I am thrilled to bring you another edition of the Sunday Spotlight! This series highlights real-life readers and explores bookish habits, preferences, and even a few literary sins.
Today I am introducing you to Faith – reader, librarian, YA expert, and major influence on my own reading life! I know that I can always count on Faith for her candid reviews and recommendations. We don’t get to see each other in-person very often, so most of our communication is texting links to books, podcasts, articles and discussing fictional characters.
Enjoy my interview with Faith!
EBB: Tell me about yourself.
Faith: I am an avid reader living (surviving!) in Texas. I turned my hobby into a job and became a school librarian over a decade ago. When I’m not in librarian mode, I’m keeping my two girls alive. The girls, my husband, our two cats (one snooty, one jolly), and I all live in a house that I love, but am bad at decorating. Some of my favorite things are my vermilion lipstick, my crimson shoes, my ruby sneakers, and my scarlet earrings.
EBB: What books got you into reading?
Faith: If we want to journey all the way back to the beginning, I would have to say The Berenstain Bears. I have warm memories of my mother reading them to my sister and I when we were kids. However, the books that turned me into a voracious reader were The Baby-sitters Club series. I devoured those books! A few years ago, I had the opportunity to meet the author, Ann M. Martin, at a librarian conference and found myself almost too choked up for words. Now that the series has been revived as graphic novels, I am experiencing the joy of reading them once again as my daughters discover the stories of the BSC.
EBB: Describe your journey to where you are at in your reading life today.
Faith: Reading has always been my favorite activity. I’m not much of an artist, and I’m definitely not an athlete. However, there was a period of time that I was definitely over it. My Master’s degree is in Spanish Language and Literature, with an emphasis on 19th century Spanish literature. I spent the majority of those two years reading for my degree. Once I graduated, I didn’t want to read for a long time. My brain was just so tired of it. I started teaching at a high school in the Houston area and my second year there (2009), my homeroom class was eager to participate in the school’s reading initiative. We spent 20 minutes of that class period reading every day and logging the pages that we read. To help sustain their momentum, I asked the kids to recommend books for me to read. When that happened, I realized how much I missed reading for fun.
EBB: What’s a book or author that you recommend to everyone?
Faith: This changes over the years, but more recently it has been Abby Jimenez. She does a remarkable job of creating authentic, relatable characters and balancing that with the HEA* we all look for in romance novels.
*For all the non-romance readers, HEA stands for happily-ever-after.
EBB: Tell me about your reading habits.
Faith: I wake up an hour before I have to start getting ready every morning so that I can sit in my favorite chair, drink my coffee, and read a book. This is a form of meditation for me and I look forward to it every night before bed. I will also frequently listen to audiobooks and do so during activities that don’t require much focus. I have an e-reader and I occasionally use it to read before bed, but I don’t read digital books as much as I do print or audiobooks.
Since I am a high school librarian, I make sure that every other book that I read is a young adult book so that I can keep up with teen reading trends and make informed purchases for the library.
EBB: Favorite quote or advice:
Faith: I love this quote from Michelle Obama: “Now I think it’s one of the most useless questions an adult can ask a child: what do you want to be when you grow up? As if growing up is finite, as if some point you become something and that’s the end.” -Michelle Obama, Becoming
I also discovered this quote in one of my recent reads and think it is wonderful advice for parents: “‘ But it’s also knowing them. Like, really, truly, understanding them as a person as much as possible. It’s getting out of the way and allowing them the freedom to be that person. It’s being proud, not when they fulfill your own expectations or conditions, but when they live in a way that aligns with who they are.’” -Randy Ribay, Everything We Never Had
EBB: What are you reading next?
Faith: The photo below is my TBR and I am reading top to bottom.
I am also about to start the audiobook, The Book of Murder by Matt Murphy.
EBB: Any literary sins you’d like to confess?
Faith: I judge books by their covers….and I tell students it’s ok to do the same.
EBB: Anything else you’d like for us to know?
Faith: I visit the public library any time I am in a new city. I don’t know that I have any favorites. I’m partial to the Tom Reid Library in Pearland, but here are some others that have stood out to me:
- Rowlett Public Library in Rowlett, Texas
- Vancouver Community Library in Vancouver, Washington (not Canada)
- Heights Neighborhood Library in Houston, Texas
I would love recommendations of libraries I should visit!
EBB: Where can readers find you?
- Instagram: @pearlandhslibraries (This is my library’s Instagram. I would love for you to see what we’re doing!)
- Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/faithricemills
- StoryGraph: farmills
I hope you enjoyed learning all about Faith and her reading life! If you are interested in reading another Sunday Spotlight, click here, and stay tuned for more in the upcoming weeks!
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