Reviewer Spotlight

Branch: South County Regional

This month we spotlight Dale, a librarian who works at South County Regional Library. Dale is leader of the library's Reader's Advisory Team and is very knowledgeable about the art of finding a good read.. She has reviewed a variety of fiction and non-fiction for Reader's Club. Here is what she has to share with us:
Growing up in a very small town, my only access to books was from the school library and the Little Golden Books my mother bought me every week at the grocery store (which I still have). My favorites were biographies and stories about families with lots of children. As an only child who longed for siblings, I found an extended family in books. This has carried over to my adult reading as a love of series fiction. The characters become so familiar to me that they are almost like family members.

I’m not sure what a psychiatrist would make of this, but I tend to read dark fiction, usually crime novels, with very troubled protagonists. I especially like James Lee Burke’s Dave Robicheaux, Lawrence Block’s Matthew Scudder, and Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch and have enjoyed seeing how the characters have evolved over the years. I also enjoy fiction with controversial topics and often recommend books by Jodi Picoult, Andre Dubus, or Rosellen Brown. On occasion, I read something light and have found the Mitford series to be a breath of fresh air after all the angst and violence of my usual reads.

When doing research for the Reader’s Advisory team, I often see Reader’s Club mentioned as a resource. We should be very proud of our reputation. By writing reviews, we strengthen PLCMC’s commitment to promoting reading and literacy. As Francine Fialkoff, editor of Library Journal said, “All the surveys we’ve seen, conducted by librarians as well as non-librarians, indicate that there is virtually no service library users value more highly than the ability to match a book with a reader or to answer the question ‘What do I read next?’”

Thanks, Dale!