New Year, New Chapters.

The start of a new year is always so full of promise, with just a twinge of regret for what was missed, for what wasn't said or done.  

I feel like reading has been such a huge part of my life, of who I am, that I really do think of life itself in chapters.

We all have stories, we all have epic romances, tales from the crypt, comedies, tragedies. We all feel like we are living out a script someone else wrote sometimes. It reminds me of what the wonderful Nora Ephron said, "Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim." 
How are you going to swoop in and save yourself in 2013? How will you be the hero of your story?

Think of a story you read that really made you feel like "this is why I'm a reader, THIS is why I read". What was it about the characters that made you want to be better yourself? To dare to dream a little bigger, to make your life a little better?

My story would be Neil Gaiman's American Gods. Shadow makes me want to be more. Not emotionless or unafraid, but able to feel fear, let it wash over you and walk through it. To see the humor in impossible situations, to love deeply, fully, and with total conviction. To know that whatever happens you are meant to be in that place, and to take it all in.

What is your story? What makes you damn proud to be a reader? 

Maybe if we all remembered that other people are all just walking through their own chapters, they are like us, trying to get to the place where we are truly "in" our lives. Not living in the future or the past, being present, for that is the real story. What is right now. Maybe if we all knew each other's stories, we would be kinder to each other.

In 2013, may you remember that you are just what you need to be right now. You are enough as you are. You were chosen to be the lead character of your life for a reason. There is no one else like you. You are the only one who can tell your tale. So this year, live your life you fabulous creature, live as a hero, live as only you can. We all need each other's stories, and each chapter of life just makes them better.

Thank you all for being in Geek Girls Book Club, you have made me feel blessed to be a part of your journey.

Happy New Year my dear Geeks.