Library

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What's Happening In the Library

The Librarians started a podcast called On Your Bookshelf. Listen to the first episode below featuring Mr. and Mrs. Greer or read their answers below.

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What is your favorite genre, and why do you enjoy those types of books?

Suz Greer
I love historical fiction. Technically cozy mystery, but not all cozy mysteries. British mysteries might be a better term. I’m a classic Agatha Christie fan!

Wes Greer
I am a science fiction/fantasy fan, but I also like lore-type literature: Beowulf, Sigurd and Gudrún [by J.R.R. Tolkien], Arthurian legends. I also enjoy "capital S" science fiction—more Arthur C. Clarke, who I would liken to the Tolkien of sci-fi.

If you could only read one book, apart from the Bible, for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Suz Greer
One is a newer series for me—it's at Valor Library. The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion [by Beth Brower]. I read these last summer, and they were fantastic. It takes place in Victorian England, but it's very funny, easy to read, and really lighthearted. I would say an older version of that is Harry Potter [by J.K. Rowling]. I can reread those anytime.

Wes Greer
I’d pick a trilogy in the Star Wars universe by A.C. Crispin. It's the story of Han Solo [The Paradise Snare, The Hutt Gambit, and Rebel Dawn] right up until we meet him in A New Hope. I could pick it up and read it tomorrow.

The other one I'd pick is The Silmarillion [by J.R.R. Tolkien]. Tolkien does a fantastic job of weaving our Judeo-Christian story into the creation of Middle-earth. There are plenty of times as I read it, I got a little misty-eyed, thinking, “This is a really beautiful way to explain to a fiction audience a story that is written already—written into our DNA.”

What book are you currently reading, and what do you think of it so far?

Suz Greer
The non-fiction book I'm reading is The Body Teaches the Soul by Justin Whitmel Earley. He writes about how, as believers, we try to separate our physical bodies from our spiritual bodies, yet God has designed them to work together. Important things like getting good sleep or how we breathe actually teaches us about God—how He made us and how He loves us. It's been a fantastic book so far.

My audio fiction book is Agatha Christie's The Mystery of the Blue Train, with my favorite character, Hercule Poirot. I'm on a mission to read all of the Agatha Christie books in one year. For anybody who hasn't read them, I would start with And Then There Were None.

Wes Greer
I'm delving into a darker fantasy right now. I picked up an audiobook called Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman, set during the bubonic plague in England. The jury's still out on whether I like it. I haven't appreciated the language, and there are some themes that I'm not huge on.

Then there's Your Story Has a Villain by Jonathan Pokluda. He's a pastor at Harris Creek in Waco, Texas. It deals with the fact that we have a spiritual enemy in our lives who is out to get us. We can't say that he doesn't exist, but it isn't necessarily wise to go looking for a fight.

What is your top read from the past year?

Suz Greer
All the Light We Cannot See [by Anthony Doerr] is one of my top favorite books. It's some of the best modern fiction I've ever read. If you haven't read that book and you like World War II, definitely give it a go. Really creative, beautiful writing with a beautiful story.

Wes Greer
One of my most enjoyable reads is the Scythe trilogy [by Neal Shusterman]. I love the idea of a dystopian future, but the world has not gone into chaos. It's about what to do with a population that no longer dies; a world where medicine and science have caused people not to perish. It's mystery, fantasy, and science fiction wrapped together. I really love it. It’s here in the library. Go check it out.

How have your reading habits impacted your family at home? What reading habits would you recommend to others?

Suz Greer
We have three boys, and they love stories—all of us need stories. For a long season, I made a habit of going to the library with them to pick out two books: one fiction, one non-fiction. Now, they naturally do that themselves. In fact, when they have downtime, they'll ride their bikes to the library and pick out books on their own. Personally, I love audiobooks. It’s great because I’ve got to walk the dog and drive to work. That's something I have to do, and I’ll do it while reading. I build audiobooks into my life. My advice would be to utilize those times when you have to do something and listen to a book.

Wes Greer
Finding quiet time is really what gets me. It's so easy to be distracted. The easiest distraction is the phone. Even while reading, there’s the urge to pick it up, then all of a sudden you're derailed. Trying to designate time where you have silence and you go screen-free is great—start with 30 minutes, then an hour. Work your way up to a day. Perhaps you take Sundays and you say, “I'm not going to check the phone, I'm going to read, and I'm going to plug through 40 pages.” It's like riding a bike. Once you get going, you find that you look down at the corner of the page and you've read 20 pages!

What book/reading recommendations would you give students?

Suz Greer
I would say The Anxious Generation [by Jonathan Haidt]. If you haven't had a chance to read it, I think it's a book of our time. Is it 100% perfect? No. That's one reason why I encourage students to read. As you read, you can synthesize, evaluate, and make judgment calls on your own. Haidt puts forth some very thought-provoking data and ideas and even gives some potential solutions.

Wes Greer
One of my other favorites is John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress. He essentially uses scripture as his paintbrush as he's writing. I like to keep my Bible open while I read this. If you haven't read it, it's a lot of fun. I found myself choked up many times in Part II. It might be because I have a wife and boys.