Position at RAK: Staff writer. I write about children’s books.
Background: I did the same job here for eight years when my kids were small. I majored in anthropology and minored in Spanish during college; my graduate school work focused on librarianship and business administration.
State of your birth: I was born in Michigan, and I miss it every day. I’ve been here since 1976.
Spouse/significant other, kids, pets: Husband and two adult sons; two cats, two dogs.
Favorite food: I love food — especially, Asian, Mexican, Italian, Greek and American comfort food. Hate acorn squash!
Favorite thing to do when I have some time to myself: Reading, writing, walking, biking and tracking down neglected books from the past.
Most people don’t know this about me: I stopped eating mammals a couple of years ago. I know, that statement sounds kind of creepy, doesn’t it? But the thought of consuming intelligent, feeling, distant relatives seems even creepier to me. I still eat fish and fowl, and I know there’s a whole slippery slope of sentience, so no saber-rattling involved, just personal comfort level.
What I love most about Arizona: My amazing, wonderful friends; also, fewer mosquitoes than Michigan.
How I came to RAK: This is a homecoming for me. I got a try-out here when my kids’ preschool co-op partner, Lisa Sorg-Friedman, a journalist who was already working at RAK, recommended me to Karen to fill in for the original books columnist. That was in 1990, I think, and I wrote Words & Pictures for eight years, until we moved to Prescott, and I couldn’t get my hands on the books I needed to do my job.
What I love most about my job: Easy answer — everything! Especially my talented, committed co-workers. It’s a Goldilocks job: just right.
Last book(s) you read, movie(s) you liked, TV show(s) you binge-watched:
Book: Just finished “The City of Mirrors” by Justin Cronin, the last book in a sci-fi trilogy. Besides children’s books, I read a lot of science fiction/fantasy. It’s the only genre (outside of children’s books) that asks the big questions these days. I loved Liu Cixin’s “The Three-Body Problem,” part of the “Remembrance of Earth’s Past” trilogy. I can’t wait to read the other two. So many recent “literary” novels are deeply narcissistic and boring because of it. Ugh!
Movie: “The Ghost & Mrs. Muir.” High hopes for “Magical Beasts and Where to Find Them.”
Currently binge-watching: “The Man in the High Castle” on Amazon.
Meet the rest of the RAK staff.