My Personal Reading Profile

Hi all! I am really excited to be a part of adult reader’s advisory this semester. Recently, I have mainly been working on reading through all the Newbery Medal books before I graduate in May, and I also have a few series I’m working on as well. While I can be persuaded to read pretty much anything, the bulk of my reading covers mysteries/thrillers, suspense, true crime and young adult, with some historical nonfiction thrown in for a good mix. I love a good book that will make me sit on the edge of my seat and make me start speed reading because I have to know what happens. I also love young adult for more of a lighter read, although I never truly read anything that could be considered a “fluffy” read. (This is specifically why I chose romance as one of my genres because while I definitely read books with romance in them, I don’t read anything where a romantic relationship is basically the focus, so it’s an unfamiliar genre for me along with historical fiction even though I love history.)

I’m the person who will have 10 books checked out at once and desperately wish that I had clones who could read for me so that I could destroy my TBR at a faster rate. (My TBR currently has 593 books. I’ll probably hit 600 by the end of this weekend because I like to stress myself out by making the idea of completion unattainable…I’m only sort of kidding.) In the last few months, I have started going to a book club at the main branch of the library system where I work, and I’ve enjoyed having exposure to new authors. I am always open to suggestions and I love it when people get super excited to recommend me a book. I was “that” weird kid growing up who always needed an extra push to place myself in social situations because people weren’t books. I also like to keep a small pocket sized Moleskine journal where I write down the day I finish a book, the title/author, how many stars I’d give it out of 5 (and only whole numbers, no half stars), the plot, a quote, and other miscellaneous things I liked or didn’t like about the book. In short, as I told my best friend, “I’ve finally made books my entire personality and I regret nothing.”

My Top 5 authors (in no particular order) are:

1. Tiffany D. Jackson, for her page-turning books that I get addicted to very easily
2. Fredrik Backman, for his ability to reach directly to the heart of humans (if you’ve also read his books, you’ll understand what I mean here)
3. Karen M. McManus, for her “I need to know what happens NOW” YA mysteries with good characters
4. Laurie Halse Anderson, for her abilities to address real-life issues in YA and create realistic characters
5. Bill O’Reilly & Martin Dugard, for their nonfiction “Killing” series that they write together that makes history seem like a thrill ride