Melissa Forbes just wanted to share some books with her neighbours. Little did she know her upcycled street library would be deemed “illegal”.

“Honestly, it’s hilarious,” she told this masthead in relation to her being the owner of one of Australia’s most infamous street libraries.

Melissa Forbes’ ‘illegal’ book box in Moreton Bay. Credit: Melissa Forbes

In January, Forbes erected a book nook on the grass in front of her house, encouraging locals and passersby to “give a book, take a book”. But it didn’t take long for a complaint to be lodged with Moreton Bay Council. A knock at the door then alerted her to the “illegal book box” she had set up in the suburb of Clontarf.

“I set out to share some books with my neighbours, maybe help someone discover a new favourite read,” she said.

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