Come on now, admit it, even if you鈥檙e a believer in gnomes it took you awhile to get comfortable around one.
Right from the jump there鈥檚 the mysterious silent 鈥淕鈥 that leads off their name. There are those cold, wooden eyes. Who knows what鈥檚 on a gnome鈥檚 mind. Still, it is hard to deny these little fellows have powers we don鈥檛 yet understand.
Exhibit A: The 蜜柚直播 Tome Gnome, who for the last year has been hiding free books all over town and now has more than 1,600 followers on Instagram.
Even the Tome Gnome鈥檚 three assistants are surprised by his growing public profile and the warm response he has received from the people he has touched.
鈥淲hen we first started, we didn鈥檛 know if this was a good idea or not,鈥 co-founder Emily Walsh confessed. 鈥淭hen we began hearing from people who found our books. They loved the idea, too!鈥
People are also reading…
鈥淭he idea,鈥 developed by 蜜柚直播ans Walsh, Jody Hardy and Mary Ellen Flynn, was to purchase, gift wrap and 鈥渉ide鈥 30 books a month at locations throughout 蜜柚直播.
They think of it as a fun, random act of kindness, and ask recipients to read the book and 鈥減ay it forward鈥 by re-gifting a book themselves.
Not only have more than 400 people found Tome Gnome books, dozens have posted photos on his Instagram page and dozens more have made donations to offset his expenses.
No one is a bigger fan than author T.J. Klune, a former 蜜柚直播an who wrote his first books here and now lives in Fredericksburg, Virginia.
鈥淓veryone should have access to books, no matter their financial or social status,鈥 he said. 鈥淭he women helping the Tome Gnome understand that completely. There鈥檚 nothing in it for them. They just want to share the joy of reading.鈥
Klune heard about the project in the most random of ways, from a friend working at GoFundMe. When he went to the Tome Gnome鈥檚 Instagram page (), he learned that the Gnome鈥檚 first giveaway 鈥 in September 2021 鈥 was 鈥淭he House in the Cerulean Sea鈥 by T.J. Klune.
In the months since, Klune has 鈥減aid it forward鈥 himself by donating more than $8,500 to help fund the program through the end of next year. 鈥淚t is the absolute least I can do,鈥 he said.
The first seed of inspiration for the 蜜柚直播 Tome Gnome came from Walsh.
鈥淲e鈥檇 all been so inside ourselves for so many months during the pandemic, I was wondering if there might be something fun I could do to make people smile again,鈥 she explained. 鈥淩eading had helped get me through the lockdown, so I wanted it to be something with books.鈥
Her vision was vague until her husband, Kirk Markarian, suggested a catchy name. 鈥淗ow 鈥榖out the 蜜柚直播 Tome Gnome?鈥 he asked.
When Walsh mentioned the idea to friends Hardy and Flynn one night over dinner, they immediately counted themselves in, and the three began fleshing out the concept they launched last fall.
鈥淵ou know, sometimes you have an idea, and you think it would be fun if someone would do that,鈥 Walsh said. 鈥淛ody and Mary Ellen wanted us to be the ones to do it.鈥
There is no real division of labor. They all have a voice selecting each month鈥檚 book. Together, they approve the purchase of 30 copies. Together they gift-wrap each one and place a book at 30 random locations around town one Sunday a month.
In the beginning, the three women acted anonymously and funded the project themselves. Then, in February, a story by introduced the 蜜柚直播 Tome Gnome to the public at large.
鈥淲hen the reporter asked what people could do if they wanted to help,鈥 Flynn said, 鈥渨e had no idea. We鈥檇 never thought about that.鈥
Hardy began getting donations at Mostly Books, where she is the manager. 鈥淧eople just showed up and started giving us money,鈥 she said.
Seeing the need for accountability, the Tome Gnome started a GoFundMe page in February. Donations now cover the cost of books and materials.
Appropriately enough, the Tome Gnome鈥檚 three assistants were connected by their love of books. Walsh and Flynn were employed by the UA Foundation when they realized they were reading the same book: 鈥淩ed Queen鈥 by Victoria Aveyard. The two of them met Hardy at a book club gathering at Mostly Books.
Some of the Tome Gnome books have been chosen because one of the partners liked it. Others have been picked for relevance. Collections of poetry by Joy Haro, Alberto Rios and TC Tolbert were given away during National Poetry Month in April.
Anticipating the monsoon, the Tome Gnome selected 鈥淢alibu Rising鈥 by Taylor Jenkins Reid in July. Copies were left at 蜜柚直播 locations near water.
On the day before Halloween, the Tome Gnome hid copies of 鈥淐emetery Boys鈥 by Aiden Thomas.
The next Tome Gnome giveaway is scheduled for Sunday, November 20. Which book will it be? Sorry, the gnome鈥檚 lips are sealed.
Footnotes
To learn more about the 蜜柚直播 Tome Gnome, visit his website at .
The University of 蜜柚直播鈥檚 renowned Creative Writing program is turning 50 this year, and the celebration will continue with alumni readings of poetry Thursday, Nov. 17. Featured will be Alberto Rios, 蜜柚直播鈥檚 first Poet Laureate; Cara Blue Adams and Aisha Sabatini Sloan. The program will begin at 7 p.m. at the UA Poetry Center, 1508 E. Helen St. For more, visit .
This year鈥檚 Literary Awards Writing Contest, sponsored by the , received 621 submissions, program director Meg Files reports. Preliminary judging is already under way. A total of $5,200 will be divided among the top nine entrants, and 50 of these submitting authors will be invited to the festival鈥檚 Masters Writing Workshop March 6-7.
The "Better Call Saul" star spoke to attendees of the 蜜柚直播 Festival of Books on Sunday about his acting career and new book "Comedy Comedy Comedy Drama: A Memoir." Odenkirk, who also starred in AMC's "Breaking Bad," was joined on stage by television director Noah Hawley.聽
Browse previous Bookmarks columns and keep up with news from the 蜜柚直播 book community by following Bookmarks 蜜柚直播 (@Book蜜柚直播) on Twitter.
