Little Free Library

by Naomi Kritzer

Sharing stories we love with one another is one of the most magical forms of connection there is. This is especially so for Meigan, who develops an unexpected friendship with a mysterious borrower of books from her Little Free Library.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Genres: Short Stories, Fantasy, Fiction, Books About Books, Magical Realism, Urban Fantasy, Ebooks

12 pages, ebook

First published April 8, 2020

Reviews

[Maureen · Rating 4 out of 5]

*3.5 stars *

Upon setting up her Little Free Library, Meigan develops an unexpected friendship with a mysterious book borrower.

Meigan mounted the post outside her house, complete with shelves, and sheltered from the weather, painting it in pretty colours, and adorning it with pebbles she’d picked from Lake Superior during the summer, and so her ‘Little Free Library’ came into existence with instructions to take a book - return a book.

However, one mystery borrower decides to leave other items of interest instead of a book, until one day, she receives a message from the mystery person, and from then on, things become very strange!

Would love a sequel to this sweet little story.
https://www.tor.com/2020/04/08/little...

[s.penkevich [hiatus-will return-miss you all] · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hey stop what you are doing right now and read this story if you want to inject magic into your life. The Locust Award winning short story Little Free Library takes the joy of sharing books with others and spins it into a short but sweet mysterious tale when an unseen reader begins leaving behind intriguing items in place of the books they take. Is it a local artist playing a game…or has Meigan the little librarian stumbled into a fantasy story of her own? This was so much fun and if you have 5 minutes to spare, you too can be having fun with it!

[karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you can bring me more such books, I will leave you every scrap of gold I can find.

a perfect, adorable, FREE short story. the whole time i was reading it, i was braced for it to slant off into tweetown while still hoping it would be horror, since it is essentially the same set-up as my all-time favorite Amazing Stories episode:



because we're all going through a thing right now and everyone's a little on edge, i'll spill the tone-beans THIS ONE TIME so you know what you're getting into: it is not horror. and it stays on the "good" side of twee—i thought it was charming and i'm an old salty curmudgeon.

however, the story ends on one of those tingly BUT WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? notes that some of us—the old salty horror-loving curmudgeons of us—will imagine the next beats of in a way involving enough splatter to make y'all gentler folks faint dead away, but it's not our fault—our tastes have taught us all too well that you shouldn't take candy from strangers, or adopt a child or bring an animal into your home or communicate with entities you don't fully understand <--- none of which are true spoilers, but they all live in the same neighborhood of "cautionary tales this story is not teaching."

still and all, it's a fun story and reading it would be a nice and necessary break from watching the news and checking yourself for symptoms of vitamin d deficiency (i.e. DO I HAVE RICKETS?)

get to it, booknerds!!




read it for yourself here:

https://www.tor.com/2020/04/08/little...

come to my blog!

[Nayra.Hassan · Rating 4 out of 5]

"بمجرد ان تتعلم القراءة ستكون حراً الي الابد"
قصة طريفة عن كيف من الممكن ان تجمع القراءة الشتيتين

متي نبدأ في التخلي عن كتبنا للآخرين؟
هل عندما لا تعجبنا؟
هل عندما تعجبنا و لكن لن نرغب في قرايتها مرارا؟
هل عندما تزدحم مكتبتنا ؟ و هل هذه الجملة مقبولة عند القراء اصلا؟

مكتبات الشارع المجانية لم اراها بعد في مصر؛ شاهدت صور لها؛ و تعاملت معها في الفنادق حيث يترك الاجانب رواياتهم حتي لا تُثقل حقائبهم

القصة تعرض لنا تجرية الكاتبة مع مكتبتها المجانية و كيف جلبت لها رواية سيد الخواتم صديق لم يكن يخطر لهاعلي بال

و اهمية السلاسل في تعليق قلب اي قارئ بتلك الهواية الذهبية:القراءة
و رغم انها هواية الانطوائين الا انها قد تحتمل المشاركة.. فنتعرف علي اصدقاء للعمر كله

[carol. · Rating 3 out of 5]

For "Little Free Library" by Naomi Kritzer, however long this entry lasts.

https://www.tor.com/2020/04/08/little...

[Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hugo and Locus award finalist short story! Free to read online here at Tor.com. Final review, first posted on FantasyLiterature.com:

Meigan builds a Little Free Library from a kit, paints and decorates it, sets it up in her front yard, and puts a bunch of her old books in it for neighbors and passers-by to trade and share. All goes well the first day, but on the second someone empties out the Little Free Library box completely. Meigan is rather miffed, but shrugs it off and leaves a handwritten note to them in the box to next time please take just one or two books, or leave a book in return. Rather than books, the unknown person starts leaving unusual presents for Meigan in the box in exchange for the books they take. Then one day Meigan puts a copy of Defending Your Castle in the box, and things start to get really odd.

“Little Free Library” is heartwarming and whimsical, with a bittersweet note. If you’re partial to stories about library and books and the ways they can affect lives, this is an enjoyable tale. It’s set in our world, but with a hint of magic in the wings, just waiting to come onto the main stage.

This short story has one of those open-ended conclusions that really leaves the reader wondering what will happen next, but it’s not clear if Naomi Kritzer has a follow-up story in mind or that’s just the way the story ends. The latter is where I tend to think she’s going to land, but I’d be happy to be proved wrong. In any case it’s fun to imagine what might occur next. I have a few thoughts …

[Carol, She's so Novel ꧁꧂ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5★

Lovely, light short story on the joy of sharing the love of reading.

In the spirit of sharing the gift of reading, this short story is free here https://www.tor.com/2020/04/08/little...

I would love to have my own Little Free Library but there are already three unofficial ones in my little town. I visit the best one often!

https://wordpress.com/view/carolshess...

[Dennis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yes, I actually read this twice within two months. Because it is now narrated by my lovely friend Diane. Which a) is pretty cool and b) means that you too can now not only read this story on tor.com (see link further below) but can also listen to it here: https://www.castofwonders.org/2021/11...
(Bios at around 2:15, the story starts at 5:30)


Original review:

While I enjoyed it, this short story is really just too short.

Meigan sets up a Little Free Library in her front yard and gets into a nice little exchange with what is supposedly one of her neighbors. For every book the mysterious stranger takes they leave not another book but some little piece of art. Later an exchange of short notes begins and then things start to get a little weird.

Clearly a story that speaks to bibliophile people, I found this rather charming and toyed with the idea of building one of those Little Free Libraries myself. Unfortunately both this and the story itself came to an abrupt and disappointing end before anything substantial happened.

Alas. 3 stars ... just.

Can be read for free here: https://www.tor.com/2020/04/08/little...

2021 Hugo finalist for Best Short Story.

________________
2021 Hugo Award Finalists

Best Novel
• Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse
• The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin
• Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
• Network Effect by Martha Wells
• Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
• The Relentless Moon by Mary Robinette Kowal

Best Novella
• Come Tumbling Down by Seanan McGuire
• The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo
• Finna by Nino Cipri
• Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark
• Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi
• Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey

Best Novelette
• Burn or the Episodic Life of Sam Wells as a Super by A.T. Greenblatt (Uncanny Magazine Issue 34: May/June 2020)
• I Sexually Identify as an Attack Helicopter by Isabel Fall (Clarkesworld, January 2020)
• The Inaccessibility of Heaven by Aliette de Bodard (Uncanny Magazine Issue 35: July/August 2020)
• Monster by Naomi Kritzer (Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 160)
• The Pill by Meg Elison (from Big Girl)
• Two Truths and a Lie by Sarah Pinsker (Tor.com)

Best Short Story
• Badass Moms in the Zombie Apocalypse by Rae Carson (Uncanny Magazine Issue 32: January/February 2020)
• A Guide For Working Breeds by Vina Jie-Min Prasad (Made to Order: Robots and Revolution, Solaris)
• Little Free Library by Naomi Kritzer (Tor. com)
• The Mermaid Astronaut by Yoon Ha Lee (Beneath Ceaseless Skies, February 2020)
• Metal Like Blood in the Dark by T. Kingfisher (Uncanny Magazine, September/October 2020)
• Open House on Haunted Hill by John Wiswell (Diabolical Plots 6/15/20)

Best Series
• The Daevabad Trilogy by S.A. Chakraborty
• The Interdependency by John Scalzi
• The Lady Astronaut Universe by Mary Robinette Kowal
• The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells
• October Daye by Seanan McGuire
• The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

Best Graphic Story or Comic
• Die, Vol. 2: Split the Party, written by Kieron Gillen and Stephanie Hans, letters by Clayton Cowles
• Ghost-Spider, Vol. 1: Dog Days Are Over, written by Seanan McGuire, art by Takeshi Miyazawa and Rosi Kämpe
• Invisible Kingdom, Vol. 2: Edge of Everything, written by G. Willow Wilson, art by Christian Ward
• Monstress, Vol. 5: Warchild, written by Marjorie Liu, art by Sana Takeda
• Once & Future, Vol. 1: The King is Undead, written by Kieron Gillen, iIllustrated by Dan Mora, colored by Tamra Bonvillain, lettered by Ed Dukeshire
• Parable of the Sower: A Graphic Novel Adaptation, written by Octavia Butler, adapted by Damian Duffy, illustrated by John Jennings

[Berengaria · Rating 1 out of 5]

1 stars
*This review is a postcard from Outlier Island* 📩🌴🍹

Free copy here: https://reactormag.com/little-free-li...

shortish review for busy readers:
As a big LFL fan and user, I was very looking forward to reading this short story, especially with the ghostly hand indicating some paranormal fun.

Well, paranormal I got, but really not like I was expecting. This short's weak, silly premise would have worked fine for middle grade fiction (8-12 yr olds), but as a story for adults, it is simply laughable.

Is the cover art correct? Yes, but instead of a ghost, alien, angel or something, it's a character from a run-of-the-mill fantasy novel talking about their castles and invading hoards and leaving the LFL lady gold coins in exchange for books.

Many other reader-reviewers found it "sweet". I guess, maybe.

If you like middle grade level fiction you may like this, but it is very kiddie in notion.

[Nataliya · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a cute and charming story about a quite unexpected connection formed through a front yard ‘little free library’. The best part of it was the overdrive my imagination went in trying to picture what happens next.

Short and sweet. 3.5 stars.

https://www.tor.com/2020/04/08/little...

———————

My Hugo and Nebula Awards Reading Project 2021: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Mayim de Vries · Rating 3 out of 5]

"We have begun constructing a ballista, in secret. Please send me more books."

Yes, you do want to read it.

[Indieflower · Rating 5 out of 5]

A woman builds a little free library and installs it outside her house, she fills it with her surplus books and finds herself corresponding with a rather unusual and mysterious fellow book lover. A lovely little story, charming and gentle, it made me smile, I'd love to read more from this author, 4.5 stars rounded up.

[chvang · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charming and whimisical. Another fairy tale for bibliophiles. If you've ever given out books and like to imagine they'll be enjoyed and of use, this story is for you.

[Mitticus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short story about a woman setting a Little Free Library and an interesting borrower. I got enthralled by the story while reading it.

But... What happen next?
too short :(

Here in Tor

[Trish · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cool little story about one of those boxes called Little Free Libraries where you take a book but, ideally, leave another one in its stead.

Meighan builds such a library box and puts it outside her house. Then, one day, someone starts taking books and leaving trinkets for her. Eventually, some notes are also exchanged and something tells "the librarian" that this is not just a creative joke/game by a neighbor.

Nothing exceptional and the ending was indeed a little frustrating (indeed, the story would have profited from having a bit more flesh on its bones so to speak), but the story was definitely intriguing - and not just because of the nods to great authors such as Terry Pratchett though that helped of course. ;)

You can read the story for free here: https://www.tor.com/2020/04/08/little...

[Diz · Rating 5 out of 5]

When a person sets up a little free library, they begin to have mysterious interactions with one of the borrowers. The mystery of interactions related to books is well represented here.

[Aoife - Bookish_Babbling · Rating 4 out of 5]

Massive thanks to Sara whose review caught my eye and thus my final read of 2023 was an adorable impulse buy 🤩

Such a sweet wee story...but selfishly I need more - so a closer look at this authors published works are on my radar for the new year 😅

[DivaDiane SM · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oops! I thought I had already reviewed this one! I read this lovely little story because I had been asked to narrate it for The Cast of Wonders podcast (Escape Artists). It’s a sweet little story of a woman who builds and lovingly decorates a Little Free Library (TM), stocks it with books and starts corresponding with one of its patrons. But it quickly becomes clear that this is not your average patron. The story ends rather abruptly and without resolution, but I kind of like that about it. It leaves everything to your imagination.

It had been nominated for the Hugo Award.

The show is about 25 minutes long with an extended plug for a new book right at the very start. Don’t get discouraged, just carry on or skip to the 2’15” mark to hear our bios and then the story:

https://www.castofwonders.org/2021/11...

[Eilonwy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this because of Tadiana’s review and link.

This short story takes something that seems pretty normal and boring by now -- there are a good number of little free libraries scattered across my town, and they're well-used, with good turnover in the books available -- and turns it into a mystery.

The events start off seeming a bit fluffy (an apparently eccentric neighbor is taking books but leaving handicrafts and notes), but take on a dark aspect by the end of the story. And I admire the "uh, what now?" open ending.

This is a quick, gripping read and definitely worth checking out.

[Theo Logos · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightfully charming story on the magic of books and the power of libraries. Meigan artistically customized her little free library kit, stocked it with her used books, and waited to see what would happen. Soon, she was corresponding with a mystery borrower who left odd gifts and notes in exchange for books. What she first assumed to be an artist playing games with her turned out to be far more surprising and fantastical.

You can read this story in just a couple of minutes, and its reward will far exceed your effort.

[GoldGato · Rating 5 out of 5]

Little front yard libraries have popped up throughout the United States and they are a joy to behold. Given my huge book collection, I have never taken or exchanged any books but have instead admired the craftsmanship involved. Some folks really get involved with the presentation and/or the specific items.





So it’s an optimal time for a fantastical Tor short story from Naomi Kritzer to bring these embassies of goodwill to light.

Meigan is a Little Free Librarian, having built her book hutch from a kit. The thrill it brings her to see books taken or added makes her feel part of her new neighborhood. But one day she wakes to find every single book is gone with none added in return. She leaves a polite note to explain how it works and starts getting daily gifts in return. A hand-carved whistle. A metal snake figurine. A bird’s feather of unknown origin. A safety pin.

Notes have also appeared for Meigan asking for more adventures of Frodo the Hobbit. When she supplies the full LOTR series, more notes follow, explaining the need to avenge the reader’s “queen”. My word, what has Meigan gotten herself into and who, exactly, is this reader?

This short story simply isn’t long enough although it obeys the rule of leaving me asking for more. More! I want to know what happens to the final gift for Meigan and what her future adventures will be. More! More! More!

“Dear Naomi Kritzer, please write a complete novel concerning Meigan’s Little Free Library. I would be ever so grateful. Thank you.” There, that should do it.

Book Season = Spring (keep the eggs warm)

[Sacha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Little Free Library by Naomi Kritzer

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4*)

This book is a very short story, yet it managed to make me smile from beginning to end. After finishing it, I found myself seriously considering setting up a little free library of my own. The premise is simple:

"Upon setting up her own Little Free Library that she built from a kit, Meigan develops an unexpected friendship with a mysterious book borrower."

What follows is a gentle and delightful exchange. Kritzer manages to create warmth, curiosity and genuine emotion within just a few pages. The writing is wonderfully charming and immediately inviting, and despite the limited length, the story feels complete and satisfying. I could easily imagine standing in front of Meigan's library, checking the books, wondering about the person who keeps returning them with surprising additions. It is one of those stories that quietly lifts your mood and leaves you with a sense of wonder.

I recommend this short story to anyone who enjoys sweet, whimsical tales about books, community and unexpected connections. It is a perfect little escape for a cozy evening or a brief reading break, and it leaves you with a smile that lasts long after you turn the final page.

[Stacey B · Rating 4 out of 5]

12 pages

Sweet book about a woman who makes a "small" library similar to that of a window box outside her door. A mysterious person begins to use this library. Who is it?
A totally feel good book, as someone wrote below.

[Ayesha (Seokjin's Version) ☾ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This makes me want to build a little free library in my town which doesn't even have a single bookstore.
Also this has Lord of the Rings.

[Ashley Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again, delightfully charming. Definitely keeping an eye out for more of Naomi Kritzer's work!

[Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute, fun little story about a Little Free Library that is a portal to another world. But, then again, aren't all libraries? I've previously read a collection of Kritzer's short stories, Cat Pictures Please and Other Stories. For the science fiction and fantasy fans.

[Kandice · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have a Little Free Library that my husband and children made for a birthday present. I love it more than I have any right to. Over the last year especially, working from home because of Covid, I have watched many, many people use it.

There is an elderly couple that agonizes over one book each, every single week, so much so that I called out the window that I would gladly find what they wanted and leave it for next week. They repaid me with a bag of oranges from their tree.

A lot of small children walk with their parents and look forward to trading one book for another when they pass my house. I also have an aviary and a parrot and they often call, from the Library, "Elsie, Elise come out!" They sometimes walk up to the window of my home office to show me a Star Wars book they are leaving because they know I love them.

In other words, there is a small community around my Little Free Library and I feel like its steward. This story touched me in a very personal way because of that.

[Melki · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED this Tor.com short about a mysterious book borrower and the even more mysterious gifts left in exchange.

Highly recommended!

https://www.tor.com/2020/04/08/little...

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a pretty good read about a girl named Meigan who created a little free book library and her correspondence with a mysterious book borrower who she befriends. Check this fantasy short story out here at this link and enjoy!

https://www.tor.com/2020/04/08/little...

[Marc *Dark Reader with a Thousand Young! Iä!* · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute.

https://www.tor.com/2020/04/08/little...