C-SPL July Reader of the Month

Meet July Reader of the Month: Sarah Smith

Check out Sarah’s Favorite Books
Be the next C-SPL Reader of the Month!

About Sarah:
Sarah has been a reader her entire life, and no one was surprised when she decided to go back to school to become a librarian. When she isnā€™t reading a book or working at Carnegie-Stout you can probably find her gardening, hiking, dreaming about travelling to somewhere new, or obsessing about Eurovision.

Q & A:

Q. What is the best book you have read within the last year (or ever)?
A. The book I read over the last year thatā€™s had the most impact on me is probably ā€œBraiding Sweetgrassā€ by Robin Wall Kimmerer. Itā€™s a beautiful collection of essays that offers hope and a new perspective on our relationship with the natural environment.

Q. What is your ideal reading environment (location, sound, snacks, etc.)?
A. Iā€™m not even a little bit picky about where I read. If I have an interesting book and nothing else I should be doing, Iā€™m probably reading. With how easy it is to pick up an eBook or eAudiobook with the Libby app, I *always* have a book ready to go! In recent years, Iā€™ve really loved being able to share audiobooks with my husband on road trips. Audiobooks are such a great way to discover a work of nonfiction that might put me to sleep in print, or to rediscover an old favorite in a new way.

Q. What book are you most excited about reading next, and what about it is most exciting?
A. The book I am most eager to get my hands on is ā€œThe Golden Enclavesā€ by Naomi Novik. The third book in the Scholomance series wonā€™t be published until September, but the cliffhanger in book two was brutal. Itā€™s an action-packed, coming-of-age fantasy series about the students of a magical school in a world where magic has absolutely deadly consequences. But the narrator isnā€™t the destined hero of prophecy, sheā€™s the villain that no one trusts and everyone fears.

Q. What book do you think more people should read, and why do you think they should read it?
A. As a librarian Iā€™m a big fan of Ranganathanā€™s five laws, most specifically the part about ā€œEvery reader his or her book.ā€ And ā€œEvery book its reader.ā€ There is no one book for everyone, thereā€™s only the book thatā€™s right for you right now.

Q. When do you decide to stop reading a book? In other words, do you read every book to the last page or is there a moment when you decide to stop?
A. Unless Iā€™m reading a book for a book club discussion or a continuing education class, I have no issues abandoning a book that doesnā€™t work for me. Sometimes the moment just isnā€™t right, and if I come back to it in a year or two, Iā€™ll find it much more enjoyable. Sometimes Iā€™m just not the reader for that book, and thatā€™s okay!


Check out Sarah’s Favorite Books
Be the next C-SPL Reader of the Month!
See past Reader of the Month postsĀ here.

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