meet the readers
allie s.
- What’s the book that got you into reading? When my sister and I were kids, reading with our mom was a nightly ritual. We’d all take turns reading chapters aloud. The first book I remember us reading together is The Secret Garden. Honorable Mentions: The Poky Little Puppy and The Berenstain Bears
- What's your favorite book from book club? The Martian by Andy Weir. I may be a little biased because this was my first book club read and I just really loved the experience (and the book!). Honorable Mention: Being Mortal by Atul Gawande
- What’s your book club superpower? I bring up the books’ average ratings. You get a 2.5 out of 5 from me just for putting in the effort it takes to write a book.
- Where’s your favorite place to read (or listen if you audiobook)? Cozied up on my couch, always. Honorable mention: My son’s rocking chair
- What’s a book you’ve re-read multiple times, and what keeps you coming back? The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran. This book grounds me. It is filled with so much wisdom, beauty, and grace. Honorable Mention: This Is Water by David Foster Wallace
- What is your bookish pet peeve? Audiobooks. Don’t @ me.
- What book do you recommend to everyone? Wherever You Go, There You Are by Jon Kabat-Zinn. Honorable Mention: The Road by Cormac McCarthy
- What inspires you? My family and friends, especially my son. The sun (and other celestial bodies.) The human body. The human mind. The human spirit. Mountains. Time. The seasons, especially Autumn. The elements, especially water. Fruit, especially when it’s been dipped in chocolate. Salt. Courage. Humility. Art(ists) of all kinds. Quiet places. Sleep. And those little roadside farm stands that sell flower arrangements in mason jars for like, $5. Amen.
- Besides reading, what’s another hobby of yours? Hobbies are hard to come by with a baby at home, but I’ve managed to keep reading books and riding bikes. I’m thinking about starting a sister club called Pedals & Company; we’ll cruise around looking for Little Free Libraries and used bookshops. Who’s in?
- Fun fact about you: I don’t have a middle name…but I do have a pen name. (Don’t bother asking; I’ll never tell.)
ash p.
- What’s the book that got you into reading? I don’t remember the first book I ever read, but I do remember getting into the Goosebumps books and wanting to read all of them. Scholastic book fairs were my favorite and I always bought the newest ones there. Then of course the Harry Potter series really got me into reading and I haven’t stopped since.
- What's your favorite book from book club? Island by Aldous Huxley
- What’s your book club superpower? Everyone seems to really enjoy my banana bread haha
- Where’s your favorite place to read? I love to read in my library, or when the weather is nice outside in the yard with the pups
- What’s a book you’ve re-read multiple times, and what keeps you coming back? Island by Aldous Huxley is a re-read of mine. I love the utopian aspect of it, makes me want to be in a place like that. The Harry Potter series is another, every time I re-read them it reminds me of how immersed I was in that world the first time I read them, and of course that I wish I could do magic.
- What is your bookish pet peeve? Too many characters make it difficult to keep track sometimes.
- What book do you recommend to everyone? I’ve been recommending Island a lot lately. I just really enjoy this book, even though it doesn’t have the best ending, it just shows how different people can be and not always for the better.
- What inspires you? My friends inspire me, they’re all exceptional in their own way and I’m very proud of each of them. They inspire me to grow and be a better person.
- Besides reading, what’s another hobby of yours? I would say getting tattooed is a hobby at this point ha
- Fun fact about you: I love to dance, mind you I’m not good at it but I still love to do it haha
chelsea t.
- What’s the book that got you into reading? Kiss the Girls but really anything James Patterson. I would inhale his stories. I could fill an entire bookcase with how many of his books I have. Chefs kiss still to this day.
- What's your favorite book from book club? Difficult to choose cause I’ve loved so many but Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow. This was so out of my element and a book I would’ve never read if not for book club.
- What’s your book club superpower? Per Nicole, capturing all the moments 📸
- Where’s your favorite place to read? Beach or outside under the gazebo when it’s raining.
- What’s a book you’ve re-read multiple times, and what keeps you coming back? I have a few emotional support comfort reads but From Blood and Ash is my usual reread or if I’m feeling nostalgic Harry Potter.
- What is your bookish pet peeve? The cover of a book having real people on it. Gross.
- What book do you recommend to everyone? Depends what their interests are but usually The Silent Patient or 19 minutes or Fourth Wing if they can do fantasy.
- What inspires you? Music, authenticity whether it be people or places and nature. Sometimes you just need to go touch some grass.
- Besides reading, what’s another hobby of yours? I only have time for one hobby, I have a two year old and a four year old.
- Fun fact about you: This is the worst question. I went to the Eras tour one week after giving birth. Funnest fact about me!
daniela f.
- What’s the book that got you into reading? The Harry Potter series
- What's your favorite book from book club? The White Queen, JK…Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow. To be fair I joined book club late and have a few of the past book club reads on my TBR list.
- What’s your book club superpower? I bring myself, isn’t that enough?! I do have an in-ground pool which can make for a fun book club.
- Where’s your favorite place to read? I usually read on my couch but I enjoy reading in bed where it’s quiet and usually no one bothers me.
- What’s a book you’ve re-read multiple times, and what keeps you coming back? I’ve never really been one to reread books but as I get older I am starting to reread books I read in high school to see how it resonates with me as an adult. I recently reread the Harry Potter series and it was just as magical as the first time I read it.
- What is your bookish pet peeve? Books written with a very old English dialect. I can’t do it.
- What book do you recommend to everyone? Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut
- What inspires you? Family, friends, music, books, movies…so much
- Besides reading, what’s another hobby of yours? I have always enjoyed crafty things, just don’t have the time for it anymore.
- Fun fact about you: Fun fact- I don’t like fun facts lol
jen l.
- What’s the book that got you into reading? When I was a kid, I was really into spooky stories.. pimple turns out to be a nest of spiders, remove the ribbon from neck and head falls off, you know the stories I’m talking about.. I guess they would kind of be considered Urban Legends .. The Goosebumps books were some of my absolute favorites.. Slappy was my Chucky .. I also loved the Outsiders when I had to read it in the 8th grade.. but once I got to high school, reading became a chore that I no longer enjoyed… UNTIL those damn sparkling vampires made their appearance! #teamedward .. I haven’t stopped reading since.
- What's your favorite book from book club? Toss up between The Martian and Jurassic Park
- What’s your book club superpower? I have only missed one book club meeting (and I would have gone if I was allowed lol)
- Where’s your favorite place to read? In bed
- What’s a book you’ve re-read multiple times, and what keeps you coming back? I’m not a huge re-reader because I own soooo many books that I haven’t read yet.. but if a new book from my favorite series is about to be released, I’ll usually re-read the last book to make sure I remember what happened.
- What is your bookish pet peeve? Hardcover, movie adaption covers, and a lying narrator
- What book do you recommend to everyone? The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
- What inspires you? The opportunity to prove someone wrong.
- Besides reading, what’s another hobby of yours? Sewing and crocheting
- Fun fact about you: I was on a reality tv show
kristen p.
- What’s the book that got you into reading? The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls. I love a memoir or anything non fiction really. I love researching more about the topic after, and putting faces to names, like getting the movie to a book but WAY better.
- What's your favorite book from book club? Ughhh this is such a hard question. Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow.. no! Something Gross.. no! Being Mortal.. I’ll land on that one 😆 (we read a lot of great books, some not so great but they always make for great discussion)
- What’s your book club superpower? I really don’t know. I guess you’d have to ask my book mates. A good host maybe?
- Where’s your favorite place to read? A book.. anywhere outside. I can be partial to an audio though because it allows me to put my EarPods in and sit on my couch amongst whatever my family is doing but still be immersed in whatever I’m reading at that time.
- What’s a book you’ve re-read multiple times, and what keeps you coming back? Not much of a re-reader but I have a mental note to read Being Mortal every few years because I think it is a very important book, especially as we age.
- What is your bookish pet peeve? Constantly using the same descriptive word. C’mon people! Find a synonym!
- What book do you recommend to everyone? Lately, Being Mortal. If I recently read a good book it will be my recommendation until the next worthy book comes along.
- What inspires you? All the people in my life inspire me in one way or another, but at this moment, all my little humans. I often tell them “I want to be you when I grow up!” Kids are unapologetically themselves. They are unique and fun. I wish I could still be that carefree.
- Besides reading, what’s another hobby of yours? FOOD! Going out to eat, coursing my food with cocktails and wine and good company.
- Fun fact about you: I’m unexceptional and I’m totally cool with that ✌️
meaghan p.
- What’s the book that got you into reading? I’ve been reading since I was a kid and always had an obsession with books so since reading for me goes way back I’d say the Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen chapter books because I was obsessed with them.
- What's your favorite book from book club? The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
- What’s your book club superpower? I’d say being the hostess with the mostess. I like to have a good food spread.
- Where’s your favorite place to read? On the couch with a cozy blanket and some jazz in the background.
- What’s a book you’ve re-read multiple times, and what keeps you coming back? I’m not really a book re-reader because I have so many I want to get through but I’m looking forward to re-reading Harry Potter because I’ll be reading them with my kids. I just remember a whole world of magic opening up for me when I read them and I’m excited for my kids to experience that too.
- What’s your bookish pet peeve? I HATE when a book has the movie cover.
- What book do you recommend to everyone? Educated by Tara Westover. It’s a memoir about her upbringing in a radical, survivalist Mormon family where she was abused and denied formal education but went on to get a PhD from Cambridge University.
- What inspires you? People who don’t conform and live their lives authentically, kindness, and food.
- Besides reading, what’s another hobby of yours? Although I haven’t had much time for hobbies since having kids, I miss painting and tapping into my creative side but if we can call book buying a hobby, I do that.
- Fun fact about you: I used to sing and perform in plays and musicals.
nicole c.
- What’s the book that got you into reading? My Uncle Oswald by Roald Dahl when I was 16.
- What's your favorite book from book club? Grendel by John Gardner
- What’s your book club superpower? Playing teacher! I facilitate the discussion, come up with ways to keep it fun and engaging, and keep us on track when things go off the rails.
- Where’s your favorite place to read? Curled up on the couch with my dog.
- What’s a book you’ve re-read multiple times, and what keeps you coming back? The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams because it's hilarious, also it has the answer to life, the universe, and everything.
- What is your bookish pet peeve? When people treat reading goals as a flex. Quality over quantity. Taking your time with a book, enjoying the journey and sitting with it after you've finished because it reached you on a deeper level... That's the magic.
- What book do you recommend to everyone? Why We Sleep by Matt Walker. It's an important book.
- What inspires you? Nature, children, authenticity
- Besides reading, what’s another hobby of yours? Poetry, gardening, video games, I play a little ukulele and dabble in songwriting.
- Fun fact about you: I have a twin brother.