Staff Feature - Mrs. Dawson

Studious Ms. Dawson cracks a book in the Library.

What do you most like to read?: I don’t really have a specific genre that I like, I think it has a lot to do with where I’m at, what’s suggested to me, what I’m craving, etc. Last year, I went through a big apocalyptic phase, and love books by Michael O’Brien like Fr. Elijah, which I’m still working on….  I also woofed down The Hunger Games series, which were so incredible. I love historical fiction, and I read The Paris Wife over break. It’s about Earnest Hemingway’s first wife and their crazy life together. Right now, I’m into spiritual memoirs. Currently, I’m reading Thomas Merton’s Seven Storey Mountain. I also love reading gossip magazines (guilty pleasure… I know waaay too much about the lives of celebrities) and blogs. I love “Cup of Jo”, “Joy the Baker”, and “Today’s Letters”. Blogs are such a fun way to connect with people. I try to be careful about reading them, though, because too much screen time is never good for me.

Do you have a favorite book/author/publication?: Anyone who knows me knows I love C.S. Lewis. I was introduced to him in high school when I took a C.S. Lewis seminary as a theology elective. I love his ability to tell stories and his clarity. Clarity is something I really appreciate in writers, especially apologists like Lewis. I haven’t read everything he’s written, but love the Narnia series as well as his apology books, like Mere Christianity and A Grief Observed.  I love his ability to impart knowledge while telling compelling stories, like in The Screwtape Letters and The Great Divorce. Another great book that C.S. Lewis didn’t write, but highlights the his correspondence with author/poet Sheldon Vanaulken is A Severe Mercy. That book changed my life.

What’s the last great thing I read?: I recently finished a book called, Shirt of Flame, by Heather King. Heather King is a writer from Los Angeles. She highlights her recovery from alcoholism while she “walks” with St. Therese of Lisieux, following her “little way” philosophy. The campus ministry leadership team even used sections from this book for their leadership retreat this year.

Where do you most like to read?: I like to read before I go to sleep, in bed, propped up by pillows and a cup of tea. Or outside if it’s nice! Like many people, if I’m reading something I love, I will read it anywhere… the gym, the doctor’s office, driving… just kidding about the last one. I do not advocate driving and reading at the same time.

When you were in high school, did you like to read?  If so, what?: Like many high school students, I found it hard to make time to read for pleasure. I was in a Great Books program, so it felt like we were reading a book a week. We also had our own crazy-long reading list for summer break. So, to answer the question, I was always reading, but didn’t have a cultivated taste in genre yet. I really admire students who make reading a priority, especially when there are so many other ways to just “fill time” (the Internet being the biggest time sucker of all…). My sister-in-law, Colleen, learned to read super young, and is always reading. She did this in high school, college, and even now, with a busy schedule. You name it, she’s probably read it.

What is your most hated book and why? AHHHHH. The Old Man and the Sea by Earnest Hemingway. This was the first Hemingway book I read in high school, and I didn’t enjoy it. I was just bored senseless. It’s about a Cuban fisherman named Santiago who waits a crazy long time to catch a fish, and then finally sets off the catch this marlin. My high school friends and used to call each other Santiago if we wait too long for a guy to call back. Perhaps if I read it now, I’d enjoy it. I read The Sun Also Rises after that, though, and all was right between Earnest and I.