The Beach Library
If you’re like most beachcombers, you’re not very good at just relaxing at the beach with a good book. Your eyes are constantly wandering to the sand, or scanning the shore for that next piece of glass to be found. But we hear that people can do it, actually sit and concentrate on the pages and a story, putting aside the beachcombing while they get lost in fiction. For those likeminded people, these convenient beach libraries make beach reading that much more accessible.
In Albena, on the Black Sea cost, and in front of the Hotel Kaliakra, sits a one-of-a-kind open air library which boasts over 6,000 books in as many as 15 languages. The sprawling shelves are made from a sun and wind resistant material, and are protected by a drop-down vinyl cover for inclement weather.
Photo courtesy of Miruna Corneanu/travelaway.me
In Israel, the Tel Aviv Municipality set-up a beach library at the Metzitzim Beach aimed at offering tourists the option to check-out books for free. The library—a two-wheeled cart stationed on the promenade—holds 523 books in five languages: Hebrew, Arabic, English, Russian and French.
Photo courtesy of Danielle Ziri/The Jerusalem Post
On a smaller scale in the United States, the Little Free Library, founded by Todd H. Bol in 2010 as a tribute to his mother, encourages readers in neighborhoods and at street corners and beaches to enjoy books from the small but usually well-stocked book boxes. By November 2016, there were 50,000 Little Free Library book exchanges around the world, in all 50 states and representing 70 different countries. Below, the Little Free Library exchange on Nantucket Island offers extra escapism for your escape to the beach.
Photo by Nicole Ridge
In Tully NY, a free book exchange kiosk—the Book Buggy at Green Lake— opened in July courtesy of the Tully Free Library. Fully stocked with books and magazines for all ages, it’s perfect for the days when the water and the waves aren’t as generous as the beachcombers would like.
Photo courtesy of Tully Free Library
This article appeared in the Glassing Magazine September 2017 issue.
