A love letter to the Little Free Library

Last summer, on a muggy June day, I moved into a new neighborhood. It was the first time in three years that I was forced to adjust my neatly curated, perfectly timed little routine.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve operated in cleanly packaged routines. In high school, I was one of those girls who lived and died by her agenda. In college, I would be the one who my friends asked for the syllabus. I always worked out and went to bed at the same time. You could always (pretty) confidently find me if you really wanted to, because I worked on a clock and had very little unpredictability day to day. I think it was my way of feeling like I had some control over life, as someone who never quite understood how to manage a persistent anxiety and the worry of never being good enough.

Of course, this all went to shit in my early twenties, when I was rudely awakened to the real world and all of its messy uncertainty.

In my late twenties I picked up walking - like, a lot. Rain or shine, without fail, I’m getting outside. It has become my new routine. A new anchor and in some small way, maybe a healthy way to gain back some control in what my days look like.

From 2022 to 2025, I took the same walk every day. I knew the route, I knew how long it would take, and I knew exactly how many steps I would get if I took 3 laps instead of 4.

Honestly? Looking back, that’s pretty freaking boring. But, at the time it was easy and it worked.

One of the first things on my to do list last summer was to find a new walking route. I lived on a busy main road, so I had to go out of my way to find a quiet street where I could hear a bird and see a tree.

To my surprise, I discovered a beautiful neighborhood with rich nature and huge, hundred year old homes down a quiet side street. This walk was even better than the one I had done for three years straight.

And then, one day, I saw it: a Little Free Library, nestled next to a tree and in front of a sweet little home with kid’s toys all over the yard.

What a pleasant surprise! I had heard of Little Free Libraries a lot, but had never actually discovered one myself.

One important note about me: I LOVE a bookstore. It’s not just the actual books and the stories in them. It’s how they smell when you fan through the pages. The way the cover feels. The weight when you hold it. The way a book sounds when you drop it on a coffee table. There’s just something about the experience of hunting for and finally acquiring just the right book that is baked into my DNA.

I don’t think I took a book home from the Little Free Library that first day. But this stop along my walk became a daily occurrence. Some days the shelves would be empty. On others they would be stacked to the brims. A sign that someone came along and replenished because they were moving, or remodeling, or just wanted to get rid of all of the books that reminded them of their ex.

The funny thing about the Little Free Library is that it always gives you exactly what you need.

I keep a list of books that I want to read in my phone. I had added The House of Gucci to my list this past Fall. Less than two weeks later, I opened the old wooden door to the Little Free Library when to my surprise, there it was. The House of Gucci. What a thrill!

I felt like I had won the lottery with this old, used book. It made my week. I went home and called my mom.

Here’s where the even bigger magic comes in: sometimes the Little Free Library gives you what you need, but you didn’t even know you needed it.

Also happening last fall: I was in a big transitional period with dating. I was off the apps, intentionally living in the present, and really taking a hard look at what I wanted out of a true partner (more on that here).

One morning, a new book popped up in the Little Free Library - Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton. It’s a memoir about love and friendship told from the lens of a woman experiencing all of the intricacies of life in your twenties and the transition into your thirties.

This is a book that I would never, never have heard of, never mind gone out of my way to order off of Amazon. And yet, this book resonated with me so specifically during that time in my life. It felt like a warm text from a girlfriend who has already been there saying: don’t worry, you’re exactly where you need to be.

I have half a dozen other stories of similar Little Free Library instances. I won’t bore you with the details.

They say the best things in life find you when you’re not looking for them. I’ve always f***ing hated that saying. It felt like everyone’s way of saying: just stop trying so hard. As someone who firmly believes that you can go after everything you want in life, that saying felt like complete BS. Now I’m not so sure.

In a world where we can order exactly what we want when we want it, this little wooden box has become a tiny way of letting go and letting life find me. It feels whimsical. As if the universe is winking at me.

Next time you see a Little Free Library, see what’s inside. It might be exactly what you needed but never what you would have looked for.