Maren is an outreach librarian in Rochester, NY who still takes Levar Burton’s word for it, even though you don’t have to. Apart from her first love, books, Maren also enjoys trivia, board games, and walks in the woods with her family.
What are you reading right now?
Lightfall, which is a middle grade fantasy graphic novel series, Samantha Irby’s latest book of essays, Quietly Hostile, and I’m finally getting round to reading Middlemarch by George Eliot! These days I always have a few books going at once.
The desert island question – What 5 books would you have to have with you if you were stranded on a desert island and why?
I don’t know if this is a cheat, but first of all: a really big poetry anthology– Norton or FSG. Then, I’d go for a couple of tomes that I’ve always wanted to read but have never managed to make the time for: Don Quixote and Moby Dick. Finally, the old familiar favorites, Grimm’s Fairy Tales and Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler.
Who is your go-to author when someone asks you for a recommendation?
I guess I don’t have a go-to. I believe in a book for every reader and a reader for every book, so I rarely make recommendations without knowing something first about the person’s preferences. If I was really pressed to recommend something I’ve enjoyed, I suppose I would say Justin Cronin is an author I love that I think has a wide appeal.
Describe your favorite place to read.
Lounge chair in the backyard with my dog in the grass next to me and my kids playing outside…down the block at the neighbor’s house!
Book or movie? Is there a movie that you think was better than the book?
I would say that the book is usually better because they are such vastly different mediums and it takes incredible nuance to transfer a great book into a great movie. But even when it is done very well (Lord of the Rings or Shawshank Redemption come to mind), I usually still prefer the book because I am a book person!
Share a favorite quote from a book you’ve read. Why is it meaningful to you?
Well, I think it’s in Dirk Gently’s Holisitic Detective Agency that Douglas Adams wrote “Let us think the unthinkable, let us do the undoable, let us prepare to grapple with the ineffable itself, and see if we may not eff it after all.” I often get bogged down by the can’ts and the shouldn’ts, and that quote reminds me to forget about all of that and just go for it. Plus, it makes me laugh.
Is there a book you feel is highly overrated?
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Sure, there are a couple of interesting twists and turns, but besides that most of the book is dry descriptions of this guy eating sandwiches, reviewing his notes, and going for walks.
Are there any books that marked milestones in your life?
Maybe not a specific book, but I think of my late teens (end of high school…starting college) as my “Kerouac years.”
Are you a “finisher” or do stop reading a book if you’re not connecting with it?
You know, I used to finish a book no matter what but there’s just too many other books that I want to read to waste my time on something that I’m not getting anything out of.
Do you have a favorite book that you received as a gift?
When my first child was born, we were given many books, including a complete collection of the Frog and Toad stories by Arnold Lobel. I suppose technically the gift wasn’t given to me, but believe me I definitely received it. Now I frequently give the same book as a gift to new parents and their babies.
Do you judge a book by its cover?
I try not to dismiss a book because of its ugly cover, but a couple of my favorite books I never would have read if I hadn’t said “Hey, what’s that? It looks cool!”
What was your favorite book when you were a child?
The Ramona books by Beverly Cleary, especially Ramona the Pest. I’ve never encountered a literary character that I relate to more.
What book made you laugh out loud? What book made you cry?
I cry every time I read the end of Turtles All the Way Down by John Green, which is not the John Green book everybody expects you to cry over, and yet…
If you are interested in doing a Reader Profile, please reach out to me at patricia.uttaro (a) libraryweb.org.
It's All About the Book 