Reader's Fave

I recently interviewed Brandi Seaberg Beedle at the library for our 34th installment of Reader's Fave, a casual interview with someone who shares their favorite book. Brandi, who grew up and went to school here in Wahkiakum, lived in Ellensburg, WA for a number of years, but moved back with family in 2020. She works as an emergency response coordinator for Health and Human Services.

Brandi chose "East of Eden" by famous Nobel and Pulitzer prize winning author John Steinbeck as her favorite book. She first read this book 10 years ago after college. "I'd read some of his other books, "The Red Pony" in sixth grade, "Of Mice and Men" and "Grapes of Wrath," she said. "I'm a sucker for historical fiction, always have been."

Steinbeck's depiction of people is what resonates with her. "His characters are so relevant to now, people are still the same," she said. "I like how his characters are built, and I like the timeline settings for his books. My great-grandparents - Grannie Johnson side of family - moved up here from Arkansas back in the 1930s with four kids. By the time they reached the west coast, after a broken-down car and selling all her preserved food, they had one dime left found on the floorboard."

Brandi has read "East of Eden" multiple times. "I periodically re-read it and other Steinbeck books," she said. "I like to read and see what it used to be like. We have a farm, so I like to see how hard those simple times were. I get so engrossed with what the characters are going through and where they are coming from. I like to stay in touch with our past."

Along with Steinbeck, Brandi enjoys other genres such as Louis L'Amour westerns and Linda Lael Miller historical romance novels. "I probably have 45 of Louis L'Amour books at home," she said. "They're just so good. I tried to get my husband to name our kids after the Sacketts." L'Amour wrote a fictional series about a Sackett pioneering family. At other times, Brandi will read some ghost/murder-mystery type books to break up the routine from historical fiction.

"My dad loved reading," she said. "He'd read every night to us. I remember a story called "The Itchy Scratchy Spider," or something like that. He had these scratchy hands from his work and would pretend to be the spider with them. We had a book called "101 Stories Before Bed," which I've been trying to get from my parents, but they won't give it up. My mom and dad loved to read. They bought us books, and we had shelves and shelves of books."

Now in the parent role, as opposed to that of the child, Brandi said, "I re-read my books to my kids, but I love to foster their likes. Whether it's sharks, snakes, [or] spiders, I love to read to them and to sit on the couch and read together."

As a busy mother with a full-time job, the format for how Brandi reads a book has changed. "I wish I could read physical books, but audio is my jam now," she said. "I listen while I'm doing everything else."

And so, you wonderful Wahkiakum readers, maybe you'll re-read a famous historical fiction book, come across a new romance novel, or possibly an engrossing American western.