Reader's Fave

I recently interviewed April Peterson for our 39th installment of Reader's Fave, a casual interview with someone who shares their favorite book. April is the current president of the Pioneer Community Association.

April shared with me her favorite author, Jane Kirkpatrick, an American writer who has written many fiction and non-fiction books. "I love history and being engaged in a book," said April. "I came across Jane Kirkpatrick about 20 years ago roughly. It was the 'All Together in One Place' book. This was the first book by the author which I'd read, and I was immediately engaged with it. I loved the concepts the author was writing about. These women coming across America in the 1850s; the early pioneers. I also enjoy other kinds of books. I think the books you enjoy kinda depends on where you are in life, so I do read other types like romance, fiction, non-fiction, and real history."

April also mentioned a book club. "My daughter was in third grade and there was a meeting to go to at school," she said. "I met these women there and we formed a book club. There were about six in our group, and we'd meet in someone's home. We set it up where each person would pick a book - you know - rotate around, have conversations, pick it apart. It's very fascinating how you can, as a group, pick something apart and what you actually pick to read. I introduced the group to the author, Jane Kirkpatrick. The group was together for about 10 years."

Reflecting about how she became a reader, April said, "I didn't read a lot. It was really hard. It took me three times as long in school to read as others, but I did enjoy hanging out in the library at school during recess or lunch. I just enjoyed the atmosphere and, in high school, I'd go to the Portland library, sometimes with friends, and hang out while I did my homework. Our home was busy and crowded. We had cousins, aunts, and uncles coming and going, but it wasn't until high school that it was identified that I had dyslexia. I would read and would be missing a word or two in a sentence. I wouldn't be seeing it; it'd be skipping by me. It wasn't until my mid-20s that I figured out my own system that would work for me on how to figure out the missing word. It was by understanding the context the sentences were in. Then I started to really enjoy reading."

April also shared about being a mom. "For my daughter, I was always reading to her," she said. "The books were always out, and I'd read to her at bedtime. We'd go to the library for story time. We were always reading." Today, April enjoys using all the formats for reading: physical, ebooks, and audio. It just depends, as she enjoys being able to tap on a word in an ebook to learn quickly what it means.

Wherever life is for you, may you wonderful Wahkiakum readers find a book which is engaging and enjoyable.