How long have you worked at the library?
Six months! I started at the beginning of November 2021.
How many items do you have checked out and home many are on your hold list?
I have eight items out at the moment, and I’m in the holds queue for two more. I’m in the process of moving right now, so I’m trying to keep fewer books at home but it’s easier said than done.
What book can you read again and again without losing interest? Why do you still read it?
I bought a copy of Radical Mycology: A Treatise On Seeing And Working With Fungi by Peter McCoy thinking it would help demystify mushrooms in my brain so that I could force myself to start eating them. I still don’t eat mushrooms regularly but now hold a special reverence for fungi. If I ever had to swear some sort of legal oath I would probably use Radical Mycology. A close second would be the Algorithmic Beauty of Plants by Przemyslaw Prusinkiewicz and Aristid Lindenmayer.
If you were stranded on a desert island, what single genre of books would you want with you?
Stranded? All the way??? Books on Philosophy of Humanity > The Human Condition > Death are in nonfiction starting from 128.5. 💀
What aspects of the library do you think are underutilized?
We have lots of coffee-table style books about art and design in our non-fiction and oversized collections. Many of them are well made! It’s hard to really quantify the feeling of holding and flipping through one.
What is your favorite book format (book, audio, mp3, e-reader, etc.)?
I like reading physical books when I have time to set aside for reading but e-books are the most convenient for me these days. I have more .pdf and .epub books than I’ll ever be able to read. I might be a data hoarder.
What is your guilty reading (or listening) pleasure?
I don’t believe in guilty pleasures! It doesn’t matter if you think other people think something is artful or not if you’re entertained. Something that falls into this category would be Way of the Househusband in our Manga collection. Lots of fun! Art? It is to me.
What books do you feel guilty for not having read?
We have a MASSIVE copy of Carl Jung’s The Red Book in the library that I think about reading every time it gets checked out or sent away in transit. Not because I’m really that into philosophy at all but the book has this hypnotic weight to it. Bookshop.org says it’s 12.3 x 18.0 x 2.5 inches and weighs 9.65 pounds. It’s also $270 on there and we just have it to check out for free.
Have your reading habits changed since working at the library? If so, how?
For sure. I check our new and upcoming section regularly and started checking sites like Goodreads and NPR’s books section for recommendations. I hadn’t been reading many fiction books before then so I’ve tried a bunch of different things out. I’m getting really tired of just piles of techy/businessy management books so finding new voices has been such a relief.
What is your perfect reading environment?
It’s easy at home to find quiet down time so I’m not super picky. I don’t read here much but I think our study rooms would be great as well
Before you worked here, what was your worst library transgression?
I don’t exactly have a library transgression but I have many from a previous job at Hollywood Video (in the throes of bankruptcy) that I’m not at liberty to discuss at this time.
What is your favorite aspect of working at the library?
Without a doubt, it’s the staff. Everyone here has media and subjects that they’re passionate about and our administration welcomes and encourages us all to bring that in to work. If a patron needs a recommendation you can all but guarantee someone here will try their best to help them out and get them to the right place. I think we’re at our best when we bring those pieces of ourselves to the table and I’m really glad to be able to share that with the team here and our patrons.