The other day someone asked me what my profession was before I started Blarney. Now that Blarney has passed the landmark of 20 years in operation, I felt kind of empowered to not stumble through that question and answer with my usual, "Oh, I didn't have a profession. I did a variety of odd jobs." This time I chose to answer with, "I think 20 years of being a bookseller is now officially my past and my present profession." To be fair, I don't think the questioner had realised that Blarney has been so long-standing.
Two decades of bookselling. And two decades of parenting. I think it's fair to say I was a different person twenty years ago to the one I am now. But aren't we all? There's a lot that happens in two decades. When I first opened the shop, I clearly recall someone asking me for reading recommendations. I listed off my then-favourite writers. And her response to my list was, "Now, can you name some writers who are women?" That question made me take a hard look at what I'd been reading, and what I'd go on to read from then on. Not that I only read women now, not even close - and twenty years on there's more to consider in my reading choices than just that gendered binary - but it was a pivotal point in my reading life.
I've changed. You've changed. We've all had some high highs, some happy days, and some ghastly lows, gut-punching blows. So much happens in twenty years. And the changes will keep coming. We'll keep doing what we're doing at Blarney for as long as we can.
Thank you for your support over two decades.
