C-SPL September Reader of the Month

Meet September Reader of the Month: Andrew Fuerste-Henry

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

About Andrew:
Andrew is a librarian, baker, and gamer. Once upon a time they worked at Carnegie-Stout, but these days they’re the assistant director at the Dubuque County Library District. They like books about food, wizards, and wizards making food.

Q & A:

Q. What is the best book you have read within the last year (or ever)?
A. I recently read both books in Naomi Novik’s Scholomance series, which started with “A Deadly Education.” I love a magic school, and Novik’s created a really interesting universe with a complex and detailed magic system paired with a powerful structural metaphor for institutional privilege. 

Q. What is your ideal reading environment (location, sound, snacks, etc.)?
A. I want something cozy and quiet, preferably with unpleasant weather outside the window and some dogs and cats huddled around for warmth.

Q. What book are you most excited about reading next, and what about it is most exciting?
A. Earlier this year, there was a lot of news about libraries being asked to remove their copies of “Gender Queer” by Maia Kobabe. That made a great excuse to order myself a copy of the new deluxe edition to support the author, which is now waiting for me on my coffee table. I’m excited to re-read the comic and check out the new introduction from ND Stevenson of She-Ra and Lumberjanes.

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. I’ll stop reading a book at the drop of a hat! Librarianship has definitely made me even less precious about books than I used to be. The first law of library science is “Books are for use.” With that in mind, I recommend sticking with a book exactly as long as it’s useful to do so, even if that means reading the first page and never going back for more. There may be Five Laws of Library Science, but none of them are about forced reading or punishing patrons.


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

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