Alaska book lovers unite
by Mike Dunham
…the Detroit Little Library project attempts to nourish minds by setting up small, free libraries, particularly in inner-city and neighborhood parks. It’s the brainchild of newspaper reporter Kim Kozlowski, who has garnered national attention with her mission to make the Motor City the “little free library capital of the world.”
What’s this have to do with Alaska? I’m glad you asked. Author Cindy Dyson (“And She Was”), a former Alaskan now living in Montana, is putting together a little library for Detroit dedicated to Alaska-themed books. Several Alaska writers have already donated signed copies of their books — Deb Vanasse, Don Rearden, Ned Rozell and Marybeth Holleman among them — but a bunch more will make for a better product. So will money. It costs about $1,000 to put up one of these “ambassador” branches.
Just to make it fun, Dyson has arranged a competition between authors in Alaska and those in her adopted Montana — she’s putting herself on the Alaska side of the contest. At last look, more Montana authors than Alaskans had donated books, but Alaskans were way in the lead with cash contributions. OK, $1,000? We can blow Montana out of the water with a single PFD check.
