Reading Profile

Reading Profile

I like to read a little bit of everything, and usually all at the same time. While my favorite genres are poetry, realistic fiction, and political/historical nonfiction, I also really enjoy theory, picture books (fiction and non-fiction), sci-fi and fantasy targeted at children, graphic novels, and self-help books. Reading has always been an important solo undertaking for me, keeping me company and entertaining me during travel or new experiences, but my favorite way to read is in connection with other people: I love reading plays and poetry aloud with friends, as well as discussing books in letters, essays, or plain old conversation. Hard copy books will probably always be my favorite reading format, but I'm also a huge fan of audiobooks, and tend to consume a lot of classic literature this way.

Despite reading virtually non-stop, there are some glaring gaps in my reading experience! I've never read a romance novel, for example, and studiously avoid thrillers/horror because I just can't stomach the suspense. I'd love to broaden my experience in reading sci fi/speculative fiction targeted at adults, try some Westerns on for size, and learn more about quality non-fiction texts in areas outside of my own realms of interest. Books that really floated my boat in this past year include Robin Coste Lewis' Voyage of the Sable Venus (poetry), Louise Erdrich's The Birchbark House (children's historical fiction), Pema Chödrön's When Things Fall Apart (self-help/spiritual), Chinelo Okparanta's Under the Udala Trees (realistic/historical fiction/LGBTQ), and Peter Brown's Mr. Tiger Goes Wild (picture book). I loved each of these books for their literary beauty and inventiveness, but also their humor and ability to make me see the world in new light.

Here's my Goodreads page!