The Red Notebook in the House of Books

Decreasing World Suck in Boulder, Colorado.

So the Red Notebook mission, as I understand it, is to increase the sum total of world awesomeness, have fun while doing it, and take the Red Notebook along for the ride.  I pondered and pondered this mission.  And then it hit me:  there's a whole group of people in Boulder, Colorado who inspire me every single day-- and they don't even know it.  So I decided to inspire them back.

I'm finishing my novel, Little Miss Life.  I'm not one of these writers who flourishes in hermit-like solitude, crafting words alone in my house all day.  No, I need people!  So I write exclusively in coffee shops, bookstores, and my very favorite -- the Boulder Public Library.  The "BPL" is a very special place.  There are all kinds of rooms to write in-- big, open, airy rooms with skylights, little tiny rooms with stone walls and floor lamps, quiet study rooms with rows and rows of tables.  There are sculptures and water fountains, a Zen meditation garden, a creek with a little beach and benches.  There's a walking path that leads straight from the library up into the beautiful flatiron mountains, great for pacing when stuck on a plot point. There's a Seattle's coffee machine, an entire teen library, an aquarium.  

And all those things are great.  But they aren't the best parts of the library.  The best parts of the library are the books and the PEOPLE.  Every day I faithfully drag my laptop and my Diet Mountain Dew and my bag of snacks into the study room, and every day I faithfully write my way toward my goal of a finished novel.  And some days it's HARD.  Some days it's WORSE than HARD.  Some days it's I'll-never-publish-this, some days it's oh-why-bother, some days it's I've-only-written-a-page?!?!  

But on those days, I look around.  And I see the amazing people of the BPL.  Everybody is up to something.  Some are reading books on how to start a business.  How to build a webpage.  How to build a boat, repair a bike, rear happy children.  Some people are teaching themselves a new language.  Some have come in, put their lives on hold, and are just taking in a really great read.  Some are down on their luck and they need a place to just BE.  Some bring their children to hear stories read out loud.  Some come for the quiet.  There’s even a girl in brown-rimmed glasses who comes in every single day with her laptop and huge bag full of who-knows-what—she says she fulfilling her lifelong dream of finishing a novel.  (That’s me!)  And I’m inspired by all these people.  And when writer's block threatens, the energy of their projects, their books, their pens, their presence-- helps me calm down, return to the page, and keep on trudging.  Because this is my dream, and they inspire me to keep going.  So I decided to inspire them back.

I took post-it notes, and I wrote messages like this:

I wrote all sorts of inspiring messages: messages about following dreams, believing in your ideas, never giving up.  And I posted them in the restrooms and any little place where an unsuspecting BPL patron might look.  And I hope I decreased the suck in somebody's life that day.  I hope I encouraged someone to keep going and to keep dreaming.  I hope I did for someone what their presence does for me every single day.

And then?  Then I took the Notebook on a tour of the place, to show him my favorite spots.  I even put him on the shelf in the teen library!  I had to grab him back quick before someone checked him out!  I mean, come on, the Red Notebook is a GREAT READ after all:

And we hung out with other great reads.  Like Catcher in the Rye, right beside the Catcher and the Rye tile on one of the sculptures!  (Can you see the title written in the tile?)

And we strolled along beside the mural that runs outside the library.  The Red Notebook REALLY liked this message, and I do, too:

                                               (You ARE born an original.  Don't die a copy.)

And then we checked out the library's Zen meditation garden.  Did a book give you a deep thought you need to process?  Stuck on a plot point?  Confused about what book to check out next?  Need ideas about how to be awesome?  WALK IT OUT:

And then I wanted to show the Red Notebook one of the inspirations for a scene in my book.  My characters end up dancing in a creek just like this one that runs behind the library.  This also happens to be where I eat my lunch on many days:

Then I sat down with the Red Notebook and wrote about our journey at the library.  I added some decorations, and I read all the other entries of awesome.  Then I looked at the Red Notebook and the Red Notebook looked at me-- and we decided we had completed our mission.  Hopefully, we'd decreased world suck.  And we'd definitely had fun doing it.  And so sadly, we left the fabulous BPL:  

(Can you spot the volunteers registering people to vote just inside the door?  That's awesome.  The Red Notebook is decreasing world suck while people in the background...decrease world suck!)

So here's to doing inspiring things and following your dreams.  You never know who's watching you and catching the awesomeness you're giving off.  And here's to libraries, to books, to readers, to dreamers, and to friends like Tara who ask you to participate in projects that remind you how grateful you are for it all.

Thanks, T.

Keep the awesome going . . .

Hello Everyone,

On May 19, 2012, I sent the following e-mail off to Tara about the arrival of the red notebook. (Now known as Reddy):

So, just before Shaymus's baseball game today, Jim carries an enormous white envelope out to me on the deck.

Who is that from, "I asked?"

"Ben Luce."

"Oh yeah, the notebook!"

Jim and I had a look, and Shaymus joined in. We then rushed off to the game. I left the red notebook home. I admit, I was a little afraid of it at first, and wondered what the heck I would do with it, or to it! Ha ha.

Now, after the game, ice cream, shopping, more shopping, and water balloons (not necessarily in that order), I really looked through the awesomeness, and then, I read the instructions last. This is so not like me. I usually go through a book in order, especially when there are directions involved. I have not actually "done" anything yet. Shaymus added a sticker to the cover for Auntie Tara, but other than that, I have some great inspiration and some ideas. What fun!

My camera batteries are re-charging, so I don't have a photo yet. I don't have a fancy cell phone either. I have a vintage cell phone; my nine-year-old trac phone. Scary.


That is the end of that e-mail message. Since then, I was able to take a photo of the red notebook (Reddy) hanging out on our bedroom floor. What you don't see is the mass load of art stuff I have spread all over the floor nearby:




The first thing I did was make a deadline for myself to complete my part of the awesomeness, and send it on to the next awesome person. (I work well with deadlines.)

Reddy had a good time hanging out in our new digs. During Reddy’s stay at our place watching some old horror movies, hanging out with me while I did some writing, reading, listening to music, and more. We even planted some flowers.

I was super-inspired when looking through this sacred red notebook. I had a hard time putting it down. I began by adding some stuff in the back pocket. That was fun! Then, I did my thing in some of the pages.

So, as promised, I packaged Reddy up in a careful manner, and sent it on to Emily France about five days later. I even faced the scary postal worker in my town. If you know me, you know I avoid that post office like the plague. I usually mail packages from Portland, ME, but had a deadline to meet, and my post office is only down the road a little way. Reddy was ready to move on. I felt good sending Reddy on to the next person, and cannot wait to finally see the outcome one of these days when Tara has it back in her hands.

Thanks for adding the awesomeness to my week, Reddy.

Okay, I was kind of left wondering what to do after Reddy left. That afternoon, my son inspired me when he brought home the recipe for “Thunder Cake”. His school librarian had read that story and copied the recipe for the kids. On Memorial Day, it took me (us) four hours to make this thunder cake. It seemed like a timely thing to do, since we did have thunderstorms the day before and the day after we made this cake. There are tomatoes in this cake by the way. I know it sounds weird, but it is supposed to keep it moist. We didn’t even taste them in the cake.

The red awesomeness never left after all.