In July of this year, we lost a beloved member of our bookish community. Grace at Rebel Mommy Book Blog was an absolute light in our corner of the internet. She left positive, sweet, and thoughtful comments on ALL of our blogs. I could always count on kind words from her on a post. We spoke a lot via blog comments and on Twitter, and I grew to really cherish her friendship. I can’t emphasize enough how genuinely lovely she was as a person. When I had the unfortunate task of sharing the news of her passing, after a long and extremely hard-fought battle with breast cancer (twice), my feed was flooded with love for her. The word “kind” was the most common word to describe her, and I wholeheartedly agree. Despite the challenges she faced in the last year or two, she was always positive and bright across our community. She shared her journey and struggles with us and genuinely kept fighting until the VERY end. She sadly left behind a devoted husband and three young children, including her youngest who was only just over a year old at the time of her passing. She was the epitome of what the good in our community can look like and not a single day has passed since she left us that I haven’t thought about her or missed her.
In honor of Grace and all the good she brought, I wanted to put forward a simple challenge for those of us who miss her (or even those who didn’t know her but have been impacted by her story now). Like all of us voracious readers, we have a hefty TBR of books ready to pick from and read at all times. The cry that we’ll never be able to read ALL THE BOOKS is constant, right? There will always be books left behind.
#ReadForGrace
My challenge is this: on Grace’s birthday (hopefully each year) on October 14th, read a book from Grace’s TBR list. Read something she was excited about and blogged about, or something from her Goodreads shelves that she was anticipating. I’ll include links below for you to find her TBR and choose something from. It can be anything – something you’ve also always wanted to read, something you added to your TBR because of one of her blog posts, or a new-to-you title you found just because you looked at her TBR. If you’d like to instead, feel free to read one of her favorite books that she’d already read. My idea of reading for Grace includes books she didn’t get to read, but it would be a lovely way to honor her by reading her favorites too.
Grace’s Favorites & TBR
I wasn’t sure if her blog would stick around online, so I made THIS SPREADSHEET that lists her favorite books and books that were on her TBR. For now, here are other links to blog posts and Goodreads shelves as long as they are still available:
- Reviews by rating page
- Monthly TBR posts
- TTT of her favorite books for the last 10 years
- Goodreads full TBR
- Goodreads favorites shelf
As a bonus if you are able to, please also consider donating to a charity that was close to Grace’s heart: METAvivor, for metastatic breast cancer research. HERE is a link to donate directly to this charity; please do so in memory of Grace. Any contribution will be helpful. I plan to make an annual donation for her on her birthday.
Please use the hashtag #ReadForGrace while reading one of the books in honor of her. I’ll likely start the book that I choose on her birthday on October 14th and read through a few days, whenever I finish up the story. I’m also thinking I will read another book for Grace, one of her favorites, so I can do both each October.
This is such a lovely gesture, Lauren! I think Grace would be really touched to know that people are reading her favorite books and enjoying them as much as she did.
I hope so!
I love this idea! I miss her posts. I have already reserved the book she was currently reading from the library, so I’ll read that.
So glad to hear.
I absolutely love this idea! I’m in!
Wonderful !
This is such a wonderful idea, Lauren. Thanks for doing this. Grace was one of the first bloggers I “met” and the first who I felt I really clicked with. We started our blogs within a few weeks of each other and always had to remind one another of our blogoversaries each year. 🙂 I’m going to be so pleased to read a “Grace book” next month.
Thanks so much!
I didn’t have the honor of knowing Grace, but this is such a beautiful tribute to someone who made such an impact in the community.
Thanks so much 🙂
What a fantastic idea! I’ll definitely participate and help to spread the word!
Thanks so much!
I love that you put this together, Lauren. I will definitely look at her TBR and see what I can read for Grace!
-Lauren
Hope you can join me!
This is such a wonderful thing you’re doing. Thank you. I miss Grace and still can’t believe she’s gone. What a great way to honor her memory!
Thanks so much <3
This is so perfect. Thank you for putting it together.
I was looking through her lists and saw a few books that I have already reviewed so I think I’ll ling up reviews again to those in addition to reading a few off her lists.
Karen @ For What It’s Worth
Wonderful idea!
[…] @ Bookmark Lit is hosting a #READFORGRACE event in honor of Grace @ Rebel Mommy Book […]
Thank you for putting this together. ???
I think about her everydsy, too. ?
<333
This is a lovely idea. After reading the post, I went to Grace’s Goodreads page and did a “compare books.” I made a list of what is on my TBR that was on Grace’s TBR, or that she had loved. I will try to read one of them on Oct. 14. (I might start before then, or finish later.)
That’s exactly what I did too! Thanks so much for joining in.
Lauren I LOVE THIS, it’s such a perfect idea! I miss her terribly, and will absolutely help in any way I can, please don’t hesitate to ask. Thank you so, so much for doing this! ♥♥♥
Thanks so much for saying so! I appreciate you spreading the word <3
This is such a lovely way to honor Grace as a person, and her contributions to the book blogging community.
Thank you <3
I have a monthly meme called my TBR List. This month (October) my three books that I will be picking for people to vote on will be three books from Grace’s TBR that we both haven’t read yet, I look forward to seeing which one I will read. This is such a great think you are doing. She was such a sweet person. <3
Thanks so much!
I miss Grace so much, and I get teary eyed when I think of her these days. A Readathon in her honor is a fantastic idea! Thank you so much for thinking of it, Lauren. <3
Same here. <3
This is a brilliant idea! I miss Grace. We followed each other’s blogs for years and talked often. I have October 14 off work, so now I know what I’ll be doing with that day.
Thanks so much for joining!
This is such a beautiful idea from you and I am glad that Lexxie shared it on Twitter. I never met Grace in person or had the pleasure of getting to know her while she was blogging. Only when one of her followers shared something she had shared via Instagram, Twitter or other social media, and it was someone I was following, I saw a bit of her. The last was the picture that showed her in the hospital shortly before she passed away. So, if I may I would love to be a part of this and honor your friend by reading a book Grace had on her TBR or called it her favorite (if that´s ok).
Best wishes
Vi
Absolutely <3
[…] For those that knew Grace, Lauren From Bookmark Lit is having a reading event in her honor for Grace’s birthday. You can find all the details on Lauren’s website. Grace passed away a few months ago. I think this is such a great way to honor her. She really was a sweet blogger. If anyone is interested, no Sign Up, just use the hashtag #readforgrace so people know that you are reading for Grace. https://bookmarklit.net/2019/09/19/readforgrace/ […]
[…] All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda // Recommended by Grace (#ReadForGrace) […]
[…] And I finally finished The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Becky Chambers), which I started for #ReadForGrace. It was very good, and I’m looking forward to reading the next one sometime soon. Last night, […]
[…] at Bookmark Lit blog is starting the #ReadForGrace challenge to remember and honor Grace from the Rebel Mommy Book Blog. For those of you who […]