Meet our friendly librarian, Kate
Learn about Kate's role, her top reading picks and genres
Kate's top reading recommendations and genres
We met with Kate who is the Senior Acquisitions Librarian for Bayside. She has worked at Bayside Libraries for more than four years and has seen the transformation of our libraries through the pandemic.
What is a special memory you have from working here?
There are so many, but professionally it would have to be interviewing Judy Cotton on her autobiography, Swimming Home, last year for our book club members. Judy is globally successful Australian artist and Swimming Home was written like a work of art. I have many other fun memories of the talented library team. I love working in a branch where impromptu puppet shows and song brighten our days.
What is your favourite book at the moment?
I recently read “Prophet Song” by Irish writer Paul Lynch, and it was one of those books that just blew me away. Filled with suspense, it is a realistic dystopian political fiction story about a family in the Republic of Ireland. The country slips into a totalitarianism regime, and we are taken on the journey of the family’s battle for survival. Really well written and quite unlike anything I have read before. I highly recommend this one.
What is your favourite genre?
This one is so difficult to pinpoint. I read a broad range of genres. I’m always on the lookout for books that would be good for our book clubs, so I deliberately read broadly. I guess one genre that I do tend to keep an eye out for is Japanese fiction. Having lived in Japan for several years, I like to virtually travel back through books. My latest Japanese fiction read was “What You Are Looking for is in the Library” by Michiko Aoyama.
What are you currently reading?
I am currently reading Grantlee Keiza’s “The Remarkable Mrs Reibey”. A biographical portrait of Mary Reibey, who we see on the $20 note. I am really enjoying it so far, particularly the historical insights into what New South Wales was like at settlement. I love a historical story that is told in an engaging way. Grantlee Keiza and Richard Fidler achieve this with their writing.
What are your top three recommendations for members to read?
I read “Great Circle” by Maggie Shipstead for my book club recently. It is a historical fiction story about a female aviator set in Prohibition-era Montana, interwoven with production of a film about her in modern day Los Angeles. It is a long read, but I would recommend it.
I also would recommend “Hydra” by debut Melbourne writer, Adriane Howell. While a quirky story, I loved the way this one was written. Adriane Howell is very clever with grabbing the attention of her readers and enticing them to dive deeper into the story.
I am also a big fan of Claire Keegan’s writing. I discovered her last year and really enjoyed “Foster" and “Small Things Like These”. I’m looking forward to reading her next release, “So Late in the Day”. Her books are really a work of art in the way they are written – and Novellas, so very quick to read. She tends to explore important and sensitive topics in a thought-provoking way.
