How long have you worked at Lemuria?
I’ve worked at Lemuria for 2 months now (I think)! It’s been a thrilling journey with all my new pals!
What do you do at Lemuria?
At Lemuria, I’m the special main desk guy who accidentally gets called ma’am all of the time because of my long hair, and I’m in charge of the travel section! I think it would be fun to be more involved with the music books at the store, in order to sell more of those and to broaden my knowledge of music that way.
Talk to us what you’re reading right now.
Right now I’m finishing up Viv Albertine’s memoir To Throw Away Unopened, which comes out in May. It’s fantastic. She has a really honest and compelling voice that I think stems from her becoming an author later in life, and I have really enjoyed that. I’ve also barely gotten into Tom Rubython’s recent biography about Barry White (White Music), but I’m excited to pick that back up when I’m finished with the Albertine book.
What’s currently on your bedside table (book purgatory)?
Unfortunately, I’m pretty bad at leaving books unfinished on my bedside table (which I think is probably a common trait amongst Lemurians), so right now my stack is pretty high. There’s Geronimo Rex by Barry Hannah, Absolutely on Music by Haruki Murakami, The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin, and a few more. I would love to press pause on the world for about a week and just finish all the books that are living in that purgatory, but I’m not sure that will happen.
How many books do you usually read at a time?
I try to finish a book before I start another one, but working at Lemuria has really made that difficult because of all the wonderful things people have suggested I read, both past and present. So sometimes I’ll be reading a few at a time because Katie or someone will tell me that I HAVE to read this or that, and I’m pretty easy to persuade in that way.
I know it’s difficult, but give us your current top five books.
This is a really difficult question, but in no particular order I would say these are my top 5 favorite books that I’ve read thus far in my short time here on earth:
- The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
- Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
- Seymour: An Introduction by J.D. Salinger
- The Pastures of Heaven by John Steinbeck
- The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
Favorite authors?
Faulkner, Steinbeck, Hemingway and other classics are hard to beat for me, but I also really love the more contemporary novels I’ve been reading since I started working at Lemuria. And I really enjoy the contemporary female authors I’ve read lately as well (like Jesmyn Ward, Banana Yoshimoto, etc.)
Any particular genre that you’re especially in love with?
I’m a sucker for anything that’s emotionally powerful or artistically inspirational in some way, and a lot of books that have greatly impacted me have probably been the ones that weren’t intentionally made for those purposes. I appreciate honesty and authors that write because they have something to say, and books that carry a heavy message around that you remember and think back on for a long time afterward. And I really enjoy reading weird, avant-garde works of fiction, but the books that have ended up being my favorite are simpler novels that convey the human experience in a powerful way.
What did you do before you worked at Lemuria?
Before I worked at Lemuria, I was going to school at Loyola University New Orleans and playing a lot of music with a lot of wonderful people. I decided to transfer to Millsaps this fall and be closer to home because Jackson, Mississippi is a magnet that I just can’t stay away from for long or I get out of wack.
If you could share lasagna with any author, dead or alive, who would it be? What would you ask them?
I would love to gobble down some lasagna with John Kennedy Toole, so I could tell him how amazing I think Confederacy of Dunces is. His story is tragic and I want to give him a big hug and thank him for that book.
Why do you like working at Lemuria?
I like working at Lemuria because I love that sweet, sweet Lemuria book smell I get everyday when I walk in Oz. I love being around this great group of booksellers and listening to John’s favorite R&B hitmakers on a daily basis. The thing I love most about working here though is how much I learn both from the intelligent, beautiful people around me and from the books I’ve read.
If Lemuria could have ANY pet (mythical or real), what do you think it should be?
I think we should have a little mini Austen Jennings rabbit that bounces around and plays mischievous pranks on people around the store all day for my sole enjoyment.
If you had the ability to teleport, where would you go first?
I think if I could teleport anywhere in the world I would go to Big Sur and backpack with some of my good friends who are there right now doing just that. That sounds fun.
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