Reader Profile
Growing up, I read everything. If the book was in my house, I read it. My mom often joked that she would leave her book club book out on the kitchen table for a week, and then ask me what she should talk about at the meeting. I bulldozed through the YA room at my local library. I read my siblings’ books, even if they were technically below my grade level. Picture the very hungry caterpillar, but with books instead of apples and cupcakes.
As an adult, my reading life has been less consistent, but richer. My undergraduate degree is in Creative Writing/Poetry, so that was a time of discovering literary magazines. In my early twenties, I formed a book club and we read pretty widely from almost every genre possible. Ironically, during my time as an MLIS student, I’m reading less than I think I ever have, and I miss it so much. I know I’ll get back to it when the bulk of my reading stops being so academic.
When I do find the time, I gravitate most towards:
- Poetry, still! It’s probably the only type of re-reading I do. Current favorites include Jose Olivarez, Ada Limon, Kimmy Walters, and Marie Howe. The Poetry Foundation has an amazing poetry library in Chicago and they pull in some great speakers.
- Graphic Novels are engaging during my long commute, and they pull me into a story when I’m feeling a little rusty and distracted. I borrowed the Monstress series by Marjorie M. Liu from a coworker, and although it was a little more violent/grisly than most things I read, I found the world captivating and the story compelling. I also like Lucy Knisley’s more autobiographical style (and she lives in Chicago!).
- Classic mysteries like Agatha Christie’s are great when I want to read something light. I have been known to miss my bus stop to find out whodunnit.
- I am a sucker for literary fiction about women’s interior lives. Some favorites include Meg Wolitzer’s The Interestings, The Round House by Louise Erdrich, Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver, All My Puny Sorrows by Miriam Toews, and Circe by Madeline Miller. I can deal with almost no plot as long as I like the character’s voice and relate to how she thinks and feels.
-The older I get, the more I enjoy nonfiction. I like personal essay collections just as much as adventurous explorations of topics like sex and dating, money, feminism, and general “how to be a good person in the world” musings.
I’m looking forward to reading things I might not otherwise choose via this class! I really enjoy getting out of my established reading ruts and finding new favorites in unlikely places.
As an adult, my reading life has been less consistent, but richer. My undergraduate degree is in Creative Writing/Poetry, so that was a time of discovering literary magazines. In my early twenties, I formed a book club and we read pretty widely from almost every genre possible. Ironically, during my time as an MLIS student, I’m reading less than I think I ever have, and I miss it so much. I know I’ll get back to it when the bulk of my reading stops being so academic.
When I do find the time, I gravitate most towards:
- Poetry, still! It’s probably the only type of re-reading I do. Current favorites include Jose Olivarez, Ada Limon, Kimmy Walters, and Marie Howe. The Poetry Foundation has an amazing poetry library in Chicago and they pull in some great speakers.
- Graphic Novels are engaging during my long commute, and they pull me into a story when I’m feeling a little rusty and distracted. I borrowed the Monstress series by Marjorie M. Liu from a coworker, and although it was a little more violent/grisly than most things I read, I found the world captivating and the story compelling. I also like Lucy Knisley’s more autobiographical style (and she lives in Chicago!).
- Classic mysteries like Agatha Christie’s are great when I want to read something light. I have been known to miss my bus stop to find out whodunnit.
- I am a sucker for literary fiction about women’s interior lives. Some favorites include Meg Wolitzer’s The Interestings, The Round House by Louise Erdrich, Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver, All My Puny Sorrows by Miriam Toews, and Circe by Madeline Miller. I can deal with almost no plot as long as I like the character’s voice and relate to how she thinks and feels.
-The older I get, the more I enjoy nonfiction. I like personal essay collections just as much as adventurous explorations of topics like sex and dating, money, feminism, and general “how to be a good person in the world” musings.
I’m looking forward to reading things I might not otherwise choose via this class! I really enjoy getting out of my established reading ruts and finding new favorites in unlikely places.
I feel like I am also reading way less while in the MLIS program! It's such a bummer but at least we are still taking in information by reading which is better than not reading at all.
ReplyDeleteI don't read a lot of poetry but if I did, I feel like that is what I would re-read most as well. I tend to not re-read books or series with the exception of maybe one or two books that I have read twice over the past fifteen years or so. But with poems being their own small stand alone things, I could see re-reading them quite often.
I am starting to become interested in graphic novels (this is my section to shelf-read at work) and am seeing some very interesting looking ones. My favorite author, Joe Hill, wrote the Loch and Key series that I have been very excited to dive into but haven't gotten to yet. I'm not sure how I feel about Manga, but I have noticed it is very popular at my library so maybe I should give it a try.
I am sorry to say I haven't heard of any of your favorite women's interior lives authors except for Barbara Kingsolver and I haven't even read her! I definitely need to expand my horizons and check out some of these women!
Arianna, I have been curious about manga, too! In my experience, graphic novels are very accessible. Let me know if you like any that you pick out from your shelf-read!
DeleteSounds like we have some pretty similar taste in women's literary fiction! Prodigal Summer and The Interestings are two of my favorites. Also Unsheltered and Pigs in Heaven by Kingsolver, and The Uncoupling and The Wife by Wolitzer. The Wife especially... that will go down as one of my favorites of all time! If you like some serious character development, you will love it (if you haven't read already).
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to hearing more from your annotations. I feel like I could get some good recommendations from you! :)
Prodigal Summer is my one and only Kingsolver experience, but I did recently read The Female Persuasion by Wolitzer and I didn't like it as much as The Interestings (maybe a 4/5 instead of a 5/5 haha). I will have to check out The Wife!
DeleteI very rarely read poetry, so I should definitely check out some of your favorite authors since it's a favorite genre of yours, and I'm sure you've read a lot with your degree! Broadening my knowledge of genres that I don't read a lot myself (at least yet) is something I'm really excited about doing in this class. I have also been wanting to read Circe by Madeline Miller for a while now, and seeing that it's one of your favorites has encouraged me to make sure I do that!
ReplyDeleteI read Circe in my parent's car on the way to a family reunion. It was the first time in a while I read a book all the way through without having to take a break. I felt like a teenager again! Haha. Definitely recommend, even if you are the tiniest bit interested in Greek mythology!
DeleteExcellent reading profile! It sounds like we have very similar taste on multiple fronts. I look forward to reading your annotations this semester!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Erin!
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