How long have you worked at Lemuria?

5 months; that’s not a very long time.

Is there a book you wish that you had bought, but didn’t?

Not really. I’m glad I bought Junot Diaz’s This is How You Lose Her. When I’m collecting a book, I want to love the writer and the look of the book.

What makes a book good?

I just graduated from college, meaning I just started reading things of my own choosing and not of my teacher’s choosing. I like writing that is challenging but also makes you a better person in whatever way art makes you a better person and makes you feel altruistic. In nonfiction, I want something game-changing. I’m going into Teacher Corp, so I’m reading all these books about education. and I have a very serious side that wants the world to be a better place.

What book do you think is the best-kept secret?

Lydia Davis’ and Maira Kalman’s books.

 How long have you been seriously reading?

I don’t know. since I learned to read I guess.

 Do you remember the first book you read?

Reading The Box Car Children really late at night and staying up to see how it might end.

 How do you organize your books? (Do you?)

Yes, and I reorganize all the time. which is what I do with everything, especially books. I order them by both genre and the time in my life I read, am reading, or will read them.

Do you read many books at once, or just one at a time?

Since I started working here, I have so many books that I have to choose one. People ask what I’m reading and I can only feasibly describe one book.

Is there is a system for what you choose to read next?

I innandate myself with books, and then there is always something to read. I’m not caught up enough to breeze through a bunch of books.

If you had no pressure from outside, what kind of book would you read right now?

I probably ask myself that every day. which is so silly, but I do. If I could freeze space-time right now and lay on the floor right here with a cup of coffee. I would probably pick up Three Day Affair by Michael Kardos. I want to read it, but I have so many books in my metaphorical stack of to-read books, I’ll never actually get to it. It’s been calling to me. I had such a good experience getting to know my professors at Millsaps, that if an author is a teacher, I want to read what they are writing.

What are you reading right now?

I’m reading Whatever it Takes by Paul Tough. And I’m finally getting around to Cloud Atlas, which Simon recommended to me my first day here. I think I have some other things going that are interesting. And when I have a bad day, I go home and read a few advice columns from Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed.

When do you read?

I frequently read in public places between jobs or appointments or obligations or between work and going out at night.

What do you look for in a good bookstore?

I can’t remember, because I work in one now.

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