I love to read.

There is no debating that.  I have always been a reader and it is something that is a part of my life.

I make time to read.  Sometimes I let other things go by the wayside because of my love of reading but that’s okay in my book.

My mother was a reader.  She isn’t able to read as much anymore and when I visit I try to read some things to her just to keep her love of the written word alive.

Last time we read some scriptures and The Reader’s Digest together.  I think that is a pretty good combination, don’t you?

When we cleaned out her assisted living apartment this past year in preparation for her move to her new place in the memory care unit I happened upon this red three ring binder.   I knew exactly what it held and I claimed it.

My mom kept a running list of all of the books she had read.  The actual list started with neatly typed titles and authors with the first set of books being listed for the year 1949 when she was 20 years old.

I love that before she was married she started reading books on marriage.  I guess I actually did the same thing so I followed in her footsteps.

I was interested to see what she read the year I was born.  I did notice that when the family was young she did not read as much as she did in later years and I think that makes perfect sense.

Do you think there is a coincidence that she read through the entire Bible the year I was born?

As the years passed she found favorite authors like Jan Karon, Richard Paul Evans and Nicolas Sparks.  Those books were often starred in her lists as favorites and it brought a smile to my face when I saw those.

Reading through her Books Read notebook has a sober side as well as I notice her always perfect handwriting and spelling deteriorating.   She kept typewritten entries until 2013 and then started handwriting her entries. This page shows the compilation book by Cecelia Gunther in which I have a chapter.

And finally the last page of her book list which she wrote in 2016 brought me to tears because even then I could see the decline.  That is the year when things started getting really difficult for her and her memory loss issues moved to another level.  Of course I tried to not see it but it is pretty clear when I look at her last entry.

Aren’t I blessed to have been given the gift of the love of reading from my sweet mom?  Aren’t I just so fortunate to have this detailed list of her reading for almost 70 years?  This is one red notebook that I will treasure and keep.

Don’t forget to leave me a comment today for Comments for a Cause – Books for Africa. Tell me if you keep a book list like this. Each comment on any post this month means a 50 cent donation so please comment often.  I love to read your thoughts.