Reviewer Spotlight

Branch: University City Regional

This month Reader’s Club salutes Kim from University City Regional Library. Kim is an avid reader and frequent reviewer. Kim has reviewed a variety of titles for Reader’s Club, including fiction and non-fiction for adults. She is also a member of the Reader’s Club Team. Here is what she has to share with us:

Like most librarians, I have always had a love for books and reading. As a kid, I was one of the few in my class that actually enjoyed the ‘boring, dead author’ reading assignments. No surprise that I majored in English literature as an undergraduate in college, and then returned to graduate school just so I could spend more time reading those dead authors. And my first ‘real’ job was working in a bookstore with an awesome employee discount!

Of course, my favorite reads are literary fiction, both dead and living authors. As far as the classics, I often prefer reading the British authors; some of my favorites have always been the Bronte Sisters, George Eliot, Aldous Huxley, D.H. Lawrence and Iris Murdoch. A few of my favorite modern authors are Ayn Rand, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Alan Paton, and Zora Neale Hurston.

In addition to literary fiction, I enjoy reading and reviewing mysteries, particularly humorous mysteries and mysteries in a series. I have found that mysteries in a series are quite a bit of fun, such as the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich, the Agatha Raisin series by M.C. Beaton, and the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith. These types of books also make for incredible listening as recorded books.

When trying to decide what to read or review, I prefer books that really impact me emotionally, books that I will continue to remember long after I finish the last page. These types of books may not always have a happy ending, just as in life, but the experience and the memory are often a far greater reward.

Thanks Kim!