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"I grew up on a farm in the outskirts of a tiny town called Huntley, in south central Nebraska, which probably influenced my life as a reader, too. We didn't have any stores, swimming pools, skating rinks, and NO library. Our tv only picked up three channels. And the only kids who lived near us were weird. So, once a month, the bookmobile came to town and my mother and I would load up on books. Which was great, until the bookmobile quit coming to Huntley. Then I had to resort hanging out with weird kids. I'd rather read a book. I have been "actively" reading for as long as I can remember. I cannot remember learning to read. I do remember reading my picture books to my dogs and cats and hoping they'd learn to read, too! There haven't really been people or authors who have made me into a reader. For me, it's been the challenge of reading something difficult or long or outside of my comfort zone that has turned me on to reading. I remember my oldest brother had this "huge" book (it probably had 200 pages) his teacher had given him -- it was actually a reading textbook with several short stories and poems and learning exercises. It was fairly advanced reading for a kid. But I wanted to read it in the worst way! So I worked at it for months. And when I'd finished it, it felt like a great accomplishment. Even now, I love reading stuffy old classics and books which have been translated and nonfiction books about subjects I know little about. How important are books and reading to me? Books and reading are obviously very, very important to me. It's how I get my news, how I learn, and it really is a major part in how I view the world. How do I select what to read next? I love it when someone tells me, "You HAVE to read this." Usually that means it's a pretty good read, and if it isn't, it's fun to try and figure out why someone else thinks I need to read it. I read book reviews. I also like NoveList. Oh, and Amazon.com seems to think they know which books will interest me, too. But I also really enjoy just meandering through the shelves to find a treasure. I love "discovering" an author I haven't read and finding out they're really good! I love talking (and writing) about good books. Good books energize me and I enjoy sharing that with other people. If there was only one author I could convince people to read, that would be: I can't pick just one!!! The question should be, "If there was only one short list of authors I could convince people to read, that list would be":
Posted to the BookGuide site in July 2006 | Andrea S. left the Lincoln City Libraries in 2006 | ||||
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Our featured Reviewer for July 2006 was Andrea S., the Loan Desk Supervisor at Anderson and Bethany Branch Libraries. Patrons of the downtown Bennett Martin Public Library may also remember her for her years spent in the Reference Department there. Andrea has also been a "regular" among library staff appearing on KFOR's Book Chat episodes of Problems & Solutions in 2005 and 2006. Andrea is leaving the Lincoln City Libraries around the same time that the July issue of The BookGuide Bulletin is becoming available, however she has contributed so many reviews over the years that we wanted to say goodbye in a fitting way! Andrea's reading interests are varied, as you can tell from her responses to our profile questions below:
