Hello, blog friends! Welcome to A Portable Magic! I’m Gabby. Once upon a time I was a dorky little girl in a small southeastern Michigan town who always got the biggest haul from the book order. Now I’m a lawyer-turned-lobbyist living in northern Nevada with my husband and son. In between, I graduated from the University of Michigan and the University of Alabama School of Law, was a post-divorce custody litigator, and did field work for a presidential campaign.
Whenever I got mouthy as a kid, my mom would punish me by grounding me from the library. But as I went through undergrad and especially law school, having so much mandatory reading meant that I didn’t do much in the way of reading for fun anymore. After a long day of staring at words as an attorney, the last thing I wanted to do was go home and stare at more words. But when I left lawyering behind, I rediscovered my love of books and the worlds they contain. I started reading again, and it’s been a joy to get back in touch with my bookworm side.
In 2015, I started a blog called 500 Books to document my attempt to achieve a goal I’d set for myself to achieve in my 30s: reading 50 books per year. I hit my goal total less than two months after my 36th birthday. Shortly afterwards, I became a mother, and I found myself with less time to dink around on the internet and a lot more to think about in general. So I’m here now, a place I want to still be reading-centric while also encompassing more about my life. I’m glad you found yourself here, and please do leave a comment if you’re so inclined!