Hello Readers,
I’ve been trying to get this Holiday Letter right for you. In the bustle of this season, made extra spicy for my family these past weeks as we navigated a move amidst the end of year concerts, leaks at the shop, and all the abundance that this time of year brings.
As the seasonal cards of well wishes and yearly re-caps from families come in, I can’t help but reflect on the remarkable amount of community care that exists in my world. This stems primarily from my Book Club. To call them just that is an understatement. They are a group of women and one brilliant man, who have navigated me through so many moves, cared for my children, answered my distress calls, spun with me around a dance floor, cried with me in kitchens, and made some core memories along the way. Oh, and we read books.
And when I say read, I mean it. We’re serious about the books, and I love this about us. To own a bookshop you must love books and reading, but you can lose a little lustre in the day to day gong show that is small business. My Club keeps me reading, and reading for me. It’s a tremendous act of care for my own passions, my own interests, and my desire to keep reading even when it feels like there’s just too much going on.
To run a book shop means that I get to help kickstart your family’s love of reading - and it starts with you reading to them. Nothing is better than choosing books with excited aunties, wondering what they might read with their spunky 4 yr old niece, or a first time grand parent tenderly choosing board books to start building a collection. Raising readers means being readers, and it takes a whole lot of us, especially in this age that turns away from the printed page. I’m grateful to do this kind of work, and I’m able to do it because you chose my shop. This is where the magic begins.
Reading has brought me to so many places, connected me to so many people, it’s paved a path in my life. As far as Book Club goes, they’re both my accountability club and my safe place to be - no story too long, no words too difficult, and never ever enough time for all the stories we’ll share.
