Photo by Avery Lowther. Miss Gegg poses behind books by Ruta Sepetys.
Have you been in a reading slump recently? Have you not read anything at all since first grade? Luckily HHS Librarian, Miss Gegg, has suggestions for those who find themselves in a slump, or are just curious about her preferences.
“Typically, I like historical fiction and suspense books, but I have to push myself outside of those so I can make sure I can talk to all different types of readers,” Gegg said. “My fifth favorite book is Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter [by Seth Grahame-Smith]. The reason why I liked it was because Abraham Lincoln was, well I don’t know, one of the most note-worthy presidents. [Him being] just depicted as a vampire killer makes it kind of fun. So it wasn’t necessarily a funny book, but you should take it in a light-hearted way. You know you take kind of his heroic qualities, and then you put him into this other position.”
Gegg talks about her fourth favorite book, The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. She says her mom, who is also a librarian, recommended it to her. She found this book to be heavy hitting.
“It was probably one of the first heavy, serious books I’ve read… It was recommended by my mom, who is also a school librarian and an English teacher. It was just one of those ‘Okay, we’re diving into mental health and mental illness [books],’ so it was just interesting for me to read that type of material for the first time,” Gegg said.
Going back to historical fiction, Gegg puts this genre on the third and first spot of her list.
“[My] third favorite book is the Book Thief [by Markus Zusak] and it’s set in WWII. I don’t know why I liked it so well. I think [it’s] because they told you how the book ends first, then they turn around and lead up to it. So even though you know how the book ends, it’s still worth reading. You’re still kind of surprised, and you get to know the characters better. I liked it so well, I read it twice. And I don’t usually read books twice, so that says something about its content,” Gegg said.
The second book on her list is a detour from fiction novels. This book, instead, is a nonfiction memoir.
“[My] second favorite book I’ve read is probably Jesus Land, and it was the first memoir I’ve read. I didn’t think I’d like nonfiction, but memoirs are kind of the exception to nonfiction. It was really interesting to read about the tragedy that happens to real people. We have that book in our library as well,” Gegg said.
Finally, her favorite book is a historical fiction novel set in Spain. With Gegg being a Spanish major in college, she found this book to be relatable.
“My favorite book is Fountains of Silence… a historical fiction by Ruta Sepetys. She has written quite a few historical fiction novels. She’s really popular, so we have a lot of hers in our library,” Gegg said. “The reason why I liked it so well was because I was a Spanish major and an English major in college. The book was set in Spain and I know a lot of Spanish history, so it was very relatable. Even though it was set in the 1950s, it was pretty relevant for me.”
If students don’t like reading, Gegg suggests to continue searching for a book.
“I know that there are a lot of reluctant readers. [But] when someone finds a good book, that’s when they become a reader.”
