I’m a librarian. I love to read. This is no secret.
I’m an avid GoodReads user. I track the number of books I’ve read and have participated in their yearly reading challenge since 2013. Back then I would try to be ambitios and read 50-100 books in a year. The most I ever managed was 71.
This year I decided to be conservative. I set my goal at 24 books, knowing that two books per month in addition to grad school was more than enough for my brain to handle.
After Mom was gone, I found comfort in scrolling through her social media. I stumbled upon her GoodReads account. It was a stab right to the gut. Most people don’t realize how quickly she went in the end. In January, she set a goal to read 12 books in 2018. She still had a book in her currently reading status, American Gods by Neil Gaiman. She was on page 44. Back then, she didn’t know she would leave us in March and would never finish that book.
I decided that I would read her 12 books for her. I’m sitting at 35 for my year with number 36 in my hands. Queen of Air and Darkness by Cassandra Clare. A favorite series to end the most challenging and hardest year of my life. I read my books and I read hers too.
I love you, Mom. Thank you for teaching me to love reading and for saying to me, “It was about time!” for me to pursue my Masters in Library Science. You’ll be there when I walk and get hooded in May 2019 and when I finish up my last course in August. I think of you each day I walk into work and can picture you sitting in your papasan chair reading a book in the sunshine.
Neon Runner Girl 