MemeMachineGo!

More free books: New York Times article on Baltimore's The Book Thing.

"I figure we'll give away 10,000 books this weekend," he said confidently, after putting out simple sidewalk sandwich-board signs announcing, "Free Books."

Mr. Wattenberg is the founder and proprietor of the Book Thing, a makeshift, backdoor operation that has become an institution in the last six years for giving away hundreds of thousands of books on the sole condition that they are presented free to browsers and must stay that way.

And one man has chosen to privately tithe to the needy.

These are the people who taught me what it is really to care for others, the people who helped me to understand the joy of giving. I will be forever grateful to them for that lesson.

It is in honor of these people that I have decided to create and fund Modest Needs, a website dedicated to those people who find themselves faced with unexpected expenses that, though relatively minor, threaten to stretch their budgets to the very limit. Beginning 1 April 2002, I will be distributing 10% of my monthly income to assist people who find themselves in that position.

(Thanks Lisa, and via Metafilter, respectively)