All Booked | Reader Spotlight: Sally

The original version of this newsletter was sent out on Tuesday, April 9.

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Hello, book lovelies!

Welcome to the second installment of our reader spotlight series, where I highlight All Booked readers!

A bit of housekeeping: If you would like to be featured in an upcoming reader spotlight, please fill out this form. Also please note that there is a question where I ask if you work with books, if you don’t that is totally fine! And in fact I encourage those who don’t work with books to fill out the form — that is the whole point of this: to get to know our community of readers a bit better!

Now on to our guest: Sally Lombrozo!

Sally reads a variety of things! Classics, sci-fi, fantasy, mystery, thrillers — you name it! But what really caught my eye is that she is a huge fan of fan fiction! How fun is that?! I have yet to dive into the world of fan fiction myself, but I’ve been hearing a lot about it especially this past year. Sally has been in Santa Barbara for decades and worked at UCSB. She’s been so gracious to allow me to feature her, so let’s get into it!

Sally answers my Q&A below:

Q: Hi Sally! Tell us a little bit about yourself and what got you into reading.

A: I’m a 70-year-old retiree from UCSB, where I worked with the Education Abroad Program and as a graduate program assistant for the Religious Studies and Film and Media Studies departments. I’ve lived in Santa Barbara since 1972 and I have a husband, a lovely daughter who I’m proud to say is also a great reader, and a cat. I’ve been a dancer all of my adult life, including folk dancing, belly dancing, Polynesian dancing, and contra dancing. I enjoy cooking and theater, and I do a lot of sewing — quilts, doll costumes, bags, so many things! I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t reading — as kids my siblings and I had Bobbsey Twin and Nancy Drew books, some junior classics, really anything we could get hold of. The Oz books — all of them, including the continuations by Ruth Plumly Thompson — were special favorites of mine.

Q: What are you currently reading?
A: I’m reading The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison for my book club; we just finished Thomas Mann’s Buddenbrooks. On my own, I’m finishing Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables — that’s the one I listen to while I’m walking, and it’s one of the most wonderful books I’ve ever read. I also dip into the short stories of Anton Chekhov now and then, and I read poetry; right now it’s The Selected Poems of T’ao Ch’ien. On top of all that, I’m an avid reader (maybe an obsessed reader) of fan fiction in whatever is my current fandom.

Q: Are you currently in any book clubs?
A: I am! I’m in the Bucket List Book Club, so named because we focus on classics that we’ve always wanted to read before we, you know … kick the proverbial bucket.

Q: What is your preferred way to read a book? Physical, audio, or digital?
A: I love physical books and having a beautiful library, but as I get older I’m reading mostly on my ebook reader so I can enlarge the font. Also it’s a grand thing to have 2,000 books at my fingertips wherever I go. I like to listen to an audiobook while I walk, or if my book club is reading an especially long book that I need to keep up with. Here’s a confession: I get my book club picks in both physical and digital formats, and sometimes even in audio as well.

Q: Who is your favorite author?
A: Oh, now that is a most unfair question! I can’t possibly say — if I choose Dickens, that’s leaving out Eliot and Austen; if I choose Tolkien, that’s leaving out Naomi Novik and Ray Bradbury. No, I really can’t answer that — just too many favorites.

Q: What is your most read genre? And what is your favorite genre to read?
A: Perhaps the genre I’ve read the most is a combination of science fiction and fantasy (they do overlap sometimes). That’s what got my attention as a young adult, and I still enjoy that genre today. But lately, thanks to my book club, I think classics are my current favorites.

Q: Do you have any reading-focused goals for this year?
A: Not really; I don’t want to weigh myself down with any specific goal. I just want to read as many good books as I can.

Q: Where is your favorite place to get books?
A: For physical books I always go to Chaucer’s; if they don’t have it, they’ll order it for me. They’re starting to know me by name there.

Q: Describe your ideal reading environment.
A: Hmmm, it’s lovely to read in a comfortable chair with a cup of tea, a snack, and my cat nearby.

Q: How do you decide what to read next?
A: We decide together in my book club, trying for variety and diversity among the classics we choose. I also sometimes take one of the literature classes through the continuing education program at SBCC; that’s how I got started reading Les Miserables. Other times I’ll want something seasonal to read on my own, like a Halloween book or a Christmas book. I discovered Shirley Jackson’s We Have Always Lived in the Castle while browsing for a good Halloween read, and I love the quirkiness of that book.

Q: Do you consume any bookish content? Podcasts? Blogs? Bookstagram? Booktok?
A: I follow some of the Facebook groups for classics and science fiction/fantasy; there are tons of recommendations offered there. In recent years I’ve joined Goodreads to keep a log of what I’ve read, and to see what friends are reading and recommending.

Q: Share 3 recommendations with us. One that you think makes a great book club pick. One that’s a recent favorite of yours. And finally, an all time favorite.

A great book club pick:
The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim

It’s a charming story of a group of ladies separately answering an ad to spend a month in an Italian villa, and how they become acquainted and change each other’s lives. It contains the most luxurious descriptions of a garden I’ve ever seen.

A recent favorite of mine:
East of Eden by John Steinbeck

Although I read the usual Steinbeck offerings in school (Of Mice and Men, The Pearl), I only read Cannery Row a couple of years ago with the book club and fell instantly in love with his prose. East of Eden is the latest Steinbeck that we’ve read, and it is such a love letter to the Salinas Valley, so beautifully written.

An all-time favorite:
Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons

I’ve recommended this so many times I can’t count. It makes me laugh every time I read it; it’s a truly hilarious book. I find it impossible not to adore Flora Post, and how can anyone resist a book with cows named Graceless, Aimless, Feckless, and Pointless? Really, go read it.

If you are interested in being featured in All Booked, please fill out this form.

Your smitten bookworm, Emily

Upcoming Book Events

Below, you will find a few bookish events coming up in Santa Barbara. If you are hosting a bookish event in Santa Barbara, be sure to submit the event to our online events calendar.

Book Talk: SB Poet Laureate David Starkey
Tuesday, March 26, 6pm | Chaucer’s Books

Storytime and Book Signing with Reina Martinez
Saturday, March 30, 10:30am | The Book Loft

Book Talk-Local Thriller Author Anthony Estrada
Thursday, April 4, 6pm | Chaucer’s Books

Lauren Groff in Conversation with Pico Iyer
Tuesday, April 9, 7:30pm | Campbell Hall

Local Book Spotlight

We at the Independent get many books sent to us by local authors, sometimes too many! It’s practically impossible for us to read and review them all, but just because we are busy bees does not mean that they aren’t worth the attention. In an attempt to not completely drop the ball, we have compiled a list of books here that have a local spin. They are all either written by a local author, feature someone in our community, or have another tie to Santa Barbara. I urge you to look through this list. Perhaps you will find your new favorite read!

The following are the most recent titles that have been sent to us. Click here for a more comprehensive list.

Love and Sabotage by Martha Tolles

Out of the Park: True Stories of the Greatest Players Who Changed the Game by James Buckley Jr.

Who Is Katie Ledecky? by James Buckley Jr.

Empire of Refugees: North Caucasian Muslims and the Late Ottoman State by Vladimir Hamed-Troyansky

Tales of the Miraculous: The Magic of Animal Consciousness by VE Girard

Remember Me As Human by Lucy Walsh

Pink Palazzo by Kiki Astor

If you are a local author and would like us to feature your book in this section, please email allbooked@independent.com with the subject line “Local Author Spotlight.”