Some books start with acknowledgements but most save them to the end.  I haven’t always liked to read them but ever since I began to wonder how the cake was baked, I have taken in all of the acknowledgements from my favorite books. As Anne said, “The authors acknowledgements have deepened my appreciation for and understanding of the story.” I end This Bookman: Meditations & Miscellany series with my own acknowledgements; what further insights this gives, only you will be able to say.

I would be remiss if I didn’t first thank Anne Bogel of Modern Mrs. Darcy for inspiring this series of meditations on my reading life.  I have referred to it often, but I’d Rather Be Reading, was a life-changing experience.  It is a gorgeous volume and would make a lovely little gift for the readers in your life.

Next, Domonique, who was the first person with whom I shared this hair-brain idea and was so excited and affirming that I had no excuses for not pursuing it.

My mommy, who always said that I should publish something.  Did you know something all along?

And none of this would be possible without my Hubby, who has granted me the time and space to pursue this writing thing.

And finally, from the bottom of my heart I thank you, the readers, who have come with me on this journey.  As edifying as this experience might have been for me, writers need readers and without you, the writing life just doesn’t quite measure up.  Much love to each and every one of you. I hope you’ll stick around. I’ll be easing up on the frequency of my posts through the Holidays and will be back with you, nice and regular in the New Year!

Now go read something else, and more importantly,

enjoy life

Have you ever caught yourself thinking what you would do if you had a lot of money, like you won the lottery or an old rich family member died (of natural causes, to be clear)? I have and one of the things that I have always thought that I’d like to do is set up a scholarship at my alma mater. In 2016, I was impressed to start the  scholarship with what little money I had and slowly build it and add to it as time progressed.  There was no reason to wait.

In 2015, I had read a book called “The Bookman’s Tale: A Novel of Obsession” by Charlie Lovett.  Before I read that book, I had never heard of the word, “bookman”. Of course, I had to look up the word and was delighted to find that it described me perfectly.

Naturally, that became the name of the scholarship: The Bookman’s Scholarship.  It is for students who love books and reading and are enrolled in a literature courses.  The application requires a 250-word essay where they can discuss their favorite quote or their favorite book.

I’m happy to say that we have awarded two small scholarships to-date and plan on growing the fund to endowment status with the ultimate goal of paying for four years of college for one student. Although that appears to a long way off, so was the idea of even having a scholarship to begin with.

If you have an idea, a dream, or something you think it would be cool to do, don’t wait! Figure out how you can make it happen now.  Two students were able to get into school because I went for it.  That’s amazing to me.

I had the pleasure of meeting Charlie Lovett at The Alabama Booksmith in Birmingham, Alabama in March of 2017. I bet he didn’t think that his book title would inspire a scholarship to help students through school.

til tomorrow, enjoy life

Only one more day to go in this series: This Bookman: Meditations & Miscellany.