Goucher Reads

Randalynn Kennedy

1. Who are you and what are you interested in?

My name is Randi Kennedy and I am the Assistant to the College Librarian in the Goucher College Library.  I am interested in Religious Studies, Linguistics, Medieval History, and especially reading: historical fiction, literary fiction, young adult fiction, fantasy, etc.  Besides academic interests, I also enjoy exercising—especially running and swimming—as well as spending time with my cats and napping.

2. What are you reading currently?

I just finished a fantastic YA audiobook named Chime by Franny Billingsley.  It was magical, frustrating, beautifully written, and unforgettable.  I might have to buy a copy.

I am currently reading Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children and will start my next audiobook, The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters, at the gym this evening.

3. What is the most important book you have ever read?

The book that got me to study English literature would be one: Seamus Heaney’s poetic rendering of Beowulf.  The book that got me interested in reading for pleasure would be the other: J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings introduced me to a type of literature that isn’t read because it’s classwork but because it takes you to new worlds, new ways of thinking and being.

4. If you could suggest one book to read, what would it be and why?

It really depends on the person I’m suggesting the book to, but I think I would suggest Christopher Moore’s Fool to just about anybody.  It’s rooted in a classic of English literature, King Lear by Shakespeare, but Moore makes it into a witty, moving comedy about the nature of power, language, and time.  It’s a laugh out loud read that earned me a lot of confused looks at the gym (as a laughed so hard I almost fell off my treadmill).  Pretty much anything by Christopher Moore will make you wet yourself laughing.