A Life That Books Built

This is the very first book I ever fell in love with. In fact, this is the same copy I have had since I was 11 years old! I had been spending time with an aunt one summer and one day, we visited her local library. As we left the building, we passed a shelf of books by the door labeled "FREE"! My aunt allowed me to choose one as long as I promised to pass it along to someone else.

I picked up that book and read it every chance I had. We took a little roadtrip to a beach with some cousins who to this day, remember that trip as the one where I had my nose stuck in a book the entire time! I couldn't help it - as the main character hurtled through the Welsh countryside, so was I. We explored Wales together, took on huge responsibilties for girls our age, and slowly helped mend a broken family.

I never did pass this book along as I had promised. But as a bookseller, I certainly sold many copies of it, so at least the story was shared with others! It has been some time since I read this book last, I think maybe this summer I will pick it up yet again!

Everybody makes mistakes. My biggest one came in the form of a Scotsman with an incomprehensible love of Bruce Springsteen and an inability to tell the truth. While I still can't stand Springsteen because of this relationship, I did take away one positive thing: a love of David Eddings. At the time of my discovery of Eddings, he had just completed his Mallorean Chronicles with the publishing of The Seeress of Kell. Being the science fiction/fantasy geek that I am, I took to his writing immediately. He wrote about characters I would love to hang out with, and the quests were good as well.

After dumping the dud and keeping his books, I spent a year rereading this series (10 books in all). A little bit each night, starting the series over once I had reached the end - it helped me fall asleep. Since that time, Eddings has written several more books. I highly recommend his work, particularly if you are a fan of quest fantasies such as The Lord of the Rings.

I came back home after living in San Francisco for one wonderfully crazy year. Not long after my return, I began working at a job that was to take over my life for twelve years: I became a BOOKSELLER. I already had quite a collection, but this job would take me over the top as far as collecting books goes. It was early in my bookselling career that I happened across Coming Home by Rosamund Pilcher. I liked the cover and dust jacket blurb, and as well it took place in Cornwall - somewhere I had visited before! So I brought it home with me and read it straight through on my next day off. Pilcher weaves intricate tales full of details and compelling characters. I have been hooked ever since!

I am now on my second and third copies of the book, and as you can see they are close to being on their last legs. Part of that is due to the fact that my daughter loves to carry around my books! Winter Solstice comes in a close second for sheer number of times I have read Pilcher, but I am still on the first copy of that particular title!

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone had been on the best seller list for some time, and my manager was bugging a colleague to read it. I had noticed the book myself, but didn't pay much attention to it until two weeks before the release of Chamber of Secrets. Curious and without anything else to read, I checked it out. Of course, I was completely blown away! I read the book two times over that two week period. It is such a magical (pardon the pun) story I just couldn't put it down. I thought waiting two weeks for the second book to be released was torture. Little did I know that the torture of waiting was just beginning!

I was no longer working at the bookstore, pregnant and on restricted movement (nearly bed rest) when number seven was released. There was no stopping me though - I was not going to wait until my husband came home from work on Saturday evening to start reading it. My best friend was working at the store at night, and called me to let me know when my number to pick up my book would be called. My dear sweet husband, even though he had to be up bright and early to open his bookstore on Saturday morning, drove me to the store at 1:30 am. The line was mercifully fast - 20 minutes from the time I walked in to the time I left with the book clutched in my little hands. With the previous two releases, I read the books in one sitting. With this one, I took my time and SAVORED it. I still cry when I read it! For me, summer now means reading the Harry Potter books, beginning to end.

Considering the number of times I have reread these books, they are holding up fairly well. The exception being #4 which because of the size experienced binding failure - my copy cracked the first time I read it.

Being an avid reader and bookseller, it seemed a natural progression to becoming a teacher. I wanted to help children learn to read, so I went back to school and got my K-6 license, complete with endorsements in Reading and Social Studies. (In my state, an endorsement means that I can teach through 8th grade in those subject areas.) However, by the time I completed my studies and got my teaching license, jobs in my area were few and far between. This meant I was employed as a Substitute Teacher. I HATED it!

I stayed on at the bookstore part-time while I was substitute teaching. One day, I had a wonderful conversation with a friend about her experiences as a Montessori student. She was so passionate about that short time of her life, I decided to check it out. I didn't know much about Montessori - she had been briefly mentioned once in my Education Fundamentals course. I purchased by Paula Polk Lilard's Montessori in the Classroom. Of all the books I have reread, this is the one that has actually changed the direction of my life!

I can't explain why Maria Montessori inspires me as an educator in this one paragraph. She was a woman who was ahead of her times. She actually observed children to figure out how they learn, then devised curriculum that was based on the developmental needs of the child. The best way I can describe a Montessori classroom is that it is like homeschooling in a group environment. Every child is presented curriculum according to their developmental needs, but in a classroom with other children. It works, and it works very well!

I read the book twice, then did an internet search to see if there were any Montessori schools nearby. There were three, but only one returned my call. I visited the school, and loved it so much that I submitted my resume so that I could be called in as a sub for them.

Within six weeks of submitting my resume, I stepped in for a three-week assignment at the end of the school year. The following December, I was employed to take over a classroom as the Directress (equivalent of the teacher in a traditional classroom.) Three months after that, I began my Montessori training. I do not recommend starting in a Montessori classroom before getting your training. However, there is a national shortage in people who are Montessori trained, and sometimes you have to take a leap of faith.

Montessori dominates my life at this time - it is what I do all day, and now that I have my own child, it impacts my home life as well. But I couldn't be happier!

Without my love of books I probably would never have met my husband! He started working at the same store a few months after I did. Workplace romance novel in the making. We even got married in the bookstore since it was so special to us. (Yes, the store was open at the time, we just had to have enough cake and punch for everyone!). Ten years, and we are still on the same page.

The lens is the result of a Rocket Moms assignment. RocketMoms is a Squidoo Group that gathers the smartest women on the web together and is being led by the wonderful bdkz. Keep your eyes peeled for other RocketMoms productions!