, Henry Blodget, Christopher Bryon, et al. -along with newsites CNN, CNBC, the street.com, WSJ, New York Times, Barrons, Bloomberg, et al. -comes to a round about conclusion their influence wasn't magical, it was market manipulation. touted stocks were owned by the interviewed. or they knew some one who owned it, or they were tipped off by someone who owned it.... -everyone/organization was behind it. creating an IPO frenzy, internet stock exuberance, a "bubble" which eventually popped. -during the 2000 supreme court review of Florida's vote count, the DJIA went up or down with every ruling. note: at time of filming/publication, no rules were in place prohibiting "self-dealing" etc. -for 2000, the DJIA, was down 6 %, Nasdaq, down 39%.

this blue owl like book box (#31660) was assembled as part of group project by Girl Scouts. mostly…read moreyoung adult and science fiction books within. didn't remember seeing any glass pane on the front. reads: Mr. Mercedes (Stephen King) -a science fiction with a running narration almost side by side with the protaganist (Brady Hartsfield) who gets thrills by killing people and the hero, Bill Hodges, a retired cop, who doesn't have a reason to live until Brady contacts him to goad him to commit suicide. -novel is long at 500+ pages. gets thrilling during the last 100.

this natural wood library (aka 76703) has all of it's cookbooks, nonfiction & fiction books lying…read moreon it's sides, looks very chaotic. coincidentally, there's a title "beyond chaos" within. reads: "Blinded by the Right: The Conscience of an Ex-Conservative" (David Brock) *at UC Berkeley, Brock was a liberal democrat, he converted to conservatism after the Cambodian invasion. he subsequently wrote anti-Anita Hill, anti-Clinton stories, & various fact free articles for The American Spectator. **tasked to write an anti-Hilary Clinton biography, Brock wrote instead a sympathetic book. he did so relying on the facts he researched, eschewing fabrications. the right turned on him for being an "homosexual". -novel is a tell all of how the intolerant religious right pursues it's agenda with the support of a "single-minded cabal of lawyers, foundations, think tanks, and generous donors". -Brock apologizes for his past misdeeds, exposes how the "vast right-wing conspriacy" operates. how he was complicit. *subsequently, David Brock establishes Media Matters for America to refute the lies spread by right wing media and Fox News.

this blue library with a black top (#65835) has an eclectic mix of fictions and nonfictions…read more contents reflects the complexity that's berkeley. reads: "Into the Fire: Asian American Prose" (edited by Sylvia Watanabe & Carol Bruchae) *themes of readings in sections: Origins, Islands, Survival, Heartland & Full Circle. -under Survival, in "Reflections", Shawn Wong relates how contacts were made with Jeffery Chan, Frank Chin, & Lawson Inaba. together they formed CARP (Combined Asian-American Resource Project). **as Asian American writers, they found a dearth of same and set a mission to find them in "used book stores, public libraries, attics & basements" they contacted and interviewed them. recordings archived in Berkeley. -in '74, they had "Aiiieee" (an anthology) published. it was one of the publisher's best sellers. -in '75, they organized an Asian American Writers Conference held at the Oakland Museum. -thru CARP's efforts & others who did similar work, this provided a wealth of educational material for the Asian American Studies programs being established thruout the US.

this little free library isn't a conventional one. it's 2 blue milk crates and a wooden box. the…read moreresult is the same-exchange of books. there's no frontal covering. rain, wind, and sun may damage the books displayed. reads: "the boys in the band" (Mart Crowley) *a play on broadway that was a pioneer in the portrayal of gays. -plot evolves around 9 men at a birthday party. initially it resembled a gathering of associates celebrating an happy event. -with abundant liquor flowing, hidden/suppressed biases emerge, fueling free flowing discussions and 1 fight. -all the individuals present were to thought to be gay by others present. at least 1 person denied being gay. some were married with children. -play is eyeopening. there isn't one experience that is classical "gay". it's very personal and individualized...(as complex life forms are)

red book box (#23140) with a blue roof and no framed door has a computer dictionary as well as many…read morefictions/non fiction titles. reads: "Truman" (David McCullough) -on top fifty US history book list -sympathetic, thorough review of Truman's roots, policies -Truman became the Vice Presidential Democratic candidate after anti-labor, pro business members of the DNC (democratic national committee) blocked the re-nomination of Vice President Wallace.

this vanilla/purple book box (#97579) is crammed full of fictions & nonfictions. there's a few…read moreTolkien books. reads: "the Political Economy of Slavery: Studies in the Economy of the Slave South" (Eugene D. Genovese) themes: -slavery in the South was the only business permitted. banks affiliated with slaveholders wouldn't loan to any perceived competitors. -slavery keep wages in South low. no other business could make $. -blacks coming from African came from advanced civilizations, not from agrarian nor slave farms.... -soil exhaustion due to single crop (cotton) farming. slaveholders didn't have $ to buy manure to replenish soil. plantations unable to rotate crops. -animal livestock in the South was of poor quality, not exportable. -agricultural reform wasn't favored by the slaveholders. they preferred the privilege, status of owning slaves. they didn't want to be farmers. -slavery wasn't profitable as a business. any $ earned went for luxuries and flouting wealth. little $ left for southern economic development. -Southern industrialists couldn't compete with their Northern counterparts. they just produced goods for local sales. -most southerners including slaveholders were against allowing blacks whether free or slaves to work in factories. when white workers went on strike, blacks were brought in as strikebreakers. -the South tried to expand slavery to other states & countries (cuba, canada, brazil). nor doable. the South seceded from the union. -slave countries/societies do not voluntarily dissolve. they are removed by violence and/or disorder. -slave countries/societies never achieve an industrial revolution. same has inefficient economy to do so.

this pearl white book box (#8859) has a slanted black roof. it's small, unique size holds fiction…read moreand nonfiction books. reads: "Where the Money Grows" and "Anatomy of the Bubble" (Garet Garrett) *1911 classic has themes that are rediscovered every decade -Where the Money Grows: not only bulls and bears but also the "wolves", "hoodoos", and "invisibles" who use privileged information for private gains. -"Anatomy of the Bubble": argubly the biggest waste of human labor was the building of the pyramids-100,000 men working for 20 years. 600,000,000 days of human labor produced an "useless" asset. it didn't advance Egyptian civilization a bit. it may have held it back. if the labor had been used for any public construction, expenditure, etc. Egyptian society would have benefited. instead it stagnated under the weight of waste. *similarly in the modern age, $$ loaned out via debt or foreign bonds that isn't repaid due to insolvency of the borrower or forgiveness of the lender creates waste and stagnation.