Life has a way of keeping us from feeling like we are getting the most out of our existence. When we fall into certain routines that are focused on survival, it can be hard to zoom out and get a better idea of the big picture.
Carole-Ann Warburton was not going to allow this to happen to her. She knew what she wanted and she wasn’t scared to chase it. At the age of 65, she made a major life decision. She decided that it was time to turn in her notice to her old job and embark on her own dream.
The end result? A bookstore that is called The Book Rest. It is located on West Street and is chock full of thousands of books.
She did not have to go far to source these books, as she has collected over 8,000 of them over the course of her lifetime. Carole-Ann started this habit when she was in college. As you would expect, she’s got quite the stash to select from now. It is only right that she would share the wealth with everyone else in the area. What an amazing step to take!
“Our house was absolutely chock-a-block,” Warburton said, in a recent interview with The Guardian. “Most rooms had boxes of books and bookshelves of books. We had a four-bedroomed house and all the rooms consisted of small walkway passages between piles of books.”
Carole-Ann has three daughters who are said to have “hated it” and we can see why. Can you imagine the annoyance of trying to navigate through all of this clutter?
We are glad to see that she was able to make her dream come true, though. What’s even more exciting, is The Book Rest is on the verge of celebrating its tenth anniversary! Dreams really do come true….
“I am so happy standing here in the middle of a pile of books,” she said to The Guardian. “I can walk around the shop, pick up a book and sit down and read it … I would like to keep doing this until I no longer can.”