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Reviewer Profile – Rio B
Our new featured Reviewer for April 2020 is Rio B.
Rio has worked for Lincoln City Libraries since 2019, at the downtown Bennett Martin Public Library. Reading and books have long been an important part of her life, as she indicates in her answers to our following profile questions:
Would you care to share any personal info with our readers — such as where you grew up, what you read as a child, etc.?
I grew up in rural Nebraska, about a half hour outside of Lincoln. I loved reading as a child, my parents always read to us and involved reading in holiday traditions. I started reading Garfield comic strips, the Boxcar Children books, and the Princess Diary books. Pretty much anything with a strong female lead with a subject line that interested me!
How long have you been an active reader, and were there any particular books or authors or other people that “made you a reader”? Has there been any book or author that “changed your life” or strongly influenced you?
I feel like I’ve always been an active reader, especially because my parents ensured reading was heavily integrated into our daily activities. The book that truly sparked my love of reading was Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. I picked the biggest book in the youth section and decided I was going to read that book. It just so happened to be Little Women and I loved the dynamic of the sisters with their mother, the adventures they created.
How important are books and reading to you, currently?
Reading is one of the most important things I do, it is how I gather knowledge, how I can further learn necessary details about the world or certain tasks I want to accomplish. Books started this process, even the comic strips in the newspaper allowed for my reading comprehension to grow and facilitate my reading habits. I love books but reading is far more necessary to life in general, from my perspective.
How do you select what books to read next? What formats do you prefer (book, ebook, audiobook, etc.)?
I like to ask my co-workers for suggestions and then I use websites such as Fantasticfiction or GoodReads to find similar authors or titles. I also use the Lincoln City Library pages to find similar authors or new books to read. I look for authors similar to the ones I enjoy and after I have exhausted all those avenues, I look at the cover and read the back!
What do you enjoy about writing book reviews/recommendations?
Sharing great books with people, especially if it is an older book or a less well known author.
What is your history with the Lincoln City Libraries – how long have you been a customer, and how long have you worked for LCL? Which locations?
I’ve worked at Bennett Martin Public Library since December, 2019 and I’ve been a customer of Lincoln City Libraries since 2011.
Are there any interesting book- or reading-related stories or bits of trivia in your past that you’d like to share with our readers?
Little Women was the first book I remember connecting with as a child, the book helped cement my love of reading. Sometimes, going for the biggest book in the children’s section is the best idea!
Do you have a favorite literary-related website you like to visit or that you’d like to recommend?
Fantasticfiction.com, it offers a comprehensive list of authors and then links similar authors and what those authors recommend.
Do you use LibraryThing or GoodReads or any other personal library cataloging software to track your reading and/or share it in social media?
I do not use an online cataloging site to track my reading.
and finally…
If there was only one author you could convince people to read, that author would be:
Terry Pratchett. He offers a huge collection, covering a diverse cast of characters and situations. Terry Pratchett is witty, dry, sardonic and a pure genius when it comes to fictional writing.
As Albert would say, “yeah, yeah, yeah!”
Videos This Reviewer Appeared In:
Teen Summer Reading Challenge: Make Your Own Wand (July 2020)
Click Here to Read Rio B.’s Reviews
Posted to the BookGuide pages in April 2020 | Last updated in September 2020