Regular visitors to Travel Between The Pages will be aware of my profound appreciation for the work of the Spanish environmental art collective Luzinterruptus. Just a few days ago, they completed their latest installation in Toronto, Canada called Literatura vs Trafico. The river of books, which was composed of more than 10,000 volumes, was created for the city’s Nuit Blanche Festival. Visitors were encouraged to pick one or more of the donated books to take home.

You may recall that Luzinteruptus created similar projects in Melbourne, Madrid, and New York City. Their continuing message remains the same: “We want literature to take over the streets and conquer public spaces, freely offering those passersby a traffic-free place, which for some hours, will succumb to the humble power of the written word.”

Last year, Indonesian journalist and filmmaker Muhammad Ridwan Alimuddina decided to to quit the rat race and make a major life change. Inspired by his love of books and a heartfelt commitment to literacy, he built his own traveling catamaran library. Now he sails the remote islands of West Sulawesi on the Perahu Pustaka bringing books to children and adult learners.