Free books for everybody in Germany

In almost every German town, even in a small one, you can find a"bookcase" where you can take any book to read for free. There are only two restrictions: you can take no more than two books at one time and these books must be returned. You can return it in any city: if you took a book somewhere in Berlin, you can return it in Nuremberg or in Hof or wherever you want. Books, for example, that you bought in the bookstore, have already read and decided that you no longer need them, you can also bring here. It was very strange for me just took a book without any payment, and then returned it somewhere. But I dared to step over some strange feeling of fear and took my first book.

In addition to books in German, I also found books in English. Of course, it is unlikely that you will see Nietzsche, Freud, Rand, Hemingway, or Herbert in such "bookcases"... But you will find something unique and interesting. Since I did not know any of the authors that were represented there, I chose only on my feelings and almost immediately my hand reached for a book with a cover of a road with a long title "The Road from Coorain. Recollections of a Harsh and beautiful journey into adulthood". And I took it. When I got home, I started Google the author of the book. According to Wikipedia, Jill Ker Conway was an Australian-American writer and scientist, the first female president of Smith College, whose research was focused on the role of feminism in American history. And the book I took was her autobiography, which made her famous.

When I opened the book, I saw a signature with a wish and the date 1990. My heart froze, I felt as if I was diving into someone's personal history and it was no longer just a book with letters that were assembled into words, then into sentences, into lines and paragraphs, and finally formed a book. This was someone's very intimate story. As I slowly flipped page after page, thoughts echoed in my head: “Whom it was written? Was it a love story? And if so, how did it end? Was it just a gift for a loved one and there was no love story? Did they see each other again? Are they still alive and who are they?". This signature made the book very unique for me, I felt like I was a part of someone's history and life. And the $18.95 that was printed on the cover didn't matter, what mattered was that special signature, left for another person, but written especially for me.

I asked local people about this social initiative and it turned out that it was created with the following goals:

• Encourage people to read.

• Give free access to books, because in Germany, as everywhere in Europe, books are very expensive and not everyone can afford to buy.

I like this idea very much because in reality books lead a person beyond ignorance and help expand and upleveling consciousness. But not everyone has the financial ability to pay for a book, and this social initiative gives everyone the same chance. In addition, unfortunately, not so many people read now, and it is necessary to somehow influence this externally, to create conditions and initiatives that will encourage people to read more and spend less time on social networks or games.

I had once an idea to create a Book Club, but it remained just like an idea. But there is a Ukrainian woman https://www.facebook.com/lukinyuk who did it. Honestly, I like how Taniana Lukyniuk implements it and I think that such projects allow people not only to exchange opinions by reading the same books but also most importantly forming a reading culture.

Now I look at these German "bookcases" and I want to bring this idea to Ukraine, so that people READ, share their books, and leave messages in books for other people. I hope that one day I will be able to implement it, or someone else who has the financial opportunity to implement such a charity project on the whole territory of Ukraine, and maybe I will also become a part of this project. And even more, I would like such "bookcases" to be in every country and people could afford to READ.

P.S. In addition to Germany, I also saw such "bookcases" in Austria. Maybe they are also somewhere in other countries, but I just did not pay attention.

February 18, 2023.