An Afternoon with Open Books

By Erin J. Walter, May 15, 2007

In Wicker Park, the burgeoning summer weather means sidewalks packed with people—either scantily clad or dressed to the nines—and an overwhelming frustration that I can't simultaneously sip a mojito on every single patio within strutting distance of my apartment. All that sunshine and stimulation can be downright frazzling! Thus, some days the best thing about my beloved neighborhood is escaping it.

I recently did just that and then some as a volunteer for the exciting new nonprofit Open Books. Debuting next year at 1449 S. Michigan Ave., the organization will feature a book store on the first floor that will help pay for a wealth of fun on the second floor—youth and adult literacy programs, literary events, public gatherings, and more. The organization has everything I love in a venture: books, kids, community, and the added bonus (for my proud feminist side) of being run by independent, enterprising women.

Of course, before Open Books can get off the ground, someone has to haul a store's worth of books to Michigan Avenue. Enter yours truly (and a slew of other volunteers on other days, too)!

Last Wednesday, I met Open Books' marketing and public relations director, Becca Keaty, in the brightly colored home of executive director Stacy Ratner (because all good nonprofits start in the founder's basement!). We set out to pick up bags and boxes of books from donors, trekking in Becca's hybrid car from the South Loop to south Evanston and back.

It was such a gorgeous day that not even the stop-and-go traffic on Lake Shore Drive could get us down. Since Becca is nine months pregnant, she did the driving and I did most of the squatting, lifting, and hoisting. (That made us the perfect team, since I like to sweat, except for the kind of sweating that happens whenever I'm forced to drive in Chicago.)

Driving around the city, we met donors of all ages. All of them, interestingly enough, happened to be women that day (time to clean out those bookshelves, guys!). We entered apartments and houses of all shapes and sizes, drove down more beautiful streets and past more stunning schools and parks than I could possibly remember. I even got to pick and choose any books I wanted from the donation boxes, as a thanks for doing the grunt work. (I can't believe two different donors ditched Kurt Vonnegut books, especially so soon after his death, but hey, I'll take 'em! Ditto Pride and Prejudice.)

My afternoon as an Open Books volunteer was invigorating and exhausting, but more than anything, it was encouraging. I fell in love with entire sections of Chicago I'd never seen before, which is necessary, since my next memoir is going to have to sell like the Bible for me to ever afford a house in Wicker Park. And as much as I hate to imagine ever leaving my beloved neighborhood, at least now I know there will be fellow readers and nonprofit supporters for me to befriend no matter where I live.