The Alibrary Experiment

When walking one of the quieter Vancouver streets recently, I spotted a bright cabinet by a driveway, labelled 'Alibrary'.

Vancouver people have a pretty good habit of leaving free swag in public places..but was this a whole cabinet of free books?!

Hell yes! Naturally I had to get in on this action and use it for an experiment. I decided to take a second hand book from my collection, write a note explaining what I was doing, and leave the book in this wonderful Alibrary. What book did I choose? Well...

Ok, so it won't be to everyone's taste, but I'm hoping whoever is willing to pick up a book of wisdom from Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson will be willing to drop me an email telling me when they picked it up, and where they are going to leave it when they are done with it, etc.

So.. I brought the book with me the next time I knew I would be passing the cabinet. What did I see waiting for me in exchange for my tale of the most electrifying man in sports entertainment?

Only four Calvin and Hobbes collections! This was the cherry on top of what was already a lucky day for me. I'm hoping I was owed some karma or something. If you didn't know, I love Calvin and Hobbes, but had to leave my collection at home, two years ago. What an amazing, unselfish act for someone to give such a generous gift to a stranger like me. I will of course be returning the collection to Alibrary before I return to Ireland.

As for The Rock book..only time will tell if I will be able to track its journey or not. I will however be adding more books to the experiment in the coming weeks.

Punktual Library: The Disaster Artist by Greg Sestero

  
THIS BOOK. Everything you wanted to know about the making of The Room, and more! Take away the greatest bad movie ever as the subject matter and you still have a captivating, creepy, gripping, funny, vaguely unsettling, curiously optimistic page turner.

For every answered question there springs forth another half dozen fresh questions. We learn much about Tommy Wiseau; mainly that he is a secretive, confusing enigma, even to someone as close to him as Greg Sestero.

Seriously, if you have any interest in The Room, psychology or weird characters, buy this book now.. Things we learn:

• Where Tommy is actually from (sort of!)
• How Tommy made his money (kind of!)
• Why Greg and many of the cast got involved and more importantly, stayed involved
• What it's like to be roommate with Tommy!
• Seriously, just read it

There are also photos and lines from the original script including such classic broken English as:
“Promotion! Promotion! That’s all I hear about. Here is your coffee and English muffin and burn your mouth.”

Read my interview with Greg Sestero AKA Mark here

GDAC Library: Eric by Terry Pratchett

What's it about: Eric is a 14 year old demonologist who gets more than he bargained for and is plunged head first into the often hairy realities of an epic adventure. Together with his unwilling travel buddy, a long suffering wizard, Eric encounters wild tribes, trojan horses and a single minded but vicious piece of furniture. Shorter than the average Discworld book, this could be the ideal starting point to set off on your own adventure into the wonderful mind of Terry Pratchett.

For fans of: Satire; both social and otherwise, literary in jokes, fantasy, christopher moore, douglas adams

GDAC Library: I Slept With Joey Ramone by Mickey Leigh

I Slept With Joey Ramone by Mickey Leigh

What's it about: A 'family memoir' written by Mickey Leigh, brother of Joey Ramone, from birth to death and everything in between. Unlike a lot of biogrpahies, Mickey was literally there for the early days and the defining moments of Joey's career. Honest, funny, emotional, dramatic, with lots of inside info; all the things a biography should be!

For fans of: Punk rock, family drama, biographies.

GDAC Library: Bloodsucking Fiends by Christopher Moore

Bloodsucking Fiends by Christopher Moore

What's it about? Bloodsucking Fiends is a modern day, urban satire with vampires, but don't let the V word turn you off. The vampires are powerful and bloodthrirsty, nocturnal, occasionally bewildered, regular 'people'. But under no circumstances do they sparkle.

For fans of: Urban fantasy comedy, Terry Pratchett, Martin Millar, Grand Theft Auto style societal satire