Why We Love Adorable-But-Chaotic Hotel Libraries and Small Free Libraries

Destinations that encourage “take a book-leave a book” create a community without borders.

Arriving at my family’s annual trip to Geneva-on-the-Lake, Ohio this summer, I headed to the shared library of Abigail Lakeside Cottages, where we have been staying every summer since my children were babies. I always travel with a few books to leave behind so I can take new ones with me. The honest nature of the free book economy is part of what makes it so special. I began to scan the thorns that presented themselves to me. Do I want to reread path of the fireflies, a classic that I have tasted several times? Danielle Steel? I had eaten all his novels in sixth grade, stolen from my mother’s bedside table. Maybe the Auschwitz tattoo artist? I wasn’t quick enough – my brother caught that one first. The colorful green spine of a hardcover novel caught my eye. I actually judge books by their covers, and I’m a sucker for the colorful ones. I took it off the shelf. To exploit.

As we travel the world, I am always on the lookout for new books. I came across crowded second-hand bookstores stacked to the ceiling with paperback novels and cafes selling the work of local authors. My favorite find, however, is still the take-out shelves at various hotels, rental houses, and resorts we’ve stayed at. Books from all over the world congregate on these shelves. How many countries have they been to? Who read them before me? Did they (and this is my favorite) leave an inscription for the next reader? The collections of books that end up in various vacation destinations have no rhyme or reason. They don’t have the organization system of a library or the neatly organized tables of a fancy bookstore. The novels lean nonchalantly on non-fiction. A textbook pops up occasionally, begging me to read just a chapter on nursing or ancient Greece. Sometimes a child’s book is uncertain between adult readings, and I wonder which child chose to leave a book behind. More likely, their parents got tired of reading the same book over and over and “lost” it on vacation. Travel shelves are a chance to find a long-forgotten favorite or discover something new.

With my last treasure under my arm, I walked towards the edge of the water. All books are better at the water’s edge; it is a scientific fact.

I settled into my chair and opened the lid of Last summer at the Golden Hotel by Elyssa Friedland. As I cracked the spine (which didn’t quite crack, as the book was clearly already well-liked), I saw a note inside. Jackpot! The inscription read: “I finished this book during our annual stay at Abigail’s and it was fun to read about another place steeped in family fun and history (with spotty wifi) Happy reading, enjoy GOTL .” She signed her name, chalet number and their regular week. I literally screamed for joy, told my kids to get some junk food so they would leave me alone, and dug. The book is about a summer camp in the Catskills and the families who have been part of it for generations. The story arc is beautiful; characters both lovable and loathsome. The similarities between where I was sitting and the world the author created made this the perfect lakeside read for the week. The previous reader was right, and I so appreciated his recommendation.

I asked friends about their craziest travel finds. One of them discovered a local author’s book on a shelf in her Airbnb and has since read all of her work – she’s obsessed. My friend Juliet Martinez lived in Guatemala as a teenager and their parents always swapped books with English-speaking tourists. “That’s how I read A bend in the river by VS Naipaul. It is one of the most memorable novels I have read at this time in my life. A fellow writer, Diane Selkirk, told me about her sailing trip around the world. She found a book that her friend Allison Winn Scotch wrote while in Fiji, the one i want. They dropped it at another book exchange in Australia and continued their journey. Four years later, while browsing a book exchange at a marina in Panama, she found the same book. Not another copy – exactly the same book, now filled with entries from other readers. “This book sailed faster than us,” she says.

I hid Last summer at the Golden Hotel in the side pocket of my suitcase before packing our bags after our trip. Of course, I could lend it to a friend or leave it in the Small free library in my street. Instead, I’ll take it with me on my travels until I see another book exchange, add my inscription under the first one, and imagine the smile on the next reader’s face when he will see where that book has been. Hopefully, wherever I leave it, I’ll find another stellar novel, travel guide, or well-worn biography of someone I’ve never heard of that will continue to broaden my horizons. That’s the beauty of the bold chaos of travel shelving.