Staff Picks: Favorite Book

For our article members of the staff interviewed four teachers and our school librarian to find out their favorite book, and the reasons behind that judgment. We asked a base set of questions for all teachers, and got a wide variety of answers. From classics, fiction, and even science fiction. All staff gave great responses and we are overjoyed at having had the opportunity to interview them and learn about more of our staff here at Valencia!

Mrs. Rojas: Midnight Library - Matt Haig

Q: What is your favorite book?

A: “Recently, Matt Haig’s Midnight Library is my favorite book.”

Q: Why is it your favorite?

A: “I think it takes an evaluation of where you are in life and appreciating things that you have.”

Q: Would you recommend this book to others?

A: “Yes I would.”

Q: Do you relate to the book in any way, and why?

A: “I do. I relate to it because the father was an important character in this story and I had a really close relationship with my father.”

Mrs. Bernier: 28 Summers - Elin Hilderbrand

Q: What is your favorite book?

A: “28 Summers.”

Q: Why is it your favorite book?

A: “It is a very sweet story, well written. It's one of those books that, once you start it, you can’t put it down because the story is so compelling. It's about, really, two people who find true love but can’t necessarily be together.”

Q: Would you recommend it to others?

A: “I recommended it to every one of my friends and I've given out multiple copies.”

Q: Do you relate to this book in any way, and why?

A: “No. I don’t relate to it, but I understand what it’s like to love somebody that deeply.”

Ms. Cutting: The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien

Q: What is your favorite book?

A: “Probably The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien.”

Q: Why is it your favorite book?

A: “I really love Tolkien’s ability to build a whole world. [The Hobbit] has more of the stuff that I like, like the riddles, and the high fantasy, without the long sections of just nothing!”

Q: Would you recommend this book to others?

A: “Oh absolutely, 100%. The Hobbit is one of the best books. It's entertaining, it’s heartrending at the end, there's a dragon! There's just so much, it's wonderful.”

Q: Do you relate to this book in any way, and why?

A: “Yeah? I guess? I mean Bilbo just wants adventure and he finally gets it, and watching him kind of deal with the differences of being away from home and changing himself, I did that myself when I went off to college. I went 2,000 miles away when I was 17 years old! I had those same experiences of ‘this is so great and I'm having so much fun, but I miss home and what was comfortable’ and so when I was younger and I first read it I did definitely relate a lot to that.”

Mrs. Ford: Villete - Charlotte Brontë

Q: What is your favorite book?

A: “Villete by Charlotte Brontë”

Q: Why is it your favorite book?

A: “It's my favorite because it is about a character who has a very rich internal life but she's in a foreign country where she can’t speak the language so she can't really communicate what she wants to say. She's an outsider in many ways, like language, by class, she's in another country with no family. And I just think it's a very interesting story about a character with a lot of intelligence and potential, and no one sees the real her.”

Q: Would you recommend this book to others?

A: “I’m not sure that I would actually! When I have recommended it to other people they haven't seen what I’ve seen in it; I just feel like I have this connection to Charlotte Brontë. It's not that I wouldn’t recommend it, it's just that I'm not sure other people would enjoy it, but I’d want them to!”

Q: Do you relate to this book in any way, and why?

A: “Yeah! I think It’s a very introspective and internal novel, so she talks about her thoughts a lot. She can’t really talk to people since she doesn’t know the language, and a lot of the things that she thinks I’m like ‘I've thought that’ like ‘I’ve felt that way’. Even though my life is completely different, the way she responds to things and her personality reminds her of me, even though our circumstances are completely different, does that make sense?”

Mrs. Butera: Dune - Frank Herbert

Q: What is your favorite book?

A: “My favorite book since 7th grade is Dune, which is funny because for a while nobody knew what it was and thought it was weird.”

Q:Why is it your favorite book?

A: “I love teen stories and it starts out as a teen going through crazy intergalactic war. It talks about ecology, politics, religion, so it's thought provoking. The idea that he can see the future is pretty cool. The women in it are really powerful. I can’t complain, except that it gets weird, the fourth book gets weird.”

Q: How did you find out about the book?

A: “Dune, my mom read because she was a hippie and the hippies really liked it because it talked about ecology and stuff like that. My dad really liked science fiction so I was like ‘Oh, I'll read this.’ My 7th grade English teacher reread it as I was reading it. Reading it with someone at the same time can be a good motivator for finding a good book that you might like, so ask your teachers.”

Q: Would you recommend this book?

A: “Yes, but it's not great for everyone. If they like Game of Thrones, then they might like Dune, or if they just love science fiction.”

Q: Do you relate to this book in any way?

A: “I don't really think about that. I didn’t hate the main characters, they weren't horrible. I guess it's the main story I like rather than the characters, and what they’re going through. I wouldn’t see myself as the characters, necessarily.”