Carrie

FAQs 

(or more accurately, 

the things I ask myself 

when I wake up in the middle of the night 

and can't get back to sleep)

What are you doing with your life, young lady? (I hear this one in my paternal grandmother's voice.)  

I'm an associate professor of marketing at a small, private college in central Illinois.  Most days I think I have the best job in the world, and you could never convince me otherwise.  When grades are due, I still think I have the best job in the world, but you might talk me down for a moment or two.

So why are you co-writing a book blog?

Because one of the few things I love more than my job is reading.  I've been a bookworm since WAY back in the day. Second grade, probably.  Nancy Drew books were the beginning of a long love of mystery that crystallized with Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, and Sir Conan Doyle.  Then, in junior high, I discovered my mother's romance novels.  High school introduced me to Ray Bradbury and Anne McCaffrey.  I'm one of those readers who can tune out the whole world when I've got a book (or, now, an e-reader) open.  Just ask my sister about the time she choked on a sour cherry ball.

And once I've read a good book, I feel wildly compelled to tell other people about it.

Don't count on me to save you.  I'm reading.

Shouldn't a college professor read something besides all that fluff?   

Sure.  For my day job.  For six years of graduate school and the nine years of gainful employment, I've read very serious, very dry, possibly important articles and books. I publish and review in that world.  When I'm at home, though, I like a little escape, some fun and some pizzazz.  If you think my reviews on The Family Addiction get a little cranky, you should ask me to review a paper with poorly worded hypotheses.  I am the Queen of Red Ink, but I like to leave the red pens at work.

So, mysteries, romance, and science fiction & fantasy? What else do you read?

Anything I can get my hands on.  I love good children's literature, and I'm trying to be better about YA lit.  I'll pick up an occasional nonfiction book, and I usually go through two semi-annual fits where I try to read "real" literature.  

I also read a lot of blogs--some for work and some for fun.  One of these days I'll get back in here and link to some of my favorites.

What are those other things you love more than your job?

I'm big on faith, family and friends.  I also love to travel, because visiting new places is even better than reading about new places.  I just can't figure out how to buy a ticket to  all the places I've read about.

5 Favorite Books
*Garden Spells
Sarah Addison Allen

*Nine Short Stories
J.D. Salinger

*Fast Women
Jennifer Crusie

*Fahrenheit 451
Ray Bradbury

*The Phantom Tollbooth
Norton Juster


2 Not-So-Favorites
*The Catcher in the Rye
J.D. Salinger

*A Tale of Two Cities
Charles Dickens