My Reading Profile

Between both working and going to school full-time, I do not have as much time to read as I would like, though that tends to mean I am pickier about what I read. My go-to genre is mystery; I’ve read nearly every Agatha Christie novel and absolutely love Tana French’s work too. 

My degree specialization is actually in Youth Services and I find myself drawn to young reader and young adult books most frequently these days. They are usually both entertaining and quick to read! 

I spent three years working at Barnes & Noble and consider my time there extremely valuable. Charged with setting up the new release displays every week, I was introduced to hundreds of interesting books I might have otherwise missed and was able to truly expand my readers advisory ability through my own experiences as well as my coworkers’.

While 2020 did not leave me a lot of time for reading, these are a few of my standout favorites (not necessarily released in 2020):

The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware (I’ve read all of her books and love each one more than the last!)

I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson (I cried through the whole book and loved every word)

The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin (I recommend this book to everyone I can, it is beautifully written and left me thinking about it for days after I finished)

Ban this Book by Alan Gratz (the book-obsessed kid in me identified with the main character in such a strong way and I will be recommending this book for kids and adults alike for as long as I can)

Some of my favorite books include:

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (all of her books really)

The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson (and all subsequent Stormlight archive books)

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

How to Stop Time by Matt Haig

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Annie Barrows, Mary Ann Shaffer

House of Secrets by Chris Columbus

The Graveyard Book by  Neil Gaiman

Comments

  1. AlexFebruary 1, 2021 at 5:09 PM

    Hi Jennifer! I also find it hard to work full time, go to school, and read for pleasure. It is a balancing act that I am still working on, but am becoming more and more open to reading ebooks and listening to audiobooks. A good friend of mine works at Half Price Books and is always up to date on the newest books and most popular titles. They are so knowledgable on the next big thing that I feel a bit behind sometimes! I find young adult novels to be so interesting and am excited to see more diversity in the novels and character portrayals.

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  2. Erin CataldiFebruary 11, 2021 at 6:26 AM

    Fantastic reading profile! You do a great job of really outlining your tastes! It's definitely hard to balance school and work and life and fit in reading. I try to average 1 or 2 audiobooks a month just so I can stay on top of what's new. I also love YA. I can't wait to hear what you have to contribute to this class. Full points!

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