Meet the Staff: Randoph H.

How long have you worked at the library? Three months.

How many items do you have checked out right now?  Zero

How many items are on your hold list? Zero

What is your favorite book format (book, audio, mp3, e-reader, etc.)?  

Actual book. I like holding the book in my hands, turning the pages, even the smell of the paper.

What book can you read again and again without losing interest? Why do you still read it? 

Blindness by Jose Saramago. It is an amazing book with an interesting even frightening look at people and humanity. None of the characters in the book have actual names, instead they are referred to as things; like the old man, the Doctor or the Doctor’s wife. The latter is actually one of my favorite characters of all time. The world falls apart, even her personal life, and she holds things together for those she cares about and gets them through it. It is an odd combination of cynical and hopefulness.

 

What is your favorite aspect of working at the library?  

I just enjoy being here. It is more a matter of what isn’t my favorite, which would be hard answer too.

What books do you feel guilty for not having read? 

Hum, there are a few on that list; The Grapes of Wrath, War and Peace, Roots, The Canterbury Tales, Moby Dick. But in fairness I tried to read Moby Dick and it just kept putting me to sleep. I should give it another whirl I suppose. And I am sure there are many others I really should read but just haven’t.

What is your perfect reading environment? 

A nice quiet space with good lighting, you know kind of like the library. Then again I laugh a lot when I read, so maybe home is better so as not to disturb other patrons.

If you were stranded on a desert island, what single genre of books would you want with you? 

That is a tough one. My taste in books varies a lot. So I think I’d want survival books and how to books. Such as; how to survive on a desert island, how to build a sail boat, how to sail, and how to navigate by the stars. Then I could get home and read whatever I want.

What was your favorite children’s book when you were a child? What is your favorite children’s book now? 

We had a book at home with a bunch of Mother Goose stories in it. I loved to read that book and look at the illustrations. It seems to have disappeared over the years which is a pity. If I still had it or knew the exact title it would still be my favorite. I guess I should look it up, so that it can be again.

Before you worked here, what was your worst library transgression?

I can’t think of one. I suppose when I was in elementary school I kept a book or two past their time, but I don’t have a clear memory of it.