How long have you worked at the library?
Just about six months.
How many items do you have checked out right now?
14
How many items are on your hold list?
6
What book can you read again and again without losing interest? Why do you still read it?
Stephanie Meyer’s The Host is probably the only novel I have read multiple times, probably going on seven or eight times now. I’m a big fan of post-apocalyptic sci-fi stories in general, but I come back for the love story every time. It is heartbreaking at times but so satisfying in the end.
What is your favorite book format (book, audio, mp3, e-reader, etc.)?
I prefer physical books to any other format, although I do read a lot of ebooks for convenience. There is just something about holding a physical book that is so much more engaging for me.
What is your favorite aspect of working at the library?
I love to see what everyone else is reading. Sometimes when I look for a new book, I get stuck looking in my usual genres and I miss out on a lot of great books. As I check out patrons and discuss their requested items with them as well as listen to my coworkers discuss their current reads, I get a chance to look into something I wouldn’t have normally seen.
What books do you feel guilty for not having read?
Pretty much any non-fiction book I don’t finish. I primarily read fiction, but every now and then I find a really great non-fiction book that interests me and I start to read it. However, more often than not I come across another fiction book that steals my attention away and eventually I have to return the non-fiction book unfinished.
Have your reading habits changed since working at the library? If so, how?
I’ve become pretty terrible about jumping from one book to another without finishing the last. Typically, I used to look for an interesting series and gave it my undivided attention until I caught up. Now, with so many great books coming across the desk, I jump around from one series to another, from one book to another, often in the process of reading several books at once and sometimes those books have to be returned unfinished because of time constraints.
What is your perfect reading environment?
Curled up under a blanket in the living room in the dead of night when everyone else in the house has gone to bed. I love getting to really settle into a book with no interruptions or noise.
If you were stranded on a desert island, what single genre of books would you want with you?
I love reading sci-fi and fantasy books set in a post-apocalyptic world anyway, but I feel like those may benefit me on a desert island. While the problems and solutions that arise may seem at times realistic and at times silly or ridiculous to me now, I think they may be creative enough to help me survive on my desert island while also providing me some entertainment.
What was your favorite children’s book when you were a child? What is your favorite children’s book now?
When I was a child my favorite book was the Dr. Suess book Fox in Socks. It was a lot of fun to compete with my siblings to see who could read the quickest. I feel like the majority of children’s books I read when I was younger were either silly or pretty standard for teaching manners and good behavior. Recently, through school projects, I’ve studied samples of children’s literature from East Asian and Asian-American authors. I’m really impressed by the amount of books in recent years that promote diversity and cultural competency. One of my favorites was Yangsook Choi’s The Name Jar, which not only gives children a glimpse into important aspects of Korean culture, but also portrays the inherent curiosity, as well as warm and accepting behavior or young children.