Julie, what is your role here at Maria's Bookshop? 

I've been a Bookseller since July of 2022!

What's your favorite thing about being a Bookseller?

Seeing all the niche and interesting books that people special order through us.

What’s your go-to genre? Magical Realism. Novels about artists. Books full of weird stuff. Books of Essays. And books with unlikeable or unreliable protagonists. Or books that aware of themselves. 

What are you reading right now? The Little Friend by Donna Tartt, How I Became a Tree by Sumana Roy, Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk, This Other Eden by Paul Harding, and various audiobooks I've gotten halfway through then realized I forgot to listen.

What do you eat when you read? It doesn't matter as long as I only have to use one hand - soup, goldfish, a sandwich... 

Best Drink to Sip While Reading: Black coffee

What's your favorite format for consuming books? Hard copies that I can draw and take notes in.

When do you read/How do you make time to read? On the trolley. Before bed. First thing in the morning. An entire day off. Or listening to audiobooks while working on some myriad creative project.

What book do you think everyone should read? The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz. If everyone read it I think we'd be a much more compassionate, loving, and forgiving people.

What is your preferred method of bookmarking? Admittedly, I'll dogear but I also keep a stack of notecards with me where I'll note things down or illustrate scenes out of the book if the feeling strikes me.

Someone you've read about with whom you want to be best buds: Lanny, from Lanny by Max Porter and Circe from Madeline Miller's Circe. Two people who are firmly themselves despite what people think.

Do you read alone or with company? Alone. Or if there are other people there, I am none the wiser.

Best Book Recommendation You’ve Received: Reincarnation Blues by Michael Poore

What book have you re-read the most? The Secret History by Donna Tartt, because I love her writing. And Honeycomb by Joanne M Harris, because I want to live in its world so badly.

What were your favorite books from childhood? A Series of Unfortunate Events, The Mysterious Benedict Society, and my mom's 1983 edition of the encyclopedia (yeah, I know).

What book have you not wanted to end? Poison for Breakfast by Lemony Snicket. It felt simultaneously like a conversation with my favorite childhood author and like a transcript of the inside of my brain. One hundred and fifty-four pages is just cruel.

Quick! Recommend a book! The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki. So tender, weird, and sad while still being so funny. This book impressed on me the importance of taking pride in your possessions.

And finally, what meme best describes you?