KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The owner of a midtown bookstore set fire to hundreds of books on West 39th Street on Sunday.

"We hope to spark a conversation about the importance of books in the face of a marked shrinking in reading trends, and staggering waste streams of actual books," said Prospero's Books owner, Tom Wayne.

Prospero's has publicized for months that it was looking for a good home for thousands of books, and saying it would burn the books if no one wanted them.

Prospero's maintains three outdoor shelves of books for insomniacs, families with loved ones at the nearby KU Medical Center, early riders of the Kansas City bus system or simply those needing a book but who can't afford one. "Payment is on the honor system," said Prospero’s co-owner, Will Leathem. "Several mornings a week, we find dollars shoved beneath our door. It has been a great lesson in human nature."

The bookstore owners said they received thousands of e-mails and phone calls with suggestions what to do with the books. But few people offered to take them.

"With all of the public outcry, I thought more people would step up to give these books a home," said Wayne. "Maybe people thought being outraged would accomplish something."

"We're a small used bookstore," noted Wayne, "most of the ideas we've received would cost us thousands of dollars and dozens of hours, or would have us provide our inventory to organizations that compete directly with used bookstores."