“I have a severe addiction to books and this was a great way to celebrate that!”
Sue’s love for books and the enjoyment of spending time in libraries and bookstores have always served as a confirmation of her career choice. For 44 years, Sue was a journalist. Both her grandfather’s started local newspapers, which is the inspiration behind her taking up the craft. Throughout her childhood and adolescence, Sue prioritized writing and editing for school newspapers. She continued with her passion well into her college years. Her first job was in a small oil town – she was an editor and “only took care of women’s issues.”
As Sue’s career progressed – after taking time off to raise her family, she wrote for many newspapers in the Dallas area and covered a wide variety of local events. Although she is now retired, she still reads a lot and continues to feed her fascination with writing and literature in all of its forms. And as her book collection continues to grow, so did her interest in visiting Powell City of Books. Powell’s is the largest collection of books in the United States and is located in Portland, Oregon. Sue wished to travel to Portland to experience this historic store and celebrate her love of literature in a special way.
On Saturday, August 26th, in the early morning hours, Wish of a Lifetime and Brookdale granted Sue’s wish and sent her to Powell’s bookstore for the first time! Sue and her daughter, Mindy, spent 10 hours wandering through the aisles, sharing quotes pulled from the bookshelves, and enjoyed an extensive tour, “…they toured us all around the store and took us to the [Rare Book Room]. There was one book in there that weighs 120 pounds…they even had a first edition Harry Potter book!”
Sue and Mindy had a very special and memorable weekend and will, “never forget the opportunity of a lifetime.”
Photography by: William James Rust
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Powell’s City of Books is the largest used and new bookstore in the world, occupying an entire city block and housing approximately one million books. Located in downtown Portland’s Pearl District, the City of Books has nine color-coded rooms and over 3,500 different sections, offering something for every interest, including an incredible selection of out-of-print and hard-to-find titles. Dozens of acclaimed writers, artists, and thinkers visit each month to read in the Basil Hallward Gallery (located upstairs in the Pearl Room), and a one-of-a-kind Rare Book Room draws bibliophiles from near and far to browse an impressive collection of autographed first editions and other collectible volumes.
