AMY

PHOTO BY RANDY BACON

AMY

“A Lot Like Magic”

I have always considered myself a reader, or, more specifically, I’ve considered myself a book person. I love to read books; I’ve tried my hand at writing them; I collect them; I simply love the fact that they exist. I also like to consider myself a bookstore tourist. My favorite activity when I visit a new place is finding a local bookstore. Not because I don’t already have plenty of books at home to keep me reading for a lifetime, but because a bookshop is a little glimpse into a community. It’s exciting to go in, not knowing what new books—new stories—might be waiting for me. And it’s comforting somehow, knowing there’s also a good chance that I’ll come across some of my old favorites. Even someplace new, walking into a bookstore feels familiar. In Brooklyn, there’s a bookstore called Books Are Magic. It’s one of my favorite shops to visit, in part because of the giant mural on the side of the building that declares, in bright pink paint, that BOOKS ARE MAGIC. I love it because it’s true. Reading has helped me find myself and find some of my closest friends, and books always have felt like little bits of magic in my life.

I am fortunate that reading came to me pretty naturally. I wasn’t the earliest in my class to learn how to read, but once I learned, I was hooked. I carried books around with me everywhere. I read in the car, and I read at the dinner table, and I read as I walked around, bumping off corners of furniture and door frames. I was completely transported when I picked up a new book. The books of my childhood were full of stories about horses and dragons and girls who could talk to animals. Within the pages of these books, I visited new places and met knew people. Books had the magical ability to take me anywhere I wanted to go.

In middle and high school, I learned that my love of reading could also connect me with people in my real life. I built a big part of my identity around my love for books and some of my closest friendships were forged over a mutual love of stories and characters. It was no surprise to anyone when I went to college to study English and creative writing. Each semester brought me new opportunities to connect with my classmates as we discussed our reading.

After graduating, I began working in my family business, a wholesale refrigeration and HVAC company. As the third generation in my family in the business, I was excited and proud and extremely fortunate. But the work certainly wasn’t book related. I could still escape into a story at the end of the day, but after a while I began to feel isolated—like I was missing something. I read less and I felt less like myself.

That was when I discovered a little corner of the internet known as Bookstagram. I had always been a passive observer when it came to social media, but I was mesmerized by photos of people reading and drinking tea lattes, and by the genuine conversations going on in the comments about books. It was a big step for me to join in, as someone who had always been rather hesitant to voice opinions (online or otherwise), but as I began to post and interact with other readers, my confidence grew and so did my audience. I suddenly had a place to talk about the books I read, and I had a community of people who wanted to hear about them. Conversations about books often turned to conversations about life and these online connections grew into some of the strongest and closest friendships I have. Books felt magical again, and they were breathing some of that magic back into me, helping me to find my voice and feel more like myself.

Now I read somewhere between fifty to eighty books a year. I visit friends (and bookshops) all over the country, and I volunteer as a reading tutor here in town. I am happier and more confident in my work, and I am also completing a certificate in editing so that I can bring my love of words into my career. I hope to someday own a bookstore. Being a reader—a book person—is a part of my identity. Of course, I love the stories and the words and all that I can learn within the pages of a book, but I’m most grateful for the way books have shaped me and the connections they have helped me make. Reading might be a solitary activity, but it has the power to bring people together. And that feels a lot like magic.