How long have you worked at Lemuria?
4 years.
Is there a book you wish that you had bought, but didn’t?
Generally if I want to buy a book, I do. It’s a kind of sickness.
What do you look for in a good book?
I really like a book that seems like all of its parts work together, not just the plot or the characterization or the style, but all of it going towards the same goal. I definitely gravitate towards writers that use a lot of words but use them well. Hemingway’s super terse books are very precise, but I think you can do that and use a lot of words, like John Irving. It is effortless to read that kind of book; all the parts are working together.
How long have you been seriously reading?
It probably isn’t true, but I want to say since I was first reading chapter books. My dad used to take me to the library once a week and I remember when he graduated me from the books with lots of pictures to a middle grade mystery. I was probably in first grade. There is a long period of time during which I don’t really remember if I read.
How do you organize your books?
I’ve done different things depending on where I’ve lived. I’ve lived a lot of places since I’ve been a book collector. At one point I had read 75% of the books I owned, which is not the case anymore, but I had the poetry in one place, and my fiction alphabetized by author.
Right now, this is how they are organized: I have a bookcase of books currently in circulation, like ARCs I need to read, it’s also the catchall for books I don’t have a place for yet. That one is the active bookcase. I have a paperback bookcase that is doubled up. I have a bookcase for my short hardbacks and a regular sized hardback bookcase too. I have another bookcase of hodgepodge. They are organized only in odd organization.
What book have you liked most that came out this year?
One Last Good Time by Michael Kardos. I was just really impressed with his stories and writing. I’m really excited for Mr. Michael. I love stories. I’ve read a lot of short story collections this year. Battleborn was really good too.
What do you want in a short story?
Harold Bloom once said that short stories are either Chekhovian or Borgesian and by that he meant the Chekhov stories are rooted in reality but a bit fantastical and the Borges are fantastical, but told in a mundane way. I like them both, but if it’s done well, I like the Borgesian side better. Like Karen Russell. I really like that dichotomy and tension.
What are you reading right now?
I’m reading the Name of the Wind by Rothfuss. I have 200 pages left. It’s a big book. I’m hoping it will be the book to break me out of the reading funk I’ve been in since I quit smoking.
When do you read?
Any time. All the time. Especially in the morning. I prefer the morning. I like coffee and reading. Beer and reading is good too though.
Are you a one-at-a-time reader, or are you reading many books at once?
Both. If I start to read too many books at once, something, or more than one something will drop off. They will fight each other, and there will be one reigning champion who gets finished. I sometimes can read a variety of things at once; a novel and short stories, essays. But it’s hard for me to read more than one thing, so I try not to. Though the temptation is always there when I’m surrounded by so many books.
What do you look for in a good bookstore?
I really like for a bookstore to have a good backlist. Not just the newest book by the author, but also their 3rd book. A good depth of material. I really like used bookstores for that reason.
Top 5 favorite books in your library right now (in no particular order):
1. One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
2. The Fountainhead, Ayn Rand
3. The Phantom Tollbooth, Juster Norton
4. Cider House Rules, John Irving
5. Basic 8, Daniel Handler. (He’s Lemony Snicket)
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