Say hello to Jason, our May Reader of the Month! Learn more about him in the Q&A below – and snag a few picks from his recommendation list here.
I’m originally from Spokane, Washington, and my family and I moved to Dubuque seven years ago for my wife’s job at UD. I’m grateful to work for the City of Dubuque Planning Services Department where we get to work on the future growth and improvement of the city. We have two daughters who both love coming to the library almost every week.
I love reading fiction of many different genres. I like realistic fiction that can show how people lived or illuminate thoughts that characters have in different situations. I like speculative fiction that imagines possible futures or different worlds to hold a mirror up to our own.
Reader of the Month Q&A:
What book(s) are you currently reading?
- Prelude to Foundation by Isaac Asimov
- On Looking: A Walker’s Guide to the Art of Observation by Alexandra Horowitz
What is the best book you have read within the last year (or ever)?
- In the last year, my favorite was Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr.
What is your ideal reading environment?
- On the mezzanine of the large reading room at Carnegie-Stout on a sunny day.
What book are you most excited about reading next, and what about it is most exciting?
- Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore. This is going to be the next selection for the book club I’m in, and it sounds like it will be entertaining and enlightening.
What format do you prefer?
- Physical book, preferably from the library.
Have you discovered any exciting new authors or genres?
- I really like climate fiction and the way it can show possible consequences of the climate crisis in a way that charts showing carbon in the atmosphere and average global temperature can not.
Thanks to Jason for sharing his reading life with us! Be sure to check out his recommendations – and maybe even grab one to enjoy on the mezzanine, just like he does.