How long have you worked at Lemuria?
Since October of 2008, so for 4 years. I started as a senior in college. I was basically living here.
When did you start really collecting books? Is it a collection, or more of a hoard?
I used to have a hoard. For a long time, I really just wanted books. I recently organized my books, so now I only have one copy of things.
Is there a book you wish that you had bought, but didn’t?
I didn’t buy The Help. I have a signed Advanced Reader Copy, but I never bought a hardcover. Isn’t that bad? I work here. There is no excuse.
What do you look for in a good book?
I live in two different worlds. I live in the kid world and I live in the adult world. In adult books, I look for good writing. In kid books, I look for a good plot. Good writing isn’t enough. I’ve read plenty of kids books with good writing, but there isn’t a plot.
It’s harder to write a good kids book. There is a reason when you ask people what their favorite book is, they often tell you a book they read when they were a kid.
How long have you been reading?
I was seriously reading in 2nd and 3rd grade. I remember going through the whole Animorphs series and the Baby Sitters Club. I was in the club. When I moved here in 5th grade, I didn’t have any friends so I just read on the playground. I was that kid. Shiloh, Where the Red Fern Grows; all those sad books.
How do you organize your books?
I have a bookcase in my room for my current favorites. I have a bookcase for ARCs I want to read. I have bookcases for young adult, for nonfiction, two for fiction, one for southern fiction that flows into another case and finishes with children’s picture books. Then I use books in everything I decorate. I still have too many books, so I just stack them places.
Is there a system to how you choose what to read next?
There’s always something I want to read next. I usually read whatever I’m thinking of when I finish a book. If the book I’m reading isn’t really catching me, I’ll pick something else up. For 3 years I only read young adult books, but I’m trying hard to get back into the real world.
What book have you liked most that came out this year?
Song of Achilles, Madeleine Miller
What are you reading right now?
Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler, Maira Coleman
Roald Dahl’s Book of Ghost Stories
When do you read?
That’s a tricky question. I fall asleep reading, so I have to read during the day. I fall asleep when it gets dark.
Are you a one-at-a-time reader, or are you reading many books at once?
I read more than one. I was reading 10 books recently, but I’m trying to whittle it back down to 3. I can’t read more than 1 young adult book at a time; they all have to be different kinds of books.
What do you look for in a good bookstore?
To be honest, I have a hard time finding a bookstore that meets what Lemuria is. Lemuria is the best a bookstore could be. When I travel and go to different bookstores, I am always disappointed. A bookstore shouldn’t just be new releases; if I only cared about new books, I wouldn’t go in a bookstore—those are the easy ones to find. A bookstore should be a collection of all of the people who work there. It’s a piece of art in how it’s culled. That kind of bookstore is going away. A good bookstore doesn’t feel like a retail store.
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