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Meet the C-SPL June 2023 Reader of the Month: Kelly Larson!
About Reader of the Month Kelly:
In 2021, I ‘retired’ from a 22-year career as the Director of Human Rights for the City of Dubuque. Now I am in Learning & Development. Reading, writing, and crafting of various sorts (card making, scrapbooking, nature photography, loom knitting, jewelry makingânone of which Iâm particularly good at) are my hobbies.
I start and end my day reading. In the morning, I often read books on philosophy, spirituality or poetry. In the evening, I prefer a good memoir or a variety of fiction, from historical to fantasy to romance to mysteries. Iâve read just about everything written by John Steinbeck, Malcolm Gladwell, John Irving, the Dalai Lama, Parker Palmer, Diana Gabaldon, Mary Oliver, and David Whyte.
Reader of the Month Q & A:
Q. What book(s) are you currently reading?
A. Â “Demon Copperhead” by Barbara Kingsolver and “Positivity 101” by Barbara Fredricksonâthis after I just finished “The Antidote: Happiness for People who Canât Stand Positive Thinking” by Oliver Burkeman.
Q. What is the best book you have read within the last year (or ever)?
A. This is hard, because if Iâm invested in a book, then I often feel like itâs the best one at that moment! “East of Eden” is one of those books that I remember the feeling of, it was so real and so human. And âThou Mayestâ also stuck with me. “Manâs Search for Meaning” is one I read and reread because it reminds me of our capacity for choice in even the most horrendous circumstances.
Q. What is your ideal reading environment (location, sound, snacks, etc.)?
A. My ideal setting for reading is outside in nature with a cup of coffee or tea and, if he would stay put, my cat Nabu on my lap. In reality, heâs only involved when Iâm nestled in my home library recliner.
Q. What book are you most excited about reading next, and what about it is most exciting?
A. I donât have a book Iâm most excited about at the moment. A couple of months back it was Bonoâs memoir “Surrender.” The political messaging in U2âs music and Bonoâs activism around causes that matter to me have fed my soul for a long time. I loved the book and Brene Brownâs podcast with him, which then sparked me to read Richard Rohrâs “Falling Upward.” Presumably one of the books Iâm reading now will spark the next one, thatâs kind of how it goes with me.
Q. What book has been the most challenging for you to read? How did it challenge you?
A. For me, itâs more about a certain type of author that is challenging for me. There are at least two types of writers in the spirituality/philosophy/religion world: seekers and true believers. Anything written in the voice of a true believer challenges me because I have to interrupt my emotional reaction to the righteous certainty in their voice before I can see the deeper (and inevitably more complex and paradoxical) truths.
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. If a book doesnât hook me by chapter three, I stop. I may shelve it and return to it later in a different mood or I may give it away.
Q. Do you remember when your love for reading began?
A. My mom was a reader and she protected my deep desire to ‘do nothing’ and read. When I think back to long, hot summer days on the farm, my fondest memories are of us making the weekly trek to the parish church for the bookmobile parked out front just waiting for me to pick out my six books for the week. I think that may have been a more significant act of devotion for the two of us than mass ever was.
Check out Kelly’s Favorite Books
Be the next C-SPL Reader of the Month!
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