Alex is a phlebotomist, dialysis patient, and retired thespian who came to Dubuque to slow down and somehow ended up doing the opposite. He spends his time between treatments with the coolest nurses in town, catching the latest films at the theater, and on his rug beside his Book/Vinyl/Film
collections—convinced that with the right story, you can take yourself anywhere you need to go or save yourself from anywhere you need to escape. Whether it’s a Southern Gothic novel, a Golden Girls mystery, a cookbook, or a guide on how to thrive through a long, dark winter, Alex believes every great story has the power to reshape how we see ourselves and the world around us. You can find all of Alex’s recommendations here.
Reader of the Month Q&A:
What book are you currently reading?
The Antidote by Karen Russell, which has really reintroduced me to magical realism, a genre I haven’t quite connected with in the past.
Can you tell us about your reading interests in general?
Stories centered on women with a dark undercurrent are my bread & butter. I really get into books that have a sense of familiarity that gently simmer along, allowing some irregularities to slowly turn up the heat until it fully crescendos into absolute chaos or calm. As a boy who grew up in the suburbs of San Antonio, TX, I’ve always been curious about what goes on just out of sight behind neighborhood doors. As well, I have always been drawn to and align more deeply with female characters that can navigate complex inner lives in a world that prefers simple ones. I absolutely love stories that find new life across different mediums. Whether it’s a film that sends me back to the source material or watching another artist reinterpret a beloved work—as generations of actors and directors have done with Shakespeare—I’m fascinated by how a story evolves while remaining true to its heart. Suddenly, AIR’s dreamy score for The Virgin Suicides becomes just as essential to the mythology as Jeffrey Eugenides’ pages that first brought those mysterious Lisbon sisters into our imaginations, where they continue to haunt. Whether I’m reading a novel, watching its adaptation, or listening to the soundtrack that forever becomes intertwined with it, I’m always chasing the feeling of discovering how great stories continue to echo long after the final page. Just throw in some nonfiction to keep me grounded in the hidden mechanics of the world around us and that balance between imagination and understanding keeps me coming back to the library, always convinced the next shelf holds exactly the story I didn’t know I needed.
What format do you prefer and why?
I love my paperback books. I used to be a hardcover guy until I went with lighter-weight, flexible, pocket books so as to never be without one if I can help it. As a phlebotomist, a dialysis patient, and a retired thespian, I can’t stress how valuable a “backpocket” paperback is to make time for reading in our increasingly busy lives. A physical book shows me how far I’ve come and how far I’ve yet to go, keeping the spark alive by letting me physically hold both the beginning and the end in my hands while soaking in every single word with my own two eyes. Audiobooks have been another passion of mine. Whether it’s the shared experience of listening to The Green Mile or The Help for the first time on a road trip together with a loved one, or connecting with the people who inspire and motivate you the most, as if it were just a casual catch-up at coffee. I mean, who doesn’t want to finally hang out with Miss Drew Barrymore in Wildflower, or listen to Rachel DeLoache Williams’ first-hand account of being swindled by the notorious con artist gal pal in My Friend Anna, and especially to catch up on famed linguist Amanda Montell’s latest work, The Age of Magical Overthinking. Either way, prepare to both be fully transported yet fully in the moment.
What is your ideal reading environment?
Ideally, I’m outside on a beautiful day, reclining in my deck chair beside my flowers with some bossa nova playing in the background, blending into the sounds of nature. Otherwise, give me the most glorious stormy day imaginable: curled up on my leather couch beneath a faux-fur blanket, homemade oat milk latte in hand, surrounded by a pile of snacks and candles, with the biggest window in the house putting on the best show in town. Realistically, it’s wherever I have a moment to bust through a few pages for even 5 minutes; any waiting room, at work between sticks, or just having a moment to myself, a pocket book will always be a gift.
What is the best book you have read within the last year (or ever)?
This past year I was blessed with a back-to-back read that felt like a turning point in my reading life; Starting with East of Eden by John Steinbeck and rounding it out with Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. What a powerhouse doubleheader that I was a bit intimidated to take on, what with EOE being a bit girthy and English Literature not being my strongest suit, but boy oh boy was I rewarded with two pieces that have been filed away on my All-Time Favorites shelf. And let me say, the Cathy pipeline is a real literary phenomenon that nobody ever talks about.
What book has been the most challenging for you to read? How did it challenge you?
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë has probably been the most challenging so far. Between the Yorkshire dialect, the 19th-century prose, and a complex yet completely brilliant narrative structure, I definitely had to tap into my SparkNotes more than a few times, yet I still can’t fully understand what Joseph was always going on about, and I love it.
Have you read any books recently that have changed the way you think about something?
Reading Creative Quest by Questlove has really opened my eyes to the way I think about creativity. It has reminded me that creativity isn’t reserved for artists or performers—it’s a way of paying attention to the world, following your curiosity, and making connections that other people might overlook. It’s encouraged me to trust my own creative instincts a little more and realize how much we and realize how much we all create, whether we consider ourselves artists or not. It shifted my perspective from seeing creativity as a talent you either possess or don’t, to seeing it as a practice built through curiosity, attention, and intention.
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?
While I don’t support the obligation to finish a book that just doesn’t seem to be going down well, I do try to give every book a fair chance. Sometimes it’s simply the wrong book at the wrong time. If I’m consistently finding excuses not to pick it back up, I’ll set it aside without guilt and trust that if it’s meant for me, it’ll find its way back into my hands later. However, if it is more deliberately slow-paced, I might pick up a second book to keep momentum if there’s still something grabbing me on some level.
What book are you most excited about reading next, and what about it is most exciting?
I’m excited to dive into Murder by Cheesecake: A Golden Girls Cozy Mystery by Rachel Ekstrom Courage, and I hear the 2nd installment, Death on the Lanai, has just been released. This sounds like the perfect direction to reinvigorate the Golden Girls brand, brava Rachel. These adept ladies are full of gossip, ready to snoop, & sharper than even the youngest tacks in the box; and have more insurance too. Dorothy’s no-nonsense attitude was actually made to solve crimes and keep everyone in check. I’ve also been recommended The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune & Buckeye by Patrick Ryan that have also piqued my interest.
Have you discovered any exciting new authors or genres?
After the queen of Midwest darkness, Gillian Flynn, went quiet, Megan Abbott arrived to help fill that void and give us another taste of that American black licorice. Dare Me spoke to the competitive American teenager in me through the lens of adult hindsight, exploring ambition, loyalty, and the darker corners of friendship. Megan’s latest novel, El Dorado Drive, was the perfect vacation read, keeping my book from becoming extra cargo with its suspenseful tale of sisterhood, ambition, and the dangerous allure of a women-led pyramid scheme. And as always, we owe gratitude to the women who paved the way before us—artists’ favorite artists like Joyce Carol Oates and Shirley Jackson, whose works remind us where these roads began.
What is something interesting you learned from a book?
One of my favorite little discoveries came from Secrets of the Octopus by Sy Montgomery: the plural of octopus is actually octopuses, not octopi. Because the word comes from Greek, not Latin, the traditional Latin-style plural doesn’t apply. Interestingly, octopodes (pronounced oc-TOP-uh-deez) is the Greek plural form, though it’s rarely used today. It’s a small reminder that even the words we use every day have their own histories hiding beneath the surface, pun intended.
Do you remember when your love for reading began?
My love of reading started early. Too Many Tamales, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, A Bad Case of Stripes, and all illustrated books by Tomie dePaola were my gateway books. By fourth
grade, I was tearing through the classroom library—everything from C.S. Lewis and Roald Dahl to middle school rites of passage like Stephen King’s Carrie and Thomas Harris’s The Silence of the Lambs. My mom, a travel nurse, kept audiobook cassettes in her car like sacred cargo, and we were always exploring new library branches together. My dad handled the Barnes & Noble side of things, making sure there was never a shortage of books waiting at home. Looking back, it was almost impossible not to become a reader with that level of support and example.
What other library resources do you enjoy?
I appreciate the 4K/Blu-ray/DVD section a lot. It always feels up to date with the latest and greatest, while still having plenty of classics I like to dig up. I also love checking out CDs to play in my kitchen while I cook, although lately I’ve been gravitating toward the vinyl collection. Libby and Hoopla have been a huge help for finding movies and audiobooks at home outside of library hours, and I’ve even found some surprisingly hard-to-find titles through them.
Thanks to Alex for sharing his reading tastes and style with us! If Alex’s answers have inspired your TBR list, be sure to check out his entire recommendations list on our catalog, and on display near the first floor entrance of the library. Interested in being our next reader of the month? Fill out an application form here.