On Her Nightstand

By Wendy Stein

Kristan Donk

Kristan Donk spent more than 20 years in the defined benefit pension arena (lots of numbers for someone who would prefer to read) until she went back to school for her MLS. She will be happily placing Librarian in the occupation blank of her tax return for the rest of her life. She enjoys researching, genealogy, Woodstock (the bird), and RAOK (Random Acts Of Kindness).

What are you currently reading (and by whom)?

“The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot” by Marianne Cronin. It is about a fabulous friendship, dysfunctional family, struggles with faith, and forgiveness. It has been a delight (which is an odd thing to say about a book with a terminally ill character). But the characters are so well developed, even the secondary ones, that I am finding it difficult to finish the book, as I don’t want to let them go. The timeline does go forward and back, which some people do not appreciate, but I enjoy that type of plot development.

What’s a classic you started but never finished?

As an English major, I am ashamed to admit I have lost track. Let us just say it is an embarrassingly large number.

What books have you read that you want others to know about?

“Other Birds” by Sarah Addison Allen (go ahead and read “The Sugar Queen” and “Garden Spells” while you are at it), “The Midnight Library” by Matthew Haig, “Wordslut” by Amanda Montell, and “You Should See Me in a Crown” by Leah Johnson.

Is the movie ever as good as the book?

Not that I have found so far. “Ready Player One” by Ernest Cline and “The Martian” by Andy Weir were close.

What’s a book everyone loves that you secretly hate?

Hate is a strong word; however, you would have to pay me a very large sum of money to read another Nicholas Sparks book, and I still have no idea what all the fuss about “Where the Crawdads Sing” was about.

Real books or e-reader? Or audio books?

Ok, up on my soapbox I go. All reading is good. Classic, graphic novels, instruction manuals, pulp fiction, non-fiction, and cereal boxes are all wonderful things to read. How you get them is totally a personal choice and often depends on the circumstances. I love a book book for beach read, I love an eBook in bed because I can increase the font and read without my glasses. My commute is presently 25 minutes each way, so audiobooks keep me sane (when the narrators are good). So, yes! Yes is the answer. Getting back down now.

Anything else you’d like to share?

1. Use your library; it has books, eBooks and audiobooks for free.

2. If you are looking for a similar author to one you like, try www.literature-map.com

mission:

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