5 Quick Questions with our Booksellers
Ever wanted to know what our booksellers’ life mottos are? Okay, maybe not, but read on, and learn more about the small-but mighty-staff (minus Susan, our fearless leader) at Pages.
Erin Gold
What’s your most recent read?
I most recently finished listening to The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennet. It’s an engaging listen with interesting and complex characters. It tackles race from a variety of different angles and is one of those books that reminds us that life is much more “grey” than black and white.
Other books I am reading/ listening to: Women, Food and God, Geneen Roth; How to be an Antiracist (audio), Ibram X. Kendi ; Me and White Supremacy (audio), Layla Saad; and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Surprisingly, I am somehow juggling all these books ok and am enjoying reading them all at once.
Where do you call home and why?
I call Detroit the city where I live and in day-to-day conversation call my apartment home. However, I still call my parents’ house “home” like I will say to my mom “I am going to come home this weekend” even though I haven’t lived in their house for more than 5 years. Home is complex for me because I also consider people to be my home too. When I am around them I feel like I am back home.
Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
Definitely in speech the word “Basically” — not sure where that came from but I know I over use it. Also in writing and in speech I use the word “somehow” a fair amount and it doesn’t always make sense in English. I think it’s a hold over from German, but honestly I am not sure I use that word correctly in German either so it could just be an example of my weird speech patterns.
Who are your favorite writers?
Gah I have so so many. Some of my favorites in no particular order are: Khalil Gibran, Erin Morgenstern, Kiese Laymon, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Yaa Gyasi, Malcolm Gladwell
What is your motto?
“Short sentences, strong verbs.”
Jazmine Cooper
What’s your most recent read?
I’m currently reading a stack of books, but the most recent book I finished is Luster by Raven Leilani. I devoured this book in two days because I couldn’t stop reading it. It’s about a Black woman failing at life — she finds herself in an affair with a married man, and soon, becomes an unlikely mentor to his adopted daughter. It’s messy, it’s hilarious, it’s cringeworthy, it’s heartwarming, it’s well-written, it’s a book I’ve wanted to read for a very long time.
Where do you call home and why?
Though I was born and raised in Ann Arbor, I’ve felt more at home in Detroit. I went to college here, went back to Ann Arbor, and eventually moved back because Detroit has such a strong, encompassing pull. I wouldn’t be who I am today if it wasn’t for the experiences I had in this city.
Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
“Interesting” has been my go-to word for anything and everything for years, along with “Awesome,” “Sweet,” “Cool,” and recently, “Amalgamation.” The last one is random but fits the tone for almost anything I’m trying to describe nowadays. Could I use “combination?” Yes, but that would too boring and besides, “Amalgamation” has the depth, volume, and level of franticness that I want in a word.
Who are your favorite writers?
There are quite a few, but here are the authors whose books I’ve carried in my bag for comfort: Ocean Vuong, Jesmyn Ward, Danez Smith, Elizabeth Acevedo, Brit Bennet, Maggie Nelson, Franny Choi, Octavia Butler, and Sylvia Plath.
What is your motto?
“Find your own truth.”
Abby Rubin
What’s your most recent read?
I am currently reading books about 1) a teen witch trying to get through high school while protecting her coven and all of the witches in the US from witch hunters (This Coven Won’t Break by Isabel Sterling); 2) a man who loses his lover in an oil rig accident and has to learn how to come to terms with his grief (As High As the Waters Rise by Anja Kampmann); 3) antiracism (How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi); 4) middle school students competing for perfection and what happens when they get caught (The Perfect Score by Rob Buyea); and 5) incorporating literacy and a love of reading into all aspects of your child’s life (How to Get Your Child to Love Reading by Esme Raji Codell).
Where do you call home and why?
I’m from Cleveland, OH but Detroit is and has been my home for the past five years. I have built a strong community, bookish and otherwise, and it is where I see myself in the future.
Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
Absolutely, perfect. I’m more likely to overuse ellipses and exclamation points, though.
Who are your favorite writers?
John Green, Roxane Gay, Tommy Pico, Scaachi Koul, Ibi Zoboi
What is your motto?
“Sprinkle kindness around like confetti.”
Alex Fluegel
What’s your most recent read?
Memorial Drive, the memoir by poet Natasha Tretheway.
Where do you call home and why?
In terms of personal history, the Midwest, but my home is myself. My body is like a rent-controlled apartment above a dive bar. It has a chill landlord, funky furniture, and good rugs. It has plants and pest that live and die, and built-in bookshelves. I’m never moving out. Until I do.
Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
In texts and emails, I love (and therefore overuse) “also.” My thoughts tumble into one another and so everything I write is filled with also’s when I don’t revise. In speech, I rely a bit heavily on “I feel like” to soften any stating of opinion.
Who are your favorite writers?
Shirley Jackson, adrienne maree brown, Rainer Maria Rilke, Sylvia Plath, Ross Gay, Zadie Smith, Cheryl Strayed, Toni Morrison.
What is your motto?
“Why not?”
