Skip to Main Content

Falcon's Bookshelf

The Lone Star College-CyFair Library book blog. Discover the great books our LSC-CyFair faculty and staff are reading!

falcon's bookshelf masthead

March 2024 • Dorrie Scott, Reference Librarian

Do you have a guilty pleasure book?
Trashy romance, YA novels I’m 40yrs too old for?

What is your favorite genre?
Mystery/Thriller and Science Fiction (more science-y, less fantasy)

Which do you avoid?
Fiction-wise: Historical Fiction & Fantasy (with a few exceptions), Religious Horror, Westerns; Nonfiction-wise: Political

amityville horror book coverWhat is a book that you’re afraid to read?
Anything religious-horror (e.g. Amityville Horror, The Omen, etc.). Freaks me out.

What is a book you dislike/hate that everyone loves?frakenstein book cover
Frankenstein – sooooo boring (sorry, Mary Shelley).

Describe your ideal reading experience (when, what, where, how).
In the last few years, I’ve started listening to a lot of audio, but whether reading or listening: a quiet house, coffee at my side, dog on my lap.

spanish love deception book coverDo you remember the last time you put down a book without finishing?
Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas

What book is currently sitting on your nightstand?translation state book cover
Next up in my audio list is Translation State by Ann Leckie

Which writers – novelists, playwrights, critics, journalists, poets – working today do you admire most?
Andy Weir, John Scalzi, Karen Slaughter, Linda Castillo, Jackson Ford, Elle Cosimano, David Sedaris, Neil Gaiman, Gabrielle Zevin, Martha Wells, Ann Leckie, Connie Willis, Mary Doria Russel, Alice Hoffman

everyone in my family has killed someone book coverWhat’s the last great book you read?
Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson

The last book you recommended to everyone you know?project hail mary book cover
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Do you prefer books that reach you emotionally, or intellectually?
Neither necessarily, I’m looking for engaging content & writing, it needs to be interesting.

mickey7 book coverDo you have a favorite book no one else has heard of?
Mickey7 by Edward Ashton (science fiction). It came out a couple of years ago, but it’s now being made into a movie titled Mickey 17, so people may have started hearing about it. Sunshine (scifi/paranormal) by Robin McKinley. Crashing Through (biography) by Robert Kurson

What’s the last book you read that made you laugh?
Audio of Project Hail Mary – Loved it!

What’s the most interesting thing that you learned from a book recently?
That trying to understand time dilation will make my brain melt.

What book might people be surprised to find on your bookshelf?shibumi book cover
Well, I’ve been a librarian for almost 17 years, and I previously worked for a bookstore for 18+ years, so I don’t think anything would come as a real surprise, but maybe, Shibumi by Travanian. As a general rule, I’m not a big historical fiction reader, but there are a handful of novels in that genre that I do love.

murderbot book coverWho is your favorite fictional hero or heroine?
SecUnit/Murderbot from the Murderbot series by Martha Wells.

What kind of reader were you as a child? Which childhood books and authors stick with you the most?mixed up files book cover
Well, in grade school, the Scholastic Book Fair was my Super Bowl. I was ordering all of the Encyclopedia Brown books. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg is still one of my all-time favorites, as well as A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle.

Have your reading tastes changed over time?
I mainly liked mystery and science fiction as a kid, and that’s mainly what I gravitate towards today, so not much. Though, as I’ve gotten older and my interests have expanded, I’ve read books in other genres, as well as non-fiction.

You’re organizing a literary dinner party. Which three writers, dead or alive, do you invite?
Dorothy Parker, Dorothy Parker, Dorothy Parker!!! If I had to choose 2 more: Neil Gaiman, John Scalzi

i have some questions for you book coverWhat do you plan to read next?
I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai and Quantum Radio by A.G. Riddle

What book would you most like to see turned into a movie or TV series that hasn’t already been adapted?
Anything by John Scalzi (Old Man’s War, Kaiju Preservation Society) and Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Where do you find your books? Where do you look when you’re searching for your next great read?
Coworkers, HCPL catalog, Goodreads, and Amazon recommendations, as well as scouring the internet for “If you liked…” websites.