Hastings Memorial Librarians tell favorites and must reads in recognition of National Library Lovers month
Because February is National Library Lovers Month, the librarians of Hastings Memorial Library share their thoughts on their favorite genres and books, and what they just can’t wait to read!
Robin Quinn has been with the library for 14 years, and is currently the library director. Val Foster and Sarah Pick are both assistant librarians, and both have been at Hastings Memorial for five years as of November 2020.
Quinn likes to read a little bit of every genre, but she particularly enjoys historical fiction, nonfiction and biographies. She also has a taste for Gothic mysteries.
Foster said she doesn’t have a favorite genre, but she can’t read romance. Typically, she keeps a fiction and a nonfiction book in her rotation at all times to read simultaneously.
“There’s not enough hours in the day to read everything!” she said.
Pick prefers nonfiction, horror and science fiction, but her desired genre changes based on how she’s feeling at the time.
Though Quinn struggles to pick a favorite book, because she has read so many good books, she thinks she would classify “The Great Gatsby” as a favorite.
Foster said she has never re-read a book, except “Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH” by Robert C. O’Brien.
Though Pick can’t think of a particular favorite book, she recently finished a book titled “Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal” by Mary Roach, which takes readers on a tour through the digestive system.
Even though it’s just February of 2021, the librarians at Hastings Memorial have already read some great books they recommend.
Quinn particularly enjoyed “Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love” by Dani Shapiro, which is about a family secret that is uncovered by a genealogy test.
Jenny Slate’s “Little Weirds” is a book Foster recommends. She said it’s well-written and not what she was expecting.
Pick recommends a series called “Gods and Warriors” series by Michelle Paver, which is a historical fiction set in the Bronze Age.
Reading has been one thing that’s helped each of the librarians get through the panic, and not just because it provides a means to pass the time.
Quinn likes that reading has given her something to talk about over the last year that isn’t about the pandemic.
Foster said without podcasts and audiobooks, she doesn’t know how she would have made it through.
“It helps you get out of your own head,” Foster said. “I can kind of zone out and escape for a while.”
Reading has helped Pick get through the pandemic by teaching her new facts, and taking her into a whole other world.
“It gets you out when you can’t get out!” said Pick.
A lot of authors postponed publications during the pandemic, so Quinn said many good books are set to release this spring.
One book Quinn is interested in reading this year is called “The Agitators: Three Friends Who Fought for Abolition and Women’s Rights” by Dorothy Wickenden.
Foster is always excited for the Golden Sower books, which are selected by youth across the state. She is also quite excited to read “Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics” by Dolly Parton and Robert K. Oermann, which released in November 2020.
There aren’t any particular titles Pick is waiting for, but she said the library gets a book page magazine that provides information about new releases and upcoming books, and she uses the list to find new books.
“I go through that like it’s a Christmas wish list and add to my reading shelf that way,” Pick added.
For more recommendations, stop in to Hastings Memorial Library and ask a librarian! They are more than happy to help everyone find a good book.