Meet the April Reader of the Month: Louie Fischer
Check out Louie’s Favorite Books
Be the next C-SPL Reader of the Month!
About Louie:
My name is Louie Fischer. I’m a lifelong Dubuquer, and I’m proud to be an English teacher and the Girls’ Cross-Country coach at Dubuque Senior High School. If I’m not enjoying life at home with my wife Carolyn and my sons Lou and Ray, I’m probably out for a run.
I like to read books about running and endurance training because it relates directly to my life as a coach, and it keeps the part of my mind sharp to read lots of different perspectives on the different ways to be a happy and successful runner. I also like to read autobiographies and biographies of people I admire, which often translates into books about and/or written by rock stars and musicians I admire. My wife and Dad are also trusted sources for new books to check out, so I often read things they pass my way. As an English teacher, I’m usually reading something from our curriculum (and I do enjoy most of that content), but I always try to have a book at home going too. I like to read for about half an hour before I fall asleep.
Q & A
Q. What is the best book you have read within the last year (or ever)?
A. Best Book This Year: Educated by Tara Westover
Best Book Ever: East of Eden by John Steinbeck
Q. What is your ideal reading environment (location, sound, snacks, etc.)?
A. I like to read in my hammock when it’s warm enough and on the couch when it’s time to put the hammock in the garage for the winter.
Q. What book are you most excited about reading next, and what about it is most exciting?
A. My wife called dibs on Barack Obama’s A Promised Land when I brought it home from River Lights this winter, so I’m excited to read it when she’s finished with it because I am the one who bought it in the first place.
Q. What book do you think more people should read, and why do you think they should read it?
A. I wish more people (especially my runners) would read Steve Magness and Brad Stulberg’s The Passion Paradox because the book outlines some really impactful ways to get the most enjoyment out the things you love to do without burning out and losing perspective.
Q. What book has been the most challenging for you to read? How did it challenge you?
A. Robert Pirsig’s Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance has been a tough one for me to get into because it waxes philosophical in some pretty heavy ways that make me slow down my reading and think; this is good, but it’s tough to get momentum going.
Q. Do you remember when your love for reading began?
A. My mom and I read a lot of Roald Dahl books together when I was a kid, and I loved them all.
Check out Louie’s Favorite Books
Be the next C-SPL Reader of the Month!
See past Reader of the Month posts here.