Welcome back to our weekly behind-the-scenes glimpse at what’s getting our team talking. Tell us what you’ve been reading at info@reasonstobecheerful.world and we just might feature it here. Snack on a story Vending machines are generally considered a health hazard. But head to the entrance of Western Market in downtown Washington and you’ll be greeted by a very different story — many different stories, in fact, all written by local authors and available for purchase from the LitBox vending machine. A mere 10 minutes walk from the White House, LitBox was launched by author Lauren Woods in a bid to promote and celebrate smaller press books that have to contend with a hypercompetitive publishing industry and the current administration’s slashing of federal funding for the arts. As NPR reports in an article shared by RTBC Contributing Editor Michaela Haas, Woods hopes LitBox can raise the literary profile of Washington, D.C. “I’m so proud to live in this city, and it doesn’t get enough good attention,” says the LitBox founder. “And so I wanted to do something to share my pride in the people that I live with and talk to every day, too.” Michaela says: I wish LitBoxes were in every town! Furnishing hope The U.S. is experiencing an unprecedented rise in homelessness, and with housing costs climbing and public funds shrinking, families are left cycling in and out of shelters. Determined to break this pattern, Chicago nonprofit Digs With Dignity is supporting families by furnishing homes with upcycled donated furniture for those transitioning out of homelessness.  According to this Next City Q&A, shared by RTBC Interim Editorial Director Tess Riley, the organization’s dual mission — preventing waste and preventing displacement — has helped keep hundreds of families stably housed by reducing the number of tough financial choices people need to make. Tess says: It’s unbearable to think people need to choose between whether to feed their kids, or to buy a bed for them to sleep on. Upcycling furniture is great at the best of times, but this is the first time I’ve read about it in the context of helping families remain stably housed and breaking cycles of homelessness. What else we’re reading  With Roles as Civic Hubs, Libraries Turn Over a New Page — shared by Founder David Byrne from Bloomberg   Mental Health Is Real Wealth: How Black Men Prioritize Healing in a Los Angeles Community — shared by Contributing Editor Michaela Haas from The Guardian  The Long Comeback of the Erie Canal — shared by Executive Editor Will Doig from Bloomberg In other news… It’s easy to spend a lot of time “doing” (and scrolling) and not enough time just being. Check out this beautiful illustrated short story by artist Rich Wells, who made it following an epiphany he had while stuck in traffic outside a tire — or, as he says in the U.K., “tyre” — shop. “This is all a gift!” he writes. “It’s good to be here, and I’m glad you’re here too.” The post What We’re Reading: A Vending Machine… for Books! appeared first on Reasons to be Cheerful.