Tell us About PaulsBooks
Who is Paul?
by PaulsBooksJuly 30, 2006
On August 2, 2005, the unthinkable happened. Our 15 year-old son, Paul was fatally struck by lightening while lying on his cot in an adirondack at a scout camp in the Uintah Mountains of Utah. A valiant effort was made to resuscitate him.
Of course, we are grief-stricken. Paul was and is an amazing light in our lives. He made us smile. He was so full of life! Paul was a consummate reader. I would often find him awake, reading in the wee hours of the morning. He would panic as I walked in with “…just one more minute, Mom!” Last summer, Paul mused, “…what would life be like if you didn’t like to read?”
In an effort to keep Paul’s memory alive, we are working to celebrate his life, rather than mourn our tremendous loss. We have developed The Paul Gordon Ostler Memorial for Children’s Literacy. We have purchased books as well as received generous book and financial donations to assist our work. Our primary project is called Paul’s Pass-Along Books. Each book has a bookplate describing Paul, a Paul’s Books number, as well as a BookCrossing (BCID) number. People read the book, sign it, log on to BookCrossing through our Book List on Paul’s web page (paulsbooks.org) and make a journal entry.
We have distributed books at schools and among friends. On February 3rd, 2006, we had a 16th birthday celebration for Paul. We had balloons, cake (featuring a cherry Lamborghini), and BOOKS! Friends and family picked out Paul’s Books and donated favorite books for future release. This will become an annual event, again, an effort to celebrate his life rather than just mourn.
Our goal is to share Paul’s Books with as many people as ultimately possible. Paul was an incredible person and we hope to share his amazing light with the world.
We find many people sharing Paul’s Books with family and friends. They will often say their children or friends are inspired to read because they are Paul’s Books! That is wonderful news!
We are grateful to BookCrossing for assistance with PaulsBooks Bookshelf. Without BookCrossing, we would not have the pleasure of watching these wonderful Paul’s Books change lives. Thank you, BookCrossing and thank you readers, everywhere. We hope you will "catch" a Paul's Book soon! To learn more about Paul, visit paulsbooks.org.
