Teacher Feature - Mr. Smith

What do you like to read?

I am a fan of adult mysteries and espionage novels. I have recently discovered YA writing. In between novels, I enjoy reading anything about the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and the Knights Templars. Just completed the pair of historical novels about Oliver Cromwell, Wolf's Hall & Bringing Up the Bodies. I also thoroughly enjoy an occasional biography, especially about Henry VIII and his many wives and his daughter, Elizabeth I. Another quirk that infects my reading patterns: I will empty a shelf of a author's novels and read them all during the summer to get a flavor of the authors!

I have a subscription to Architectural Digest and read that monthly because I have a keen interest in interior design and antiques. Reading this magazine compliments my antique business, Bella Cosa Antiques, where I buy and sell Art Nouveau, late 19th century porcelain, primarily from Bohemia, now called Czechoslovokia. The manufacturers are Royal Dux, Amphora, Teplitz and from a German company called Goldscheider which produced Art Nouveau porcelain and terra cotta figures and busts in the late 1800's. In the last 15 years I was one of the top sellers on Ebay of Nippon porcelain from early 20th century Japan.

What have you recently read?

I tried to complete, Cloud Atlas, over the Christmas holiday but was not able persevere and I very much wanted to see the inspiration for the film of the same name. I very rarely do not complete a book. I don't remember authors all that well, but I will read anything by James Patterson, Daniel Silva, Robert Ludlum, Sue Grafton, Michael Connelly, Patricia Cornwell, David Baldacci, Sandra Brown, Dan Brown and Steve Berry.

What are you reading right now?

3. I am half-way through Shadow of the Wind, by the Spanish writer Carlos Ruiz Zafon and am enthralled with this mystery set in Barcelona.

When and where do you like to read?

4. I read in between sessions with my clients, in my home office, waiting for doctors--in any place where I need to wait and do not want to waste my valuable time. I read a book every two weeks and am reading more than one book at a time.

Did you like to read in high school?

5. I loved to read in high school and set out a plan for myself to complete the 100 Best Classical Books by the time I graduated from college. The Russian novelists slowed me down in my resolve!

What is your most hated book?

6. I don't hate any books as they each nourish me in so many ways. I will say, when finished, that a book may have been a waste of my time, but I try to find some redeeming quality in all that I read. I should read more poetry as I love teaching it but for now, I continue to write poetry, something I've done since 1960. Whenever I am on Kairos, I will use the quiet of this contemplative retreat house and its magnificent ocean views to inspire me to write. I hope one day to self-publish my poetry and the murder mystery novel I've been working on for several years during summer breaks.