Coincidence?

The older I get, the more often I see connections between actions, thoughts, and happenings.  So, here is my most recent "coincidence."

Wen I was young, my mother purchased a book of nine short stories by J. D. Salinger.  For some reason I was always intrigued by the book;  I guess I thought it was something I "should" read but never did.  But I kept the book, and earlier this spring I set it out as something to read in the near future.

A few weeks ago, while cleaning our bedroom, I put the book back on the shelf, since I still had not read it.  Epic fail.

Fast forward to our October book club book.  I had finished The Count of Monte Cristo and decided to pick up the next book, The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry.  I had heard it was a fast read.

The first page of the story involved a review of an obscure book in A. J. Fikry's store.  From then on, every chapter began with another review of a different obscure book, though I did recognize one or two of the titles.  Toward the end of the book, one chapter began with a review of "A Perfect Day for Bananafish," by J. D. Salinger.  I did not think anything about it because I was loving reading about A. J. Fikry's storied life and could not wait to see what happened.  And I assumed the Salinger piece was a book.

A day later, however, it occurred to me that maybe the Salinger review was not a book but perhaps a short story.  I pulled out my mom's book, and guess what the first short story is?  Yep.  "A Perfect Day for Bananafish."  I think it is a sign.  Needless to say, I now have to read at least the first of the nine short stories.

Ready, set, go!