I saw this on Reads and Treats, who saw it at Kourtni Reads, and I decided that I wanted to get in on the fun.

The Questions

Do you have any childhood favorites (I’m thinking along the lines of chapter books in elementary school)?

I loved Matilda, and Goosebumps, and The Boxcar Children and Encyclopedia Brown. Especially Encyclopedia Brown. I very much enjoyed trying to figure out whatever mystery he was trying to solve.

Is there a book/series that really got your reading hobby snowballing?

Probably any of those mentioned above. I’ve always been a reader. My mom says that one thing I did as a kid was to hang out in the classroom of one of the fifth grade teachers she worked with (my mom is a special education teacher) and read books until it was time to go home.

Are there any books you enjoyed, even though you had to read them for school?

I really enjoyed Siddhartha by Herman Hesse. I read it in Western Literature class senior year. It was one of those right book at the right time kind of reads. For a number of years I lent it to anyone who would take it (and then bought another copy from Half-Price when I didn’t get it back).

Was there a book that changed the genres you read? (i.e. were you an avid reader of contemporary, but now it’s all about those dragons?)

Not really. I’ve always read across genres. I will say, however, that after that BEA incident and the creation of #WeNeedDiverseBooks, I’m a lot more aware of how publishing works, and have made adjustments to how I use my monetary power in our capitalist society.

What kind of bookworm are you now? You can mention anything. Can you easily read 100 books in six months? A slower reader? Are you a mood reader or do you set book goals? Do you hoard books? Do you have 79,084 books on your TBR list? 

I am the kind of bookworm who is spending most of my reading time right now working on my dissertation, so I’m reading a lot about critical discourse analysis and content analysis and critical theory.

I’m the kind of bookworm who still reads across genres, but is a lot more aware when recommending books to students, about the diversity of content and authorship. I am the kind of bookworm who wants to support authors from marginalized spaces who are writing amazing stories, but maybe not getting the same kind of pub that other authors are. That isn’t to say I only read books by authors from those spaces, but as an ethnic and sexual minority myself, I’m a lot more aware of whether or not I see myself reflected in the books I read, and the frequency with which I get to encounter characters who are from cultures, groups, or what-have-you that I have not experienced in my everyday life.

Do you have a shelfie for us? 

Two of the eight bookcases in our house.

What’s in your bookish history?