By Delores Kuhlwein
The idea started as a spinoff from the habit the ladies at Starnes Quarter Horses had of trading bags of books with friends at the shows – friends like Sherry at Equine Sports Medicine, and Allison McDonald.
Before Congress began, the Starnes’ Assistant and Barn Manager, Brianne Lenehan, had an epiphany. “What if we just made up a box instead of trading a bag of books with people? We can see what everybody comes up with,” she proposed to Kristy Starnes.
Thus, she says, the box was born.
Brianne has always devoured books, she explains, and when she was young, she would literally read anything she could get her hands on, and to this day, that’s still the case. “That’s where Kristy and I came up with the idea.”
When asked if traditional, paper books, or digital versions are her jam, she reveals, “All the above. I have a little bit of a book buying problem.” She confesses and she and Kristy will go into the bookstore, and Kristy will look over to discover Brianne has a stack gathered, even though Brianne wasn’t planning on buying any that particular day.
For Brianne, getting lost in a series or book, or reading about the past, or things she hadn’t gotten to experience contributed to the allure of the written word.
Starnes Quarter Horses invites you to spend your “hurry up and wait’ time at the show with a good book, so stop by their stalls in the Voinovich Building by the Shane Rux backdrop. “Take a peek at the Little Library. Bring a book you’ve already finished and swap it for a new one!”