Mice like books.
Mice like books.
Theres a scary # of childrens books about mice....
And the mouse is always the protagonist.
Apparently, we have a fascination with them.
Only the trashy novels.
I don't see a problem with a book left in a shelter. Even if it's not your cup of tea, there is somebody that might be very happy to find and read it.
I used to be of the opinion leaving a book behind for those following was a good thing. Then I maintained trails with shelters for a few years.
While intentions may be good, the reality of life is paperback books hold germs carried by many hands, which can turn them into Noro-books. However, most books soon become tinder for fires (a real nuisance where campfires are banned) and shredded fodder for nests built by animals and birds. These things, in and of themselves are not much of an issue for the transient hiker but can be for those who follow and maintainers who have to deal with this stuff.
Removing these nests can be difficult for maintainers to remove, few are ever in a place that does not require a significant effort to reach and pull them out. Pulling nesting material out exposes maintainers to a variety of things when the nest pulls apart and its contents become airborne or nesting material falls on them during the process. Where there is easy access to nesting materials in a place that wind and water have difficulty reaching, and were people show up periodically and predictably leave bits of food around, animals are very quick to exploit those resources.
I am not condemning the practice of leaving books behind, however it should be a consideration the next time temptation says to leave the recently completed Danielle Steel novel behind. On a positive note, I am seeing less paperbacks in shelter these days due to Kindle applications than a decade ago, which have their own detractors in trail purity meters but do not leave a residue on the trail or its components.
I went camping a few miles in on a trail, but I cannot remember what trail. At the road crossing there was a Little Library. It looked like the little houses that the Little Free Library folks sell, but wasn't officially registered.
Something like this at a road crossing, rather than a shelter, seems a good solution for give-one-take-one.
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Good thread.
I have, in the past, left books in shelters when I finished one. One of which I witnessed being picked up to be read by one of the other hikers at the shelter with me that morning. Giving the gift of a good book... I realize now that it is more likely to be ripped apart and used for fire starter and/or nesting material than it is to be picked up by another reader - so I will discontinue this practice of leaving books behind.
My kindle fire is an older model, heavier than a hard cover book, and I don't prefer to read on the kindle app on my phone, so I'll continue to bring a paperback with me. When I finish it, I will ask anyone present if they would like it. If nobody wants it, I'll carry it out.
Lol... Who asked about TV? TV is Not reading...
Hey Now!
Highly more impacting are humans and on trail food behavior than humans and books.
The problem with leaving books behind is that the mice like to read them while no one is around & they have a tendency to chew while the read & and eventually the once was "book" is now a pile of trash :/
Take Time to Watch the Trees Dance with The Wind........Then Join In........