Welcome back to the Cobblestone Creative blog. This week, we’ve got another fun installment of our community series, Reading Around Town. You’ve heard from community leaders, local business owners, and some of our new South Royal Street neighbors. Now let’s check in with one of our regulars. Please welcome Carley De Rosa!

Name:

Carley De Rosa

Old Town, Alexandria Affiliation (Resident, business owner, etc.):

Alexandria resident

Occupation:

Government employee

What's one book you think that every person should read and why?

The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell. It gets classified as sci-fi because most of it takes place on another planet, but it's kind of about everything: religion, relationships, language, travel, cultural differences... it's a real exploration of human nature and our efforts to do good that can end terribly poorly.

What sort of reader are you? What are your favorite genres, ideal reading location, etc.?

Contemporary fiction is my default setting; from there, you can usually find me browsing the year's best-of lists, with preference for really good writing and interesting stories. I love writing with a strong sense of place, like anything Orhan Pamuk sets in Istanbul, or northern India as described by Anuradha Roy in The Folded Earth, or the many iterations of Bangkok in Pitchaya Sudbanthad's Bangkok Wakes to Rain. I do know this is the groove into which I can easily settle, so I go out of my way at least a couple times a year to seek out something else, usually nonfiction on an unusual topic (The Golden Thread, The End of Everything, One Day, etc.) or a classic that I missed in high school (Wuthering Heights, Middlemarch, The Woman in White, etc.).

In the past year, I found myself breaking out of my usual genre a lot--there's a lot of fantastic contemporary fiction out there that is also extremely heavy, and I needed a break. Instead, I tried on more comedic autobiographies, political satire, thrillers, even graphic novels and romance. Accompanying the pandemic books was a great update to our condo's layout: we swapped out the queen bed in our little-used guest bedroom for a sofa-bed that gave me a new nook to settle into.

What's the best book you've read in the past year? What sort of impact did it have on you as a reader?

A tie: The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow, for being the perfect literally escapist novel for the early stages of the pandemic. It hit just the right balance of being well-written and telling a beautiful story that didn't get too heavy or tragic. It gave me the exact story I needed for the time. Then, The Evolution of Beauty by Richard Prum, for a fascinating examination of evolution with surprisingly feminist implications. You'll learn about duck sex (really), but you'll also rethink your old biology classes and a lot of other things.

Why do you love indie bookstores?

I love the way indie bookstores reflect both the community around them and the unique personalities of their employees. You can really feel that your neighborhood bookstore was put together by humans. They're attuned to local events/flavors/interests/needs, and I also know I can get an interesting recommendation any time I want one.

Any else you'd like to share?

Two suggestions after all this pandemic time: first, do more reading outside of your typical genres (your local indie bookstore can help, I'm sure), even when you're not acutely in need of a change of pace. I picked up graphic novel Apsara Engine and talked about it so much with a friend that now we're doing a book swap. You never know what might grab you!

Second, send more snail mail. It's a great way to do a bunch of things--support your local paper-goods store; support USPS; reach out to friends and family; maybe receive a few pieces of fun mail of your own...Wins all around!

Thank you to Carley for sharing some of her top recs and reading tips! Who will be our next Reading Around Town guest? It might be you! If you’re a member of our community who is interested in being featured on the blog, please email at shannon@oldtownbooks.com. We look forward to sharing perspectives from all aspects of our diverse and wonderful city.

Blog and photo contributions by Carley De Rosa.
Edited by Shannon McCarthy.