Nabe resident/New York Times writer Dulcie Leimbach writes today about finding the novel Kingfishers Catch Fire in a Brooklyn Heights trash heap. According to her many residents are guilty of dumpster diving, not just those two regular “can collectors” we see on Tuesday nights.
NY Times: A Serendipitous: WITH its faded painterly cover, “Kingfishers Catch Fire” caught my eye.
I had been taking our dog Curly for a spin around the blocks in my section of Brooklyn Heights, where I often pass books that are being given away or, in less gentle terms, thrown out. I was baffled that anyone would toss an ancient Rumer Godden hardcover, but as I took the book from its spot on the steps of a brownstone, I felt like a thief.
People walk away with others’ belongings a lot where I live. After six years on Henry Street, a road graced with gingko trees and cherry blossoms, I have grown used to giveaways, having acquired exercise pants, kitchen utensils, a mirror, a belt and many books along the way. This walk, on Willow Place, where time stands utterly still, I clutched “Kingfishers,” exhilarated that Rumer Godden was back in my possession.
